BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance institutionalizing the Baguio Chinese Mid-Autumn festival and making it a regular annual activity of the local government.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Lila A. Fariñas stated that a day in September will be institutionalized that coincides with the 8th month of the 15th day in the Chinese calendar as the Baguio Chinese Mid-Autumn festival or it may also be known as Moon Festival Day as a regular annual activity in the city.
The ordinance added that a committee composed of the chairman of the Baguio Filipino-Chinese Community, the Baguio museum president, the chairperson of the City Council Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks and Playgrounds, the City Tourism Officer, and other members which the committee deems necessary to include to coordinate the activities that will be spearheaded for the said purpose.
The ordinance stipulated that all activities in relation to the celebration of the Baguio Chinese Mid-Autumn festival shall be included in the calendar of activities of the local government annually to strengthen the relationship between the Filipinos and Chinese living in the different parts of the city.
The Mid-Autumn festival which celebrates family reunion and peace is the second most important festival in China after the Chinese New Year. It is a harvest festival celebrated in most East Asian countries, such as China and Vietnam and takes place on the 8th month, day 15 of the Chinese calendar.
This year, the Chinese mid-Autumn festival was celebrated last September 24, 2018 and that the Mid-Autumn festival was also called the Moon festival as it is celebrated when the moon is believed to be at its biggest and fullest.
The ordinance noted that Chinese people celebrate the festival with many traditional and meaningful activities such as eating dinner with the family, hanging lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, and worshipping the moon.
It will be recalled that the first-ever Baguio Chinese Mid-Autumn festival was celebrated in the city at the Baguio Museum where the Filipino-Chinese community, Chinese schools and other local and foreign communities were invited to take part.
The Baguio Museum spearheaded by Board of Trustee Peter Ng and Baguio Museum president Fred Bagbagen expressed their intention to institutionalize the celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival just like the Tanavata festival, which is now on its 9th year, thus, the need for the enactment of the said pending proposal in the local legislative body.
The Baguio Chinese Mid-Autumn festival program includes the famous lion dance, painting exhibits, an invitation for the attendance of the Chinese ambassador, cultural entertainment in the form of dragon dances, wushu and taichi, film showing, traditional lighting of torches, and the giving out of moon cakes and other Chinese delicacies for good luck.
The proposed ordinance was referred to a committee of the local legislative body for study and recommendation.
By Dexter A. See
