Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden. | Photo courtesy of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden
On Sept. 27, families in Chinatown will gather to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, an event that is held every year on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. Traditional food, spending time with family members and moon-gazing are central to the festival, but this year’s event will have a special twist: the festival coincides with a total lunar eclipse.
Larry Wong is a Vancouver-born writer, who grew up in Chinatown. His most vivid memory of the moon festival took place in Barkerville a few years ago.
“I had just finished dinner and walked out, it was pitch dark. All I saw was a glow marching down the streets. It was the town folks, holding paper lantern,” he explains.
It took him by surprise since he didn’t remember that it was the day of the moon festival.
“It was amazing!” he says.
Moon cakes and lanterns
Wong explains that in Vancouver, the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival focuses on family and food.
Moon cakes, in particular increase in popularity in the weeks prior to the festival and can be found all over Chinatown. The traditional Chinese dish comes in different flavours and colours, says Wong, adding that along with traditional fillings like black bean, fruit or coconut flavours have become popular, too.
“Chinese people love to eat. That’s why you won’t find a bad Chinese restaurant in Richmond,” he says.
Unlike the Chinese New Year’s celebration, there is no parade for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
“It is celebrated at home with your family and a special dinner,” says Wong. “Families in Chinatown wish each other well.”
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver will host a special celebration in honour of the festival. The garden will be lit up with lanterns and candles, which will shine in different colours.
“You can sit in the garden and watch the moon, it’s really beautiful,” says Wong.
The garden, which has been recognized by the National Geographic Society, was created for the Expo in 1986 and modeled after a 400-year-old classical garden in China, he explains. Celebrations at the garden begin at 5 p.m. and last until 10 p.m.
The event revolves around traditional Chinese food and arts, such as music, tea artists, and a demonstration of Chinese martial arts. Local storytellers like Mia Zhou and Loretto Seto, will also be present to share their narratives.
Lunar eclipse can be seen with the naked eye
Larry Wong, local writer. | Photo courtesy of Larry Wong
This year, a total lunar eclipse will take place on the night of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Visitors of the event can watch it through telescopes provided by the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, whose astronomers will be at the garden to answer questions and talk about the natural phenomenon.
Derek Kief, astronomer at the space centre, is looking forward to the eclipse.
“Total lunar eclipses are one of my favourite things to see, so I always get excited about them,” he says. “This is the first one for which I don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night!”
On Sept. 27, the moon will be completely eclipsed at 7:47 p.m., with the whole event lasting for around an hour.
Kief explains that a lunar eclipse occurs when the earth, the sun, and the moon are lined up, so that the earth’s shadow falls upon the moon.
“The moon then turns red,” says Kief. “It never goes full black.”
Unlike with solar eclipses, spectators will not need special glasses.
“You can see the lunar eclipse with the naked eyes,” explains Kief, who studied at UBC and has been an astronomer for the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre for one and a half years.
Lunar eclipses are more common than solar ones and occur every few years. Kief says that this year’s lunar eclipse can partially be seen all over the world except for China, Japan and Australia.
For more information on the festival: www.vancouverchinesegarden.com.
