• Mid-Autumn Festival storytelling

• Mid-Autumn Festival storytelling

Review

· Related activities

The fully packed Exhibition Hall at our TST Branch was looking very festive on 10 September 2011 with many children carrying their lanterns to join the Hong Kong Talespinners' Moon Stories session.

Five talespinners, Lisa Tam, Lynne Kirk, Kitty But, Jenn Horgos and Jan Mann wove moon stories from China, India, South America, Congo and Japan respectively. The audience listened intently to the Chinese legend of Chang Er flying to the moon, stories of a hare giving itself up to show kindness to a beggar man, why the Sun shines more brightly than the Moon, why monkeys behave the way they do and lastly the story of a drunken Japanese farmer who believed that he had pulled the moon out of the well it had fallen into.

Through these folktales, which were passed down orally from generation to generation, much of the diversity of different cultures can be learned. In our present day, with gadgets and gaming becoming more popular with children, the tradition of storytelling and its beneficial stimulation to the imagination has increasingly been forgotten: we must not forget this valuable tool. We are very grateful for the Hong Kong Talespinners who are passionate about keeping this tradition alive in our culture. We hope that more people who are interested in storytelling will join in and help carry on this tradition so it does not become lost. If anyone is interested in joining the group and learning their art, please contact newhktalespinners@gmail.com.

Apart from the storytelling, Jenn recited a few moon poems including the famous Li Po poem "Still Night Thoughts" (靜夜思) in English while another talespinner, Frederick An, repeated it in Putonghua. Everyone was delighted when the children were able to join in right away with perfect cadence, rhythm and pronunciation. It was a memorable and joyful way to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival! Thank you, the Talespinners and you, dear members for joining in!