Mid-Autumn Festival
The background of Chinese great traditions provides a general framework for local folk festivities. For example, during the Mid-Autumn Festival people in di erent parts of China always gather under the full moon to enjoy moon cakes and reminisce on the fairytale of Chang Er, the moon goddess. However, even under the overwhelming in uence of common and longstanding cultural traditions, di erent conditions in local communities still lead to distinctive celebrations. Each year, large Mid-Autumn Festival lantern shows are staged in metropolitan Hong Kong at which di erent styles of lanterns using traditional handicrafts are displayed.
Victoria Park in Causeway Bay has long been a venue for very distinctive and colourful lantern shows, while re dragon dances are performed in the adjacent Tai Hang area each Mid-Autumn Festival. Every year for over a century, residents of Tai Hang have woven a 70 metre-long dragon using what they call pearl grass (Eriocaulon truncatum H.); tens of thousands of burning incense sticks are then planted onto the body to outline the dragon against the night. For three nights in a row, from the 14th to the 16th of the eighth lunar month, the ery dragon is paraded through the streets of Tai Hang. The original purpose of the ery dragon dance was to banish evil spirits from the local community and bring good luck to the residents. These days the ery dragon dance remains a major community a air, but it has also become a widely known sporting and tourist event. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tai Hang is imbued with the mystic charms of the local tradition and the vibrant colours of more modern times.
