Mooncake festival renews family bonds
Saturday, September 6, 2008
THE mooncake festival celebrates the birthday of the Moon. It is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle and the festival is held on 15/8 of the lunar calendar, a full moon night. This year it falls on 14th September 2008. The moon is important to the Chinese and determines many of their festival dates.
The Autumn Moon Festival means the moon is round, and families unite. Families get together, and eat a special dinner which includes mooncakes. Mooncakes are round like the moon and this shape is a symbol for togetherness and harmony. The cakes are made of pastry and have sweet fillings of red bean paste, lotus seed paste, coconut, black sesame, pandan or nuts. Some have egg yolks in the centre, to represent the moon.
The sweetness of the cakes represents good fortune or good harvest. Special designs are embossed on the top of each cake. However the cakes take a long time to make so nowadays most people buy them in the shops.
As well as eating these cakes, people enjoy the moonlight on this special night. In the old days they carried paper lanterns containing candles and climbed hills to get a good view of the full moon. They gave thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. Unfortunately this tradition is dying out especially in cities and towns which are bathed in electric lights, obliterating the night sky.
The traditions of this festival date back to the time when many people were farmers. They grew their own crops and reared pigs, cows, and chickens for meat, milk and eggs. After the autumn harvest families and friends would gather together to give thanks for all they had to eat. They would also remember the rain, the sunlight and the earth that made all life possible.
In China and northern hemisphere countries, days get shorter in the autumn, and the moon triumphs as there are more hours of darkness. The moon is roundest on the 15th of the eighth lunar month.
Of course there are legends associated with this special time. One of the most popular describes how Chang Er, also known as Lady Moon, flew to the moon. There had been a long drought and the emperor asked for archers to shoot the 10 suns which existed at that time. The best archer was Chang Er's husband and he shot down nine of the suns. He was made King and was given an immortality pill. However he became a tyrant and to save the country, his wife stole the pill and swallowed it herself. She flew to the full, bright moon on 15/8 of the lunar calendar and became the Moon Goddess. She still lives there with a rabbit and a cassia tree. Many mooncakes are stamped with designs of the Moon Lady, the Jade Rabbit, or groves of cassia trees.
Another story relates more to the mooncakes. During the 14th century, China was under the harsh rule of the Mongols. The Chinese decided to revolt and in order to send secret messages about the time and place, they embedded the messages in the cakes. When the Chinese cut the mooncakes to eat, they found the secret message about the revolt. On 15/8 of the lunar calendar, the Chinese revolted against the Mongols and drove them out of China.
Today some bakers put printed pieces of paper on mooncakes so you may find may find one on the bottom of a cake or pasted on top of the cake box.
The Brunei Times
The Autumn Moon Festival means the moon is round, and families unite. Families get together, and eat a special dinner which includes mooncakes. Mooncakes are round like the moon and this shape is a symbol for togetherness and harmony. The cakes are made of pastry and have sweet fillings of red bean paste, lotus seed paste, coconut, black sesame, pandan or nuts. Some have egg yolks in the centre, to represent the moon.
The sweetness of the cakes represents good fortune or good harvest. Special designs are embossed on the top of each cake. However the cakes take a long time to make so nowadays most people buy them in the shops.
As well as eating these cakes, people enjoy the moonlight on this special night. In the old days they carried paper lanterns containing candles and climbed hills to get a good view of the full moon. They gave thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. Unfortunately this tradition is dying out especially in cities and towns which are bathed in electric lights, obliterating the night sky.
The traditions of this festival date back to the time when many people were farmers. They grew their own crops and reared pigs, cows, and chickens for meat, milk and eggs. After the autumn harvest families and friends would gather together to give thanks for all they had to eat. They would also remember the rain, the sunlight and the earth that made all life possible.
In China and northern hemisphere countries, days get shorter in the autumn, and the moon triumphs as there are more hours of darkness. The moon is roundest on the 15th of the eighth lunar month.
Of course there are legends associated with this special time. One of the most popular describes how Chang Er, also known as Lady Moon, flew to the moon. There had been a long drought and the emperor asked for archers to shoot the 10 suns which existed at that time. The best archer was Chang Er's husband and he shot down nine of the suns. He was made King and was given an immortality pill. However he became a tyrant and to save the country, his wife stole the pill and swallowed it herself. She flew to the full, bright moon on 15/8 of the lunar calendar and became the Moon Goddess. She still lives there with a rabbit and a cassia tree. Many mooncakes are stamped with designs of the Moon Lady, the Jade Rabbit, or groves of cassia trees.
Another story relates more to the mooncakes. During the 14th century, China was under the harsh rule of the Mongols. The Chinese decided to revolt and in order to send secret messages about the time and place, they embedded the messages in the cakes. When the Chinese cut the mooncakes to eat, they found the secret message about the revolt. On 15/8 of the lunar calendar, the Chinese revolted against the Mongols and drove them out of China.
Today some bakers put printed pieces of paper on mooncakes so you may find may find one on the bottom of a cake or pasted on top of the cake box.
The Brunei Times
You know more than the Chinese.
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