Mooncake Festival

It's Mooncake Festival today. In mandarin, it's "Zhong Qiu". In cantonese, it's "Zhong Chau". It falls on the 15th day and 8th month in the lunar(chinese) calendar. On this day, the moon will be at it's fullest, and I think it's bigger as well... maybe due to some angle the earth are nearer to the moon or something.

By the way, tradisional chinese spend this day together with the family at night under the moon to share the joy of watching to the full moon. In mandarin, it's called "Shang Yue". It's boring, I agree, but during hundreds and thousands of years ago, there were no TVs and movies, watching moon is the best entertainment.

However, in modern chinese society, we don't really "Shang Yue" together with the family. But rather we gather as a family. Because the moon is rounded, and rounded in chinese believe is unity and reunion, all family members will try to at least have simple dinner together.

It's been more than 3 years I have not spend my Mooncake Festival at home. Partly it's due to my work nature that has no public holiday at all. But I can't put the blame on that, maybe I'm just not as much a family person. I can talk to my mum and my dad and my siblings all the time. But I can resist going home once in a quarter of a year.

Nonetheless, this Mooncake Festival is a little special. It suddenly hit me that my parents are growing old each day, I should see them more. But still, my highschool friends had planned a trip to Melaka about 2 months ago. And I didn't notice that it actually falls on a Mooncake Fest. So again I miss the chance to reunite with my family in Batu Pahat. Since yesterday I had been feeling the kind of loneliness during festive season. I long to go home. After so long, I have the feeling of homesick again. But I can't do that either next week, because I will have to go for my 10 days training in Hong Kong.

So, I'm going to promise to myself no matter what, I will go home for the weekend once I return from Hong Kong.