Mid-autumn festival ...

Laughter echoes the neighburhood as children play with their prized treasure - the lantern. Often made either with plastic or paper protecting a lighted candle, the lantern is usually associated with traditional Chinese festivities.

I remember when I was much younger, I used to enjoy this festival of lights. I would be all excited in the morning and slowly grow impatient as night approaches. Once dinner is done, I would pester the maid to bring me out for the lantern parade.

Children of all ages will appear with their source of light, hand in hand with parents or grandparents, enjoying the moon lit sky. I would proudly walk around with my battery operated lantern and laugh at children whose lanterns get burnt because of the fact that they are using old fashion ones with candles. Mean I was.

Tonight as I drove home after working till 9, flashes of my childhood came about, bringing fond memories of the mid-autumn festival whereby our family would share mooncakes and pomelo. Mum remembers that I dislike mooncakes with the salted yolk thus offering me mooncakes filled with only lotus paste with melon seeds, yummy.

As we grow older, we often find ourselves fighting for time to finish our daily work and forgetting those little moments and traditions that we used to be so excited about when we were younger. Is it really the society that changed us or are we just losing our roots in tradition? As a Chinese, we should be celebrating every festival our forefathers have marked for us and not shun it aside thinking its lack of importance.

Its funny to know what I had for dinner tonight. Ham and bread. While many other Chinese families are feasting, I am only eating the simplest form of a meal. Something that sounds more suitable for breakfast and yet am having it for dinner. Well, it was my choice or rather, a forced choice as I had to finish work really late. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the meal but did not enjoy the fact that I never celebrated the mid-autumn festival tonight. I only let it passed and hope next year's festival can be spent with family. Perhaps, the governent should make it a holiday ....