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Yeeaaaa…!!! Mooncake Festival is just around the corner. I alwiz like this time of the year. I just dont know why. Hehe…=P  Walking around the neighbourhood, eating mooncakes n drinking tea is so, so fun. Haha…seems like mesmerizing my childhood again. This year the Mid-Autumn / Mooncake Festival will falls on Sept 25.

Well, after browsing thru the origins of mooncake festive, this is what I’d found. Check it out:

According to…http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/china.htm

"…… The August Moon Festival is often called the Women’s Festival. The moon (Chinese character on right) symbolizes elegance and beauty. While Westerners worship the sun (yang or male) for its power, people in the Far East admire the moon. The moon is the ‘yin’ or female principle and it is a trusted friend. Chinese parents often name their daughters after the moon, in hope that they will be as lovely as the moon.

In fact, many ancient August Moon folktales are about a moon maiden. On the 15th night of the 8th lunar moon, little children on earth can see a lady on the moon. And on this magical occasion, children who make wishes to the Lady on the Moon will find their dreams come true.

Families get together to eat mooncakes and celebrate the end of the harvest season. Scholars write poems about the moon. This night is also made for romantic rendezvous. Friendships are made and renewed…. "

Another source from Hong Kong was saying that the origin of it was unknown (http://www.regit.com/hongkong/festival/mooncake.htm)

" This festival is also known as the Moon Cake Festival because a special kind of sweet cake (yueh ping) prepared in the shape of the moon and filled with sesame seeds, ground lotus seeds and duck eggs is served as a traditional Chung Chiu delicacy. Nobody actually knows when the custom of eating moon cake of celebrate the Moon Festival began, but one relief traces its origin to the 14th century. At the time, China was in revolt against the Mongols. Chu Yuen-chang, and his senior deputy, Liu Po-wen, discussed battle plan and developes a secret moon cake strategy to take a certain walled city held by the Mongol enemy. Liu dressed up as a Taoist priest and entered the besieged city bearing moon cake. He distributed these to the city’s populace. When the time for the year’s Chung Chiu festival arrived, people opened their cakes and found hidden messages advising them to coordinate their uprising with the troops outside. Thus, the emperor-to-be ingeniously took the city and his throne. Moon cake of course, became even more famous. Whether this sweet Chinese version of ancient Europe’s "Trojan Horse" story is true, no one really known..."

And….*taa daa….* from Wikipedia & look for Mid-Autumn Festival!!

" The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China’s Zhou Dynasty. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer’s harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

……Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together."

Wow!! Couldnt wait for that man! Hehe…=P wonder how my gang will be celebrating it? Hmmm…sounds so interesting. To be continued……At the mean time, enjoy these pics. =P

 

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