![]() Mooncake gift packs available for purchase in a store in Chinatown, New York City in 2016. Mooncakes are also used for gifting purposes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The surface of the mooncakes are pressed with intricate designs using Chinese characters specific for the Mid-Autumn Festival and the popularity of the pastry has led to bakeries coming up with innovative designs and flavours to attract diverse customers. The pastries are prepared using egg yolk in the center to represent the moon, but there are also variations that swap the egg yolk for red bean or lotus seed paste. The mooncake is eaten in small pieces with tea and are also used for gifting. The Mooncake is a dense pastry that is strongly associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival and the pastries are usually prepared as a speciality only during this harvest festival. A woman packs mooncakes in Chinatown, New York City, a few days before the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2016. Since the festival is meant to mark a good harvest, food plays an important role in celebrations in all countries. The festival is celebrated over three to four days in an extended holiday and is a time for families to get together to meet. ![]() The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important celebration across East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, particularly those that have Chinese communities. How is Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated across East Asia & Southeast Asia? In Japan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known as Tsukimi that translates to “looking at the moon” and is also called “Moon Viewing Ceremony”. In North Korea and South Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known as Chuseok, a three-day national holiday when Koreans visit their hometowns and meet family and friends. ![]() In Cambodia, the festival is called the Full Moon Festival and is not only celebrated by people with Chinese heritage but others as well. Malaysians with Chinese ethnicity also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Indonesia, Indonesians with Chinese heritage also celebrate a version of the Mooncake Festival.Ī tray of freshly baked mooncakes set out for cooling in a shop in Chinatown, New York City, days before the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2016. In Vietnam, the festival goes by the name of Tết Trung Thu. In Singapore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Mooncake Festival after the namesake sweetmeats that are prepared for the festival. In China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known as the Zhōngqiū Jié in Mandarin and is an extended public holiday in the country. What are alternative names for the Mid-Autumn Festival? Variations in cultural and religious practises and the names of the festivals depend on the country and region but the overarching theme of the autumnal harvest is the same. The harvest festivals celebrated in Asia and in other parts of the world that occur within days and weeks of each other, include common themes of family and gathering, prayers and thanksgiving and gratitude for a good harvest. (Photo credit: EPA) Why do communities around the world celebrate harvest festivals? They also gather for a family feast to reunite with loved ones and honor the legend of Chang'e who can no longer be with her husband but serves as a symbol of love and fidelity.Lanterns hang in Victoria Park in celebration of the full moon during the Chinese mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong, China, 15 September 2016. She lives there to be near her husband and when the moon is at its fullest, the Chinese people celebrate by lighting incense, launching lanterns, and eating mooncakes. ![]() Instead, Chang'e drank it although some version of this mythological story said she did so to keep it safe from a thief.Ĭhang'e, who is sometimes referred to by Chinese children as “the beautiful lady in the moon,” is said to have flown to the moon, taking rabbits with her. He asked Chang'e to watch over the potion when he was away. But Hou Yi didn’t drink it because he loved his wife, Chang'e, and wanted to stay with her on earth. Hou Yi shot down nine of them and to thank him, the Queen of Heaven, goddess Xiwangmu (西王母), gave him the elixir of immortality. The story, which is often told to Chinese children, introduces a hero named Hou Yi (后羿), who was a great archer.ĭuring the time when Hou Yi lived, there were 10 suns in the sky and this caused disaster for the Chinese people. A popular piece of folklore that has become a centerpiece of the Mid-Autumn Festival is the legend of Chang'e (嫦娥) (pronounced Chung-err), a lunar deity known in Chinese culture as the Goddess of Immortality.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |