5 things every Malaysian would do during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, stalls offering delectable mooncakes at shopping malls adorned with colourful lanterns are common.

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You’d also see promoters doing their best to woo customers into buying their products by offering the best price possible.

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Shopping mall before mid-autumn festival — Photo via Malay Mail

However, major mooncake companies are now promoting their wares online due to the pandemic, slightly dampening the usual cheeriness the occasion brings.

As we eagerly wait for its arrival on September 21, let us take a look at some classic things every Malaysian would do during the Mid-Autumn Festival!

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1. Mooncakes and MORE mooncakes

What’s Mid-Autumn Festival without mooncakes? These sweet pastries are a must at the table, accompanied by a steaming cup of tea.

There is also a myriad of flavours out there, sometimes leading people to fiercely debate over which one is the best!

5 things every malaysian would do during the mid-autumn festival | weirdkaya — Assorted mooncakes (Photo via beetify.com)

Besides mooncakes, pomelo and water chestnuts are also a common sight. You can purchase them here.

2. Admire the full moon

Being a festival that symbolises reunion, family members would usually come together and admire the full moon in all its glory.

Adults would also tell the little ones famed myths and legends such as Chang-E and the Jade Rabbit. Oh, don’t forget about the solemn warning of getting your ears cut off if you pointed at the moon. *gulp*

3. Fire fiesta

Undeniably the highlight of the night, this is the only time where we are allowed to play with fire (literally) with minimal supervision.

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House gates were a common target of displaying our creativity in arranging and moulding the candles into various shapes. We would also take a metallic cover, throw some leaves on it, and turn it into a masak-masak session…

…only to have it burn into a crisp seconds later.

4. Solve riddles

Riddles and brain teasers are typically scribbled on lanterns for people to solve. In China, this is usually done during the Lantern festival or Yuen Xiao, whereas in Malaysia, it is merged with the Mid-Autumn festival.

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5. Latern galore

Last but not least, the Mid-Autumn Festival is never complete without lanterns.

There are two main types of lanterns: one is the cylindrical paper lantern, while the other is the traditional animal-shaped lantern.

We would also stroll along the neighbourhood with our lanterns before making it into an ‘extra ingredient’ along with the poor leaves for our masak-masak session.

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Aside from paper, lanterns can also be made with different materials, with pomelo skin being the top choice.

To remind students of their childhood memories and promote the Chinese culture, the 31st Lantern Festival of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) will be holding a National Creative Tanglung Competition themed “Lanterns in our Memory”.

All secondary school and university students are welcomed to join the competition.

Unleash your creativity and impress the judges by making a unique lantern using environmentally friendly material. The criteria are as follows:

Scan the QR code or click on the link to stand a chance to walk away with RM50//100/150 by paying just RM2 registration fees! It can be paid via TnG e-wallet or online banking.