Sep 18 2006
Mooncake Festival
This year the Chinese population will celebrate the Mooncake Festival October 6th 2006. (the 15th day of the Eight Lunar Month in the Chinese calendar, therefore known as the Mid-Autumn festival). Children come out to play with lanterns and mooncakes are exchanged…
Mooncake festival piggies from our neighbour…
…and mooncakes are exchanged: We woke up today and got an sms from our neighbour: there are some "piggies" hanging on your fence…
Piggies? Did I miss again out on my Malaysian English? Turns out to be that the piggies were in fact 4 mooncakes… And 4 mooncakes didn’t survive long as half of the mooncake was already gone by the time I had taken my camera out. Thanks neighbour for the mooncakes!
What is the mooncake festival?
At this time of the Chinese lunar year, the moon is at its fullest and brightest: an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer’s harvest. It is the most important Chinese lunar calendar day after the Chinese lunar new Year. Since the moon is celebrated, it is common to have barbecues outside, or just eat mooncakes and pomelos.
Where are Chang-Er and Wu Gang?
Since the landing on the moon of the Americans, much of the cultural significance of the mooncake festival has disappeared: TV didn’t capture the goddess of the moon Chang-Er, nor Wu Gang the woodcutter… (Wu Gang was banished to the moon and became Chang-Er’s friend and servant. Wu Gang was punished "to cut down a cassia tree, which is a task that can never be completed as the tree is immortal and will grow back each time it is felled.)
Mooncake recipe
For those who don’t live next to our neighbours… nor near a Chinese community but want to have a taste of mooncake: we will post a mooncake recipe in our next post.
For the taste of our neighbour’s mooncake: it is delicious, sweet and has a
touch of groundnut and lard (the lard can be my imagination, as the mooncakes
still look like piggies…)
Technorati Tags: Mooncakes | Mooncake | Mooncake festival | Mooncake recipe | Chinese mooncake festival
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