Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore

In Singapore, Mid-Autumn Festival is widely celebrated among descendants of Chinese migrants. The customs of Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore are similar with those in China, such as eating mooncakes, appreciating the moon, going to the lantern fairs, etc.
   

The most popular activity of Mooncake Festival in Singapore is to appreciate lanterns. A few weeks before the festival, many places have already been decorated with lanterns. The grandest lantern fair is usually held along the Singapore River. The lanterns are made into various shapes, including animals and cartoon figures. At the night of that day, it is so beautiful when all lanterns are on.
 

Singapore's moon cakes have a big difference in taste from those in China. Singaporeans like to eat durian, and the most popular mooncake in Singapore is durian mooncake. There are also traditional Chinese mooncakes. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore, it is also a tradition to send moon cakes to each other to express gratitude. The moon cakes are usually finely wrapped. Baking lovers even make moon cakes at home to send them to relatives, friends and workmates.
 

Generally, people sit in their gardens with families to appreciate the full moon while chatting, laughing and enjoying mooncakes and tea. Because Singapore is by the sea, some people also hold moon appreciation parties on the beach, where the full moon seems to come out of the sea and sparkles on the sea water.
 

During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore, folk performances are always given in Chinese communities, such as Chinese operas, cross talks, puppet shows and so on. These performances are usually held on the festival night together with the lantern fair and lantern painting competition, which makes the festival more colorful and interesting. Besides, there is dragon and lion dance performance in Chinatown.
 

In the early days, lanterns were hand-crafted and hand-painted. In recent years, parents usually buy lanterns for their kids to save time. But the lantern painting competitions have been preserved in Chinese communities. In this annual activity, participants of different ages gather together, paint various creative patterns on lanterns.
 

Chinatown is in east Singapore. A lot of activities are held on the Mid-Autumn Festival, including lantern fair, folk performances, and lantern painting competition. There are also stalls selling moon cakes, Cantonese snacks and tea. The lantern fair in Chinatown has a theme every year, to show the important events or stories of Singaporean. And there are temples to visit and bars to relax there.
 

Chinese Garden is in west Singapore, designed and built in Chinese traditional style. When Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, the garden will be decorated with lots of lanterns. It is a great place to take your own lanterns to stroll in the lantern fair with families and friends. There are also other activities like making lanterns and guessing lantern riddles.
 

With a variety of plants, Gardens by the Bay is more like a botanical garden. It will be decorated with colorful lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore, and visitors can watch Chinese cultural performances, appreciate traditional Chinese crafts, and stroll through the snack street to enjoy different Chinese cuisines.

Further Reading
Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong 

Mid-autumn Festival in Taiwan  

Mid-Autumn Festival in Other Asian Countries

Chuseok - Korean Thanksgiving, Mid-Autumn Festival in Korea

Tsukimi, Mid-Autumn Festival in Japan

Mid-Autumn Festival in Malaysia

Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam - Têt Trung Thu, Children’s Festival