Learn About Mooncake Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the biggest, roundest and brightest. And the term round implies family reunion in Chinese. So the Moon Festival is a festival for members of a family to get together wherever it is possible. Sons and daughters will bring their family members back to their parents' house, typically having dinner together, for a reunion.

The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty 618 A.D. As with many Chinese celebrations, there are ancient legends associated with the festival.

What To Do
Before the moon festival, we have to give gifts to our relatives. ( You are required to give gifts to your relatives in most of the major Chinese festivals, like Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival ) You have to give at least one box of moon cakes to your relatives (per family). If you have lots of brothers, sisters, uncles, in-laws and relatives, it will add up a lot. Also, the more egg yolk the more presentable as a gift and the more expensive it is. Besides mooncake, you can/should even give other food items like Chinese preserved meat sausages and season fruit like star fruit. Pocket money for the senior relatives to buy something they like if they are very close to you.

If you have children, you have to buy them paper moon lanterns.

On the 14 of lunar August, one day before the moon festival evening, we call this evening the "Moon Welcoming". The moon has almost reached it's roundest and fullest shape. You may start to walk about on the streets with your lantern.

On the 15 of lunar August, the moon festival, the moon is in the best shape this night. Families will get together to have dinner for a reunion. Problem arise if you are married. Which parents should the couple have dinner with on this night? Maybe it depends whether the husband or wife is more subservient or easy-going.

You can either stay at home sitting by the balcony or you can go on to the streets with your lanterns. It's also an excuse for children to play with candles. "Wax-boiling" in an empty moon-cake tin is one favourite activity though it leaves a big mess on the street and the beach!

On the 16 of lunar August, the day after moon festival, people still go on the street or beaches to admire the moon. We called it "Moon chasing".

After the festival,

• the cleaning crew have to clean the streets and beaches.

• Moon cakes are much cheaper now and one may start their new moon-cake installment

• go on diet if you have put on too much weight after eating all those moon cakes!

MoonCakes
During the festival everybody buys, gives, eats and finally gets tired of moon cakes.

There is this story about the moon-cake. During the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon caked was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government.

Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake. For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons. Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.

Different Celebrated Forms
For thousands of years, the Chinese people have related the vicissitudes of life to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes; joy and sorrow, parting and reunion. Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion. All family members try to get together on this special day. Those who can not return home watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.

Today,festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to attend special perfomances in parks or on public squares.

People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern show is a big attraction for local citizens. Thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight.

In East Chia's Zhejiang Province, watching the flood tide of the Qian-tang River during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must for local peple, but also an attraction for those from other parts of the country. The ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In mid autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational forces upon the seas. The outh of the Qiantang River is shaped lik a bugle. So the flood tide which forms at the narrow mouth is particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the river bank,watching the roaring waves. At its peak, the tide rises as high as three and a half meters.