Festive cheer for young and old

(From left) Tan receiving the mooncakes from Lions Club of Bukit Mertajam Horizon president Alphi Ng Leong Poh, organising chairperson Koay Hooi Lynn, Lions Club of Region 2 chairperson Tan Mei Ling and Teow. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star

THE needy are not forgotten this Mid-Autumn Festival, thanks to the Lions Club of Bukit Mertajam Horizon.

Its charter president Kevin Teow Hai Theng said his club wanted to bring hope and joy to disabled children and the elderly.

“Under the ‘Mooncake Charity Project’, we delivered mooncakes to Persatuan Kebajikan Anak-Anak OKU Taman Island and Peace and Harmony Home.

“The Mid-Autumn Festival is a key Chinese celebration where families and friends gather to appreciate the full moon which symbolises completeness and reunion,” siad Teow.

Peace and Harmony Home founder Tan Swee Ban said the residents would surely enjoy the mooncakes.

“We thank the Lions Club of Bukit Mertajam Horizon for giving the old folk several boxes of mooncakes.

Lions Club members handing over mooncakes for the children at Persatuan Kebajikan Anak-Anak OKU Taman Island.

“We are also grateful for the RM450 donation,” he said, adding that there were currently 25 residents in the home.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which dates back to ancient China, pays homage to the moon and a good harvest.

Also known as Mooncake Festival, it is traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

This year, it falls on Sept 21.

The term ‘mooncake’ to describe the sweet delicacy was used for the first time during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

A popular legend also tells how the Han Chinese rebels used mooncakes to pass on secret messages in the final uprising against Mongol rulers, leading to the creation of the Ming Dynasty in 1368.