A long-awaited reunion under the moonlight

This Mid-Autumn Festival holds a special meaning for folks in  Changkat Kruing New Village in Sitiawan. Sept 13, 2022

Photos: By Changkat Kruing Clean and Beautification Committee.
By Foong Pek Yee
Hundreds of villagers including many who returned from outstation  celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in Changkat Kruing New Village last week.
The two-day event kicked off with a lantern parade on Sept 8, followed by  dinner the next day.
Chinese celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar with family and community gatherings, praying for everything good.
Organised by the village’s Clean and Beautification Committee, the villagers were overjoyed to learn  the movement control order (MCO) for big events has been lifted and that they can celebrate the festival as a village, says committee chairman Ching Sia Tiong, 68,
He says they were unable to do so  in the last two years due to the MCO.
“The village is full of excitement since a month ago when villagers started the preparations; from making lanterns, preparing food to getting family members from outstation to return for the celebration ,” says Ching.
Taking centre stage:  Big lanterns on the 12 Chinese zodiac.
No small feat:  Coming up with lanterns on the 12 Chinese zodiac takes much creativity, time and patience.
Utilising their creativity, talents, skills and resources, and working together to make the event a success, Ching says this has always been the villagers’ strength in all other events in the village.
All is good :  Ching Sia Tiong (right) and his wife Ong Cheng Eng .
Unity is strength :  Villagers preparing some food ahead of the celebration.
Full force : Villagers all out to make the celebration a success.
Finishing touch:  Getting ready the food and lanterns.
Environmentally friendly:  Empty cans are turned into brightly coloured lanterns.
Lanterns on wheels:  A very old type of lanterns using empty cans.

 

Run-up to Mid- Autumn festival in South Korea

 Food prices have gone up by an average of 28% ,
 and a super typhoon on the way.
Sept 3, 2022
By Foong Pek Yee
Ahead of Chuseok coming Saturday, South Koreans are set for a simple celebration.
Soaring food prices saw Chuseok or Mid -Autumn festival sales all time low since the Asian financial crisis 25 years ago.
 The  four-day holiday to thank ancestors for a bountiful harvest is the second biggest festival after Seollah (South Korean lunar new year).
By tradition, many South Koreans from Seoul with a population of about 10 million, will return to their hometown to celebrate Chuseok with their elders.
 But Typhoon Hinnamnor, along with strong winds and heavy rain,  and  is expected to hit the country in the next two days, is a cause for concern.
The Korean Herald reported yesterday that the typhoon  is set to hit the southern part of the country including Jeju Island.
Quoting the state weather agency, it said the typhoon’s trajectory however will only become clearer by tomorrow.
Update Sept 4 evening: Arirang News reported that Typhoon Hinnamnor is due to arrive in South Korea by Tuesday morning (Sept 6), quoting the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
 
It also reported on the cancellation of  Monday flights in and out of Busan and  Jeju Island.
Jeju Island, and the Jeolla and Gyeongsang Provinces are put on high alert.
The oncoming typhoon also saw public hiking trails in South Korea closed to the general public  until further notice.
Arirang News reported yesterday that people are spending less for  Chuseok this year, with prices of major food items like vegetables up by almost 28% from a year earlier.
And the price for napa cabbage used to make kimchi has shot up by about 80%.
Sales for must have food items for Chuseok memorial tables also took a plunge.
Arirang News quoted a trader saying the price for dried fish for the memorial tables has went up by 500 won, and traditional sweets that used to cost 5,000 won are now 6,000 won.
Ahead of Chuseok and to ease the burden on the people, Arirang News said the government will release about 4,000 tons of goods in high demand, including cabbage and garlic from its  stockpile.
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