Party in the House: Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore
Should you have the party outdoors or stay indoors? Here are tips to get either space party-ready for moon gazing
Second in importance to Chinese New Year, the mid-autumn festival has a history dating back more than 3,000 years; it marks the end of the autumn harvest and a time to give thanks to the gods. Head to Chinatown if you want to partake in the celebrations and to learn more about the origins and history of this festival. But if mingling with the crowd isn’t your cup of tea, why not get some friends together, and have a party at home instead? Getting into the spirit of the mid-autumn festival (or better known as the mooncake festival for obvious reasons), is easy-peasy with these tips.
A warm welcome indeed! Your guests will be able to find their way easily into the party area … just light up the path! Rabbit-shaped decals (or make your own colourful cut-outs) stuck on the lanterns would work well as there’s another legend with the rabbit as the main character!
And if you have stairs, add decals to the risers – although look for rabbits instead of the mice pictured here. They would also look great along a long corridor or wall, in the bathroom and in the kitchen too.
What you can do with a flight of stairs
What you can do with a flight of stairs
What’s mooncake festival without the moon? All you need is a copier machine and you could easily pull off the look above. Or if you’re a pop art fan, spin your version of an Andy Warhol-inspired series of the moon. There are numerous online tutorials that will teach you how to effect the look. You might not stop at just the moon!
Lanterns are a must, of course! Choose a colour theme or pick different colours, shapes, sizes of lanterns and let your imagination run with it.
And the nursery! You could leave the bunch of lanterns (and balloons) be until you get tired of it.
Browse design ideas for a nursery
Browse design ideas for a nursery
Perhaps there’s a birthday to be celebrated! Weave in the two – Chinese paper lanterns and little mooncakes (small snowskin-covered ice cream ones perhaps?) instead of a typical birthday cake?
A multi-tiered cake stand works just as well for mini mooncakes!
Look around your home. Are there pieces of round furniture like an ottoman or a coffee table? Work with and highlight those pieces by…
Full Moon Table Lamp
… adding a table lamp, which can be moved to illuminate another spot after the party…
… accessorising with round cushions in solid colours or ones with a rabbit print…
… swapping the planters for lanterns…
… adding a lighting feature in the bathroom perhaps? Replace the shiny baubles shown here (keep them for Christmas) with tiny paper lanterns or one large one that fits under the glass cover and add fairy lights!
Moving the party outdoors? Swap these round white lanterns for the multicoloured paper lanterns. This is a simple idea that can easily be translated into a balcony space or a condo BBQ area.
More ideas to get your outdoor space ready for party
More ideas to get your outdoor space ready for party
And if your condo estate has trees and a nice spot to gather, or if you have a garden, make use of the ready-to-hang spots, such as branches, lamp posts etc.
TELL US
How do you decorate for the Mid-Autumn Festival? Share a photo in the Comments section.
TELL US
How do you decorate for the Mid-Autumn Festival? Share a photo in the Comments section.
This is an easy one to pull together: fairy lights, lanterns, lots of throw cushions, comfy seating and great company … the perfect setting to chomp on mooncakes, sip some tea and watch the full moon.
Photo courtesy of Goodwood Park Hotel
And of course, the stars of the show: the mooncakes. Symbolism abounds in this humble ‘cake’. The roundness (some have taken on other shapes) of the mooncake is a nod to the full moon on the 15th day.
While the baked ones shown here are considered ‘traditional’ mooncakes made with lotus bean paste and an egg yolk (like the ‘full moon’), enrobed in a pastry shell…
And of course, the stars of the show: the mooncakes. Symbolism abounds in this humble ‘cake’. The roundness (some have taken on other shapes) of the mooncake is a nod to the full moon on the 15th day.
While the baked ones shown here are considered ‘traditional’ mooncakes made with lotus bean paste and an egg yolk (like the ‘full moon’), enrobed in a pastry shell…
Photo courtesy of Goodwood Park Hotel
…they now share centrestage with a wide variety of snowskin mooncakes in various flavour combinations including fruit, chocolate, spices and alcohol.
And to wash that all down…
…they now share centrestage with a wide variety of snowskin mooncakes in various flavour combinations including fruit, chocolate, spices and alcohol.
And to wash that all down…
… a good cup of tea! We hear the ideal tea pairing for the traditional baked mooncakes is pu-er, a Chinese black tea.
TELL US
How do you celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival? Share with us in the Comments section.
TELL US
How do you celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival? Share with us in the Comments section.
Many stories (or versions of) are tied to this festival but perhaps the most oft heard version is that of a heartbroken archer whose wife drank an elixir of immortality (she was curious!), which was bestowed on the archer for services rendered, and she ended up on the moon – on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, aka mid-autumn festival. This year, it falls on September 15.