A Special Day To Celebrate!

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Here is a little information about the Chinese Moon Festival:

In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes yearly. This year, it falls on September 25.

The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets or city parks to moon-gaze.

It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year....

The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.

In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it's sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.

Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and

Moon Cakes

(www.chiff.com)

Moon Cakes are a delicacy consumed during and around the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are often, but not always, round or rectangular. They have a noodle-like dough on the outside, and the insides are usually filled with one or more of the following: sweetmeats, bean paste, lotus seed paste, melon seed, all sorts of nuts, and duck egg yolks. Moon Cakes can be steamed, baked, or fried (www.chinatown.com.au).