Urban chores 2 | Did you still carry lanterns when you grew up?

A few days ago, before going to work, my mother explained that I remember going to buy moon cakes when I have time, and to pay homage to my ancestors during the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th.

After getting older, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family reunion and dinner, a day to inherit Chinese culture. As I get older, moon cakes are too sweet and high in calories. If you eat too much, your blood sugar will skyrocket and your weight will rise. Your uncle’s body will not be able to digest it, so he has eaten less of it in recent years. In the past, when I saw a new flavor, I wanted to buy it and try it. Now I buy traditional flavors, and I no longer have the courage to eat strange flavors. In fact, there is one more thing. Now mooncakes are getting more and more expensive, and the packaging is beautiful and special. The price is scary, I'll just take a look.

Kuching is a city with a large Chinese population, and more than 60% of the population are Chinese. Therefore, there are dozens of mooncake manufacturers here. Everyone develops new flavors every year. The one I can’t accept is the “durian” flavor. .

I like to eat durian, but I can't accept being processed into other food, such as durian mooncake flavor, durian ice cream, or people here are used to eating durian with rice.

In the past 10 years, moon cakes have become more and more commercialized. In ancient times, moon cakes were used as sacrifices and have now become Mid-Autumn Festival gifts. Most of the time, it is not just bought from each other to give to relatives and friends, but it is a commercial gift, and there is a bit of flattery or even bribery. This has lost the meaning of moon cakes.

A few days ago, I was having dinner with my 21-year-old cousin and asked him if he still carries lanterns? He said with a smile that he didn't mention lanterns in the streets since he was in middle school, so he was embarrassed. And my family not only did not carry lanterns to parade through the streets, but even more than ten years of family hanging lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

I remember when I was a child, my father would buy me several lanterns of various sizes before the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, I would choose the most beautiful and expensive lantern to keep. Other lanterns, including the lanterns left over from last year and the year before, Light them up one by one in small candles and hang them in the hallway or plants outside your home. And the same is true of the neighbor's house, lighting up the whole residential area, very beautiful. When the time is up, I mention the most beautiful and expensive lantern and go to the whole residential area with my neighbor's playmate.

After entering middle school, I was embarrassed to carry lanterns around the streets, and only hung them at home. After I left for social work, I would only eat moon cakes. In addition, there were no children at home, so I didn’t buy lanterns to hang them for a long time. However, my cousin said that although I didn’t mention the lantern parade, but in recent years I would go to the “Malaysia-China Friendship Park” with my friends to pick up lanterns with a large group of people in the park.

I don't know from that year, but adults and children, many Kuching people will bring lanterns to the "Malaysia-China Friendship Park" on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival to hang lanterns and carry lanterns in the park. The authorities will also decorate the park with lanterns, which are particularly beautiful and full of Mid-Autumn Festival atmosphere!

I don't know what year it started. Suddenly, someone took the lead in putting up kongming lanterns in Mazhong Park on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The following year suddenly became popular! Although everyone put the Kongming lanterns at the same time and place, it was very beautiful when they floated into the sky, but it was dangerous!

Ma Zhong Park is not suitable for placing kongming lanterns, because it is a residential area and a commercial area, and it is quite close to the airport, which will affect the flight of the aircraft. In previous years, kongming lanterns have fallen on the roof or backyard of homes, but fortunately they did not burn. On the road, some even land directly on the windshield of a driving vehicle, endangering traffic. After everyone protested, the authorities banned people from placing kongming lanterns and sent personnel to guard them. Let nearby residents spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with peace of mind.

Although putting the Kongming lanterns is meant to pray for blessings, but after putting the Kongming lanterns, it endangers the safety of other people. Is this prayer still meaningful? And if the Kongming lantern can't be placed in the sky all the time, does it mean that the prayer you wrote is not working well and cannot be realized?

The biggest significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival is that the whole family can get together for a healthy meal and share moon cakes. It is not necessary to buy those fancy packaging and expensive flying moon cakes, and everyone remembers to pass on this traditional Chinese festival from generation to generation. people forget.