Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival
Sunday, 30 September 2007
Mid-autumn Festival is one of Hong Kong’s most pleasant times. Yes, we get a holiday, but that is not the most important reason. The weather is clear, the humidity is dissipating, the relentless onslaught of summer’s heat has gone, and people seem more prepared to spend time talking in a relaxed manner with each other. On mid-autumn evening, which was Tuesday of this week, families stay up late to look at the beautiful moon, the little children often walking around carrying small paper lanterns illuminated by candles inside.
Like many of the students from LPCUWC, I travelled down to Victoria Park at Causeway Bay to admire the lantern display on Tuesday evening. The lantern display in Victoria Park is an annual event in Hong Kong, and it always draws huge crowds (not least because it is free - but you probably guessed that because I already said that many of our students went to have a look!).
As always, the display was magnificent, and the happy family atmosphere contagious. The photos below will give some sense of the occasion to those who were not able to be there.
There was also a deeply sad edge to the festivities - and the week - for me, however. The same moon that people in Hong Kong were admiring was also shining over a much less happy place, this being of course Rangoon (Yangon) in Burma (Myanmar). I have had the privilege of visiting Burma on five occasions, the most recent being in late 1999. Burma is a place of great sadness (because of the repressive arrogant regime) and also great dignity (because of the gentle hope and optimism of the people). It is wonderful that a group of LPCUWC students had the opportunity to visit Burma during Project Week in March this year, as they were able to develop a deeper understanding of the needs of that country at the moment which they are communicating widely with great effect. The image below is my silent tribute to the monks who had the courage to initiate this week’s protests, and to the people in Burma who are yearning for that most basic of human wants - freedom!
Photographed several years ago, these young monks may well be among those who have been on the streets this week.
Footnote: My entire website has just been upgraded from iWeb 1.1.2 to iWeb 2.0.2 standard. As a result, almost all photo galleries now include a new scrolling album facility. You can try it by clicking on any photo on a photo gallery page, such as the gallery of past blog images that can be accessed through the “Blog Gallery” button below.
Lanterns celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Victoria Park this week.