Welcome to Smellyland☆～

Monday, September 19, 2005 , 9:28 PM

hmmm...wonder if everyone's staring up into da night sky, illuminated by an unusually huge, round and bright moon...still rmb the first time when i heard the story of Chang-E, Jade Rabbit and er...fergot da name of tt woodcutter..i was onli pri2 then...from the day our teacher shared wif us tt story, i'd alwaes stare at da moon, not wanting to blink...hahaz..i actually thought i could catch a glimpse of Chang-E or even cuter...the Jade Rabbit. Years passed and as i grew up...i no longer believed in tt story, our sci textbooks would tell us tt there're a whole bunch of craters, Neil Armstrong's footprint and prob America's flag up in the moon, no Chang-E or bunnies were ever sighted...skepticism it seems comes with age...

For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible. - John & Lyn St Clair, ‘Eyes of the Beholder’

back in the past, i used to anticipate this very day, where daddy n mummy would bring us to the nearby shop to buy lanterns( mum would bargain furiously over price of a $2 lantern n dad would would shake his head in disbelief)..could still remember there were the translucent plastic ones, paper ones and da musical ones tt we see so often these days( battery not included)...mum would buy pomelos, little piglet-shaped mooncakes in lil pink/yellow baskets, horn-shaped yams..and dad n mum would bring us to the park ta parade our lanterns...along the way you could see many families having fun together...their faces soaked in a very warm n cosy orangey glow from candles...evrything seemed magical( and orange)...back in those days we would go to the void deck( in Pasir Ris old home) and play with a pack of "pop pops" this white lil teardrop shaped stuff tt you throw on the floor n go POP!, well of course it has now been made illegal...( wonder wad stupid accidents can a harmless lil toy cause??)...some would throw sparklers into the trees...those not so adventurous ones would juz swing these magical ( yet short lived) wands ard...sparklers are really mesmerizing...it's like mini fireworks ( and so cheap!!!)...

but as we grew older...our lantern holding, mooncake feasting, tradition-upholding celebration gave way to a less conventional one...hahaz...man my family and relatives organized a pot luck at my aunt's place at Punggol..there was baby asparagus wrapped in bacon, japanese breaded teriyaki chicken, chicken curry, chocolate fondue, konnyaku jelly...and yes we ate mooncakes, but it was juz take-go-eat and tt's it...everybody'd be back to their mahjong, black jack( man i did win a hand at it), tele watching. No pomeloes. No horn-shaped yams. Not even a blade of tea leaf in sight.

along the way we even celebrated my uncle's 51st birthday, i heard it was his 1st ever cake-blowing birthday. by 7pm...many of my cousins would have either burned a hole in their pockets or earn a bag full of coins( at mahjong and black jack)...we tuned into the liverpool and man u match...and yes we even gambled on that...we betted on total goals...nobody betted on a goalless draw so everyone got back their $1 bets...well, as i'm da onli liverpool fan( finally rallied fer support from my cousin n aunt)..i was "ostracised" by man u fans...i'd lost count of the no. of times i heard:" Liverpool sure lose one lar..."

when we finally went home...we could still see many pple at this lil park playing with lanterns, burning up dried leaves( and wadever rubbish they could find in clean and green singapore...) . but most if not all of them were children...

yes, indeed it was fun...but something seems lacking these days...tt nostalgic and sentimental feel, tt child like innocence and pure fun...and on this night, i couldn help but reminisce our childhood days...will lanterns ever lose its place in modern Singapore?

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! ~Owens Lee Pomeroy

0 comment(s)