Meaning of "Treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival"
In the Guangdong region, there is a unique custom called "treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival.""Tree" can also be written as "vertical," meaning to raise the lanterns high, so it is also called "verticaling the Mid-Autumn Festival." On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, candles are lit in the lanterns and tied to bamboo poles, placed on high places such as eaves and terraces.
Every Mid-Autumn Festival, families use bamboo strips to make lanterns, which have various shapes, such as fruit lanterns, bird and animal lanterns, fish and insect lanterns, or even character lanterns. At night, the candles inside the lanterns are lit, and many small lanterns are connected below, tied to bamboo poles, and then the poles are inserted into high places of buildings, such as platforms, rooftops, or tall trees. After night falls, the entire city is filled with lights like stars, as if competing with the bright moon in the sky, celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Many families let their children participate in making these lanterns, while parents assist them. Once the lanterns are completed, they take the children to hang them up. Some children also compete with each other, seeing who can hang higher or more, or whose lantern is the most exquisite. The children's laughter adds more joy to this festival custom.
Significance of "Treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival"
The meaning of "treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival" lies in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival."Treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival" is a custom of raising colored lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and these colored lanterns have special meanings for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The colored lanterns of the Mid-Autumn Festival vary in color and shape, but regardless of the type, they all symbolize family reunion. Lighting lanterns at the door of the home also means illuminating the path of reunion and guiding family members back home for reunion.
In addition, because the word "lantern" contains the character "ding" (丁), the lanterns are also associated with the hope for a new son-in-law to have a child, symbolizing a prosperous life and a thriving family. In some areas, there is also a custom where women pray to the lanterns for blessings.
Guangdong's Customs During the Mid-Autumn Festival
In Chaoshan, there is a custom of worshipping the moon, mainly practiced by women and children, with a folk saying that says, "Men do not circle the moon, women do not worship the stove."In Guangzhou, there is a custom of "treeing the Mid-Autumn Festival," meaning that every household uses bamboo strips to make lanterns, which come in various types. The lanterns are connected with many small lanterns below, tied to bamboo poles, and then inserted into high places of buildings.
