Happy Mooncake Festival!
Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival as it is also known, is upon us. The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival falls on a full moon - 15th day of the 8th month on the Lunar calendar, which corresponds to mid-September to early October in other parts of the world. This year’s holiday falls on the 17th September.
It is probably one of my favourite festivals since a little child and for as long as I can remember. This may be thanks to my sweet tooth or taste for the baked pastry that’s synonymous with this festival: the beloved Mooncake known as Yut Beng.
This round and thick baked sweet delicacy is traditionally eaten during the holiday. A Mooncake, in Chinese tradition, is not eaten whole, and each pastry is meant to be cut into quarters to be shared with others. There are regional variations on the mooncake but the most common one is known as the Cantonese mooncake. This type has a top crust with a design - usually an auspicious word or maybe the name of the manufacturer. The inside consists of a dense and sweet filling that can be made from lotus seed paste or red bean paste. Usually a secondary ingredient, like salted egg yolk can be added. The egg yolk inside the Mooncake resembles a full moon.
Aside from Mooncakes, there are many reasons to love this festival. From mooncakes’ 1000s years of history, to the religious and folkloric meanings and symbolism associated with this holiday. The festival is based on the mythical legend of the Moon Goddess, Chang’e, for example. Also, how are rabbits even linked to the holiday or to Mooncakes? Well the mythical Jade Rabbit happens to be the Moon Goddess’s companion at the Lunar Palace and so has become another symbol linked to Mooncakes. There’s a whole other blog to be written about the Goddess of Moon and the Jade Rabbit… for next time!
Beyond the myth and legends that are connected to Mooncake Festival, in today’s Cantonese culture it really symbolises a time for reunion with friends and family. This includes feasting on Mooncakes of course!