TONIGHT, the soft glow of lanterns will illuminate the front porches of Chinese families celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.
While the adults sip Chinese tea and appreciate the bright full moon, kids will be given the rare green light to play with matches to light up the colourful candles and lanterns.
The lanterns - paper, plastic or fabric - in assorted shapes, sizes and styles, are easily available in the market these days.
For the past few weeks, shops in the bustling Petaling Street were offering a variety of lanterns that were bound to catch the eyes of passers-by.
Fun time: (From left) Chak Tze Chin, 24, Chak Tze Xin, 12, and Chak Chun Loong, 15, playing with different types of lanterns made of paper, glossy glass paper and hollowed pomelo Adorable ones made of wire and glossy glass paper by shop owner Khoo King Eng at SSAW Enterprise exuded charm amid the sturdy plastic ones.
These butterfly, dragon, ox, fish, seahorse and some 40 other animals, would glow with intriguing colours once lit up, thanks to the combination of translucent paper used.
“For the other local sellers, samples are sent to China for mass produce. I opted to make the lanterns myself five years ago because I had no money to import,” the 36-year-old Khoo said.
Khoo also noticed that the plastic ones, which sings when the switch is turned on, is no longer popular as it was, although it is still produced based on the latest animation figures.
As they are battery-operated, they are perfect for toddlers, but those that had withstood the challenge of changing times are still the paper ones imported from China.
Adorned with simple Chinese painting strokes and unassuming draping tassels, the dainty lanterns are must-haves for many to mark the festival that falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
Resourceful: In the past, people made lanterns out of tins or cans as they could not afford the commercial ones. Decades ago, people who could not afford to buy commercial lanterns usually made their own.
The sky is the limit as far as creativity is concerned, but most people in their 40s or 50s would remember making crude ones from empty milk can or Milo tin.
Khoo also has fond memories of celebrating the festival with such lantern during his childhood days in Muar, Johor.
“The kids would parade the streets every day during the month, not just on the 15th day alone.
“Since the previous month was the Hungry Ghost Festival and kids were not allowed to wander around at night, everyone was excited when the eighth month finally arrived.
“We would walk towards dark rubber plantation and somebody would mischievously yell, ‘Ghost!’ and then everyone would runhelter-skelter,” Khoo chuckled.
Chak Yew Cheong, 49, has a similar story to share.
He would cut vertical strips on an empty milk can and then applied pressure on the top to make the can slightly bent in the middle (to achieve the shape of a cylindrical lantern).
Next, he attached the cover of a Milo tin at the side of the milk can, and rolled the creation on the floor with a stick.
The celebration also meant that there would be chicken and roasted pork on the table, which were considered a luxury in the olden days.
Compared with how Yew Cheong celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival, his children do not seem to enjoy the festival as much as he did.
Although his eldest daughter, Chak Tze Chin, 24, vaguely remembered how to make a simple lantern from paper plates (something she learned from the art class in primary school), his younger children were not particular enthusiastic towards the festival.
“Kids nowadays are more interested in computers,” Yew Cheong said.
Nonetheless, his wife, Kan Lee Ying, 48, has made some mooncakes from scratch for their enjoyment, and his mother has phoned to make sure that the kids have some lanterns to play today.
There is no clear indication or legend where lanterns can be traced back to but according to www.chinavoc.com, the custom of lighting lanterns on towers began sometime during the Ming and Qing Dynasty between 1368 and 1911AD in different parts of the country.
According to www.culturalink.gov.cn, different provinces began the custom of lighting oil lamps, carrying orange lamps and getting children to carry pomeloes decorated with burning incense.
Another kind of lantern that is played during the festival is the Kongming lantern that is an airborne lantern that can be quite big in size.
The lantern is said to have been invented by sage and military strategist Zhuge Liang, whose reverent name is Kongming, and who used the lantern as a signal during war.
Most young people these days played with tanglung and candles when they were younger but most stopped when they were in secondary school mainly because they lost interest.
Twenty-three-year-old Dino Loh, a graduate who hails from Penang, said that he used to play lanterns with his two younger brothers years ago.
“I stopped playing because I just don’t feel like it. I don’t really miss it. These days, the celebration is marked just by some small-scale prayers my family will have at home,” Loh said.
As for Tan Sok Yee, 23, a Masters student, she said she would play with candles and lanterns these days only if the mood strikes her.
“As a kid, it was very fun to play with my older brother. We’d decorate the house compound and hang the lighted lanterns all over the place,” Tan said.
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