The past few weeks in every store and mall we have been seeing signs about the Mid-Autumn Festival and they are selling Moon cakes. In fact, Jeff's construction company and consultants gave him two very nice boxes of Moon cakes as a gift. We really didn't know what the event was all about, but Leisure Farm Resort (where we live) had an event tonight and we were invited to attend.It seems that the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese people dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty. This is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese New Year. Farmer's celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date, and Chinese families gather to admire the bright mid-harvest moon and eat moon cakes. Carrying brightly lit lanterns is another part of this celebration.
The event tonight included a lantern making demonstration, then followed with a children's lantern making contest. The parents were helping and it seemed like a really fun family activity! I've included pictures of the results. Next came a Moon Fairy Dance performance. I didn't really know what to expect, but these 4 lovely Chinese girls danced several dances using large fans that they would snap open and shut very loudly at certain times. Next they brought out fans that had red material draped from the ends and it would flow around them, much like a flag corp at a football game. The music was nice and they had a "routine" they went through with each dance. I couldn't tell you if this was a "traditional" festival dance, since this was my first festival, but it was very enjoyable!
A "barbecue dinner" followed. We have learned that over here, "barbecue" means "cooked on a grill":) There were burgers, chicken (we think) and REALLY spicy fish that had been cooked in foil packets with onions and okra. Also traditional Chinese food like noodles, rice, steamed veggies, and of course, moon cakes. By the way, moon cakes are typically round pastries with a thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste and surrounded by a thin crust. They are rich, heavy and dense compared with western pastries and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. I find them not very sugary in taste compared to pastries I have eaten in the states.
It was a very nice afternoon, but incredibly hot and humid. You would think we would be used to that by now, but not yet. Maybe we will be used to this heat by next year's Mid-Autumn Festival.
