Chang E In Chinatown’s 2020 Mid-Auturmn Festival Decoration Looks ‘6-Month-Pregnant’

It’s that time of the year again, in the spirit of everyone’s favourite mooncake-eating festival, where Chinatown gets decked out in giant statues in the middle of town and enough bright lights to cause a potential power outage.

The yearly designs are something that many look forward to, either to appreciate its beauty, clown its cheesiness, or both. And, well, let’s just say that this year’s setup didn’t disappoint in that aspect.

Pregnant Looking Chang E

We know Chang E as the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon and as a symbol of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but unless the myths got lost in translation, it didn’t seem like she was pregnant.

This year’s Chinatown street decoration featured a huge Chang E floating at the top of a giant statue placed in the most prominent location in the middle of the junction where Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road.

But onlookers were shocked at the addition of a baby bump to Chang E this year.

Chang E’s midsection could be seen protruding out, making the goddess look like she was about six months pregnant even from far away.

The photo was quickly spread on social media to laugh about it, with netizens saying that this might just be her post circuit breaker body instead. Perhaps she just had one too many mooncakes this season. 

Shin Min Daily News reported that the blue baby bump appeared to be Chang E’s knees in a sitting position instead of a bulging stomach. Oookay.

2019’s Chang E Was Weird, Too

This year, we got pregnant Chang E, but it’s not the first time that Chang E took on a different look from how we know her in the myths.

Instead of goddess Chang E, 2019‘s version of the giant statue looked more like god Chang E.

The statue became the talk of the town on social media as usual, with Singaporeans providing some strong feedback to the council behind the decorations for they did not appreciate the change in lore.

Subsequently, the statue underwent a makeover overnight to a more feminine-looking version of Chang E instead, and all was right again.

Chang E still looked cool either way, though.

Criticised For Signs, Too

The buzz about this year’s Chinatown decorations didn’t just stop at the pregnant Chang E, however – the council also received flak for the signs put up displaying certain Chinese phrases along South Beach Road.

The street light up on 10 Sep featured these very amusing, awkward Chinese phrases.

Reading as “happiness for the nation” and “bright and majestic”, netizens felt as if these did not fit into the message that the Mid-Autumn Festival typically stood for, which is a time for family reunions.

Not to mention that the language used was extremely awkward and looked like something a primary school student might write in their composition papers.

Some felt like these “unheard of” messages might open the ground for others to mock Chinese culture as well.

The signs were originally planned to recreate the retro neon signs one would find on the streets of Hong Kong, commented the Chinatown Festival Street Light-up Sub-Committee.

They also stated that during internal feedback, the signs were brought up as “problematic” and requested for them to be taken down originally, but it was too late for they had already been put up.

Which then led netizens to spot it and flame them for it.

Oh well, perhaps these funny blunders were just meant as a marketing tactic for people to start talking about it and draw attention to them.

Here’s to seeing what 2021’s statues have in store for us.

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