Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival from your living room (1)

Whether you are new in Hong Kong or you have lived here many years, you are certainly going to be disappointed you cannot celebrate mid-autumn festival the right way.  Most celebrations have been cancelled and only the mooncake frenzy evokes that this is a festive time of year.

In order to tame the disappointment, we would like to recommend some videos which highlight the ambiance and beauty of one of the most popular festivals in Hong Kong: The mid-autumn festival.

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

Most of the time, Tai Hang is famous for being a quiet neighbourhood filled with small authentic restaurants and its village atmosphere. But this calmness disappears each year during the moon festival. Over 3 days, the residents celebrate a tradition that dates back to 1880 when Tai Hang was a Hakka fishing village (the sea has long been pushed back beyond Victoria Park thanks to the numerous harbour reclamations…).

The legend recounts that during a plague epidemic, Buddha appeared in one of the villagers’ dreams to ask him to organise a fire dragon dance, as its smoke could repel illnesses, in order to stop the spreading of the disease.  As the dance inadvertently worked, it became a tradition that is celebrated every year.

Given the signification of this tradition, isn’t it ironic that the festival is cancelled this year?

Celebrations that are usually taking place over 3 days include religious observances (in the very charming temple of Lin Ka Fung), parades and gatherings.  But the festival’s highlight remains the fire dragon dance. Made of 25,000 incense sticks and carried by more than 30 men, this 67m long dragon offers a unique and exceptional dance show you do not want to miss.

Let’s hope that despite the cancellation of the fire dragon dance this year, we will be able to enjoy theses celebrations in 2021.