September, 2004:-

Than Hsiang Temple and Xiang Yun Vihara recently organized a Moon Cake Festival Celebration on the 24th and 25th September respectively.

Members of various groups, volunteers, staffs, residents as well as devotees crowded the Great Compassion Hall for Buddha Name Recitation, and to listen to a short Dharma Talk given by the Abbot, Ven. Wei Wu. There were also performances from Kindergarten, Sunday Dharma School, Wan Ching Yuen Centre and Than Hsiang Choir.

Outside the hall, devotees and volunteers alike began to light up the lanterns, much to the delight of the children. It was then followed by a lantern procession around the temple grounds. Parents were seen busily clicking away, as their children posed for them with their lanterns.

Devotees were then treated to refreshments at the canteen, where various foods prepared for the moon cake festivities were laid out on the tables. The devotees enjoyed themselves feasting on moon cakes, groundnuts, angku kuih, steamed radish cake, fried noodles, etc.

This year, Than Hsiang Youth Circle set up a special counter for a 'Guessing Game', whereby devotees were asked to figure out riddles written on papers that were tied to the lanterns. The ones who gave the right answers were given a cute mini Kitty Kat lantern, equipped with music and light.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a time of celebration for families and friends alike. It is also a festival rich in history and legends, mainly revolving around 3 characters living on the moon- the lady Chang Er, the woodcutter Wu Gang and the Jade Rabbit. As the full moon is round in shape and the word ‘circle' (“yuan”)' is synonymous to the word ‘unity' in Chinese, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunions.