The end of the fifteen days of Lunar New Year celebrations is marked by the full moon. Traditionally, there’s another reunion dinner and lots of oranges and lanterns, because it’s the Lantern Festival day. We eat special sweet round dumplings, called tangyuan, in the shape of the full moon, made of glutinous rice flour, stuffed with sugar, in some kind of soup.
And on day fifteen this year, having spent most of the rest of the New Year celebrations back in Malaysia and Singapore, I’m home in Melbourne with my immediate family (parents and younger sister), and it feels rather lovely, having been away for so many months.
A Lunar New Year full moon is special. It’s particularly visible in a place like Melbourne, where there are fewer clouds and pollution generally, but there’s something to the idea that wherever you are in the world, there’s family and friends looking up at the moonlit sky, and an almost serendipitous feeling of knowing the moon’s always there. The distance doesn’t feel quite so far…
For those of you celebrating, enjoy! -nat 🥀🖤