Wax Boiling: The Forbidden Festivity in Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with great zeal in many East Asian countries. In Hong Kong, there was a forbidden activity - wax boiling - that was highly participated during Mid-Autumn Festival.
Due to environmental concerns and safety issues, the practice of wax boiling has been banned since 2003. I have never encountered this throughout my life, and may never will be.
This is Antlerium PotatoNews, a series focusing on the daily lives of ordinary people, including culture customs. Today we explore wax boiling, a banned activity to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong.
What is the wax boiling I am talking about?
Wax boiling (Chinese:煲蠟) is a celebration activity of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It appears solely in Hong Kong. This activity requires candles and a metal container.
To practice wax boiling, light up candles placed inside the metal container, and wait for the wax to melt down. Then, add water, fire can get big rapidly, which may seem cool to young people.
When did wax boiling begin?
Wax boiling is not a traditional festivity in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The act of wax boiling was developed specifically in Hong Kong. The origin is uncertain, what we know is that this emerged in the 1970s.
At that time, average Hongkongers were poor, not all families could afford lanterns. Despite this, candles and matches are obtainable for many. Kids would like to enjoy the view of fire from wax boiling, that is basic entertainment for them.
At first, they did it with bottle caps. Glass bottle that used to contain Cola features a metal cap, which is the most economical option for wax-boiling containers.
Then, they turned to Coke cans. They cut the can to upper and lower parts, and they became suitable metal containers for wax boiling.
Later, when Hong Kong was getting richer, mooncake packages started to use metal. So people switched to mooncake boxes and their lids. Up till the ban, people mainly boil wax with mooncake boxes.
The problems with this practice
Easy to be injured
When water are added to the molten wax, it rapidly evolves into steam, which makes it possible to cause an explosion.
Although the explosion is not that powerful, it can spray boiling wax on viewers, causing scald.
Hard to clean
When fire starts to get big, molten wax can splash molten wax to the surroundings. The wax will cool and solidify. Therefore, every time someone boils wax, there are wax stains. As they adhere firmly to the object's surface, cleaners have a hard time removing them.
Not environmental friendly
Originally, metal can be recycled, but the cluster of wax and metal cannot. This generates waste that will end up in landfills.
The Timeline of wax boiling being banned
Before the 1990s, wax boiling had been popular, the kids and teens like that but consider the risk of injury and the damage to environment, adults and parents had attempted to discourage children and young people from burning wax.
In the 1990s, the government began to publicize not to boil wax, strengthened inspections, and set fines.
In 2003, official legislation banned wax boiling in Hong Kong, and wax boiling gradually disappeared.
Nowadays, many Hong Kong people still thinks that without wax boiling, Mid-Autumn Festival lose a bit of the festive mood.
Festival should be fun, not dangerous
What used to be an affordable celebration for Hong Kong’s grassroots children has turned into a disaster for personal safety, public areas and the environment.
It took us more than 30 years to rid of this forbidden festivity. The Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong is much safer now than in the old days when children risked their lives by boiling wax.
Even if Mid-Autumn Festival becomes less festive, I believe that this dangerous activity should stay illegal.
Share your opinion: Do you think that wax boiling should be stopped?
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