Writing Exercise 286 – HAPPY MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL
Today is one of our important days, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Everyone has their childhood memories of the festival. So do I! Today, I would like to share mine.
First, it was a free day for children. Parents avoid blaming their kids even though they made some mistakes on that day.
Second, people prepared a whole table of good food to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and we could devour them that we would not have on usual days.
Third, after dinner, we could take the beautiful paper lantern that our parents bought to wander around the neighborhood with little friends. If lucky, we may receive some snacks when passing by the neighbors who were setting tables on the ground outside of their houses for the ceremony of appreciating the full moon. They usually generously gave kids a handful of food, such as peanuts, chestnuts or something like that. Imagine that western kids took a sack to get sweets on Halloween, but we did not trick, we just said hello to the neighbors and thanks for the snacks. What was the best time to head home to appreciate the full moon? The lantern could tell, when the candle ran out, then we went home to refill a new one. As the paper lanterns got burned easily, once it was burned, then it meant a happy hour was over for that night and I had to wait for next year.
Last, appreciating the beautiful full moon under the moonlight while eating all types of food, such as mooncakes, fruit and drinking cola. You know what? A 2L bottle of cola is sold for about 5-7RMB($0.78-$1.1) nowadays, it was already sold around 5RMB many years ago, so cola was a high class beverage in my childhood memories.