The sight of colourful traditional paper lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival always brings back fond memories of my childhood days.
Back then, children looked forward to carrying beautiful lanterns in all sorts of shapes and designs — goldfish, lotus flowers, butterflies and many more.
Inside each delicate paper lantern was a little lighted candle. Unfortunately, paper and naked flames weren't always the best combination!
One careless movement and WHOOSH! There went another lantern!
I remember Dad getting rather fed up because every time my lantern caught fire, he had to buy another one.
And another one!
Finally, Dad decided enough was enough. He came up with a brilliant idea — or at least, HE thought it was brilliant!
He would make me a lantern out of an empty Milo tin!
There was an ironmonger's shop right next to our house, where Dad could use the tools to make all sorts of things.
He carefully cut off the top of the Milo tin, sliced the metal into strips, smoothed the sharp edges and curled the strips until the whole thing resembled a beautiful metal flower.
He even used a bottle cap as a little candle holder at the bottom of the tin. Exactly how he secured it, I can no longer remember.
And no, Dad didn't paint his masterpiece. It proudly retained its original Milo green colour!
Now, I had been dreaming of carrying a beautiful, colourful lotus, butterfly or flower lantern.
So when Dad presented his handmade creation, my first reaction was…
"HUH?! You expect me to carry THIS out?!"
Luckily, Uncle was there to promote Dad's masterpiece!
Uncle: "This one good, you know! One of a kind! Strong winds blow, no problem! Won't catch fire either. Safe and sound!"
And so, while other children carried their colourful paper lanterns, Little Aunty went out with her very own green Milo tin flower lantern!
The other children exclaimed how unusual my lantern was.
Dad, meanwhile, had finally solved his annual lantern replacement problem!
Daddy: "See! Fireproof! Durable! Economical! Can last for years! Next time pass down to your children!"
Little Aunty: "PA!!! Other people celebrating Lantern Festival! Why am I carrying the family heirloom?!" 🤣🤣🤣
Papa's Little Lanterns in the Courtyard
But Dad's creativity didn't stop with my famous Milo tin lantern.
During my childhood, we grew up drinking Milkmaid condensed milk rather than milk powder.
Dad would collect those little empty condensed milk cans, drill holes into their surfaces and attach wire handles. He then placed a small candle inside each one.
Come Zhong Qiu Jie, the Mid-Autumn Festival, we had a whole row of homemade lanterns hanging in our courtyard!
In those days, we didn't have so many lights around our homes.
When night fell, Dad's little lanterns shone brightly in the courtyard, their candlelight glowing through the tiny holes in the tins.
Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive.
Just empty condensed milk cans, pieces of wire, little candles and Dad's clever hands.
Dad was always good at making things. He even made me a miniature wok from an empty milk powder tin for my childhood masak-masak games!
Sadly, my special Milo tin lantern was lost when our old house was demolished for redevelopment.
Although I no longer have it, I can still picture that beautiful green metal flower and remember the care Dad put into making it.
And I can still remember those little lanterns glowing in our courtyard.
What seemed like ordinary homemade toys and decorations back then have become some of my most precious childhood memories.
No money could buy that memory.
A big hug for Daddy in heaven. ❤️
No comments:
Post a Comment