These beautiful lanterns can be seen at the Botanic Garden in Montreal until October 31, 2010.

Happy Moon Festival, aka Mid Autumn Festival everyone!  Or as my boys call it, it’s the Moon cake festival.  Today is the day everyone gathers together to have a nice meal, usually with Chicken, fish, the traditional Chinese meal.  The one most important thing to eat of course, is moon cake.  So let’s look at some pictures of moon cake.

Traditional Moon Cake – Moon cakes were said to be originated by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to secretly distribute letters in order to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan dynasty.  Most moonc akes consist of thin cake-like skin filled with a sweet, dense paste (usually lotus seed or sweet bean paste) and a salted egg yolk in its center to symbolize the full moon.

Starbucks Moon Cake - Starbucks from Hong Kong or China make moon cakes too.  This is the tiramisu flavor.

White Chocolate Moon cake – these are from the Raffles Hotel in Beijing and Shanghai.  They are made of white chocolate exterior and a gooey center of different flavors, including champagne truffles.

Ice Cream Moon Cake – these are from Haagen Daz, they are only available in Asia.  They are beautiful.

Hope you get to have a bite of any moon cake today.  Happy Moon Cake Day!!!

Wow – didn’t think I would ever find this, but check out this vintage Chinese Palace Lantern.  This is one of the traditional lanterns that I would see in Hong Kong when I was little.  Very pretty.  Available at JaysTreasures.

As we approach the end of summer, Chinese people from around the world are getting ready to celebrate the second largest Chinese holiday, Mid-Autumn Festival, aka Moon Festival, or Moon Cake Festival according to my son.  This year, this very special holiday will fall on September 22nd, or the fifteenth of August on the Lunar Calendar.

Chinese families would all gather around together on this date to enjoy a nice meal, and some moon cakes.  The moon is said to be the brightest and roundest on this day throughout the year.  There are many stories of the Moon Festival.  These lovely tales have been around many years and children are especially fascinated by them.  The most famous tale should belong to Lady Chang Er.

Once upon a time, there were 10 suns that took turns circling the earth-one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the orbs circled, together, causing the earth’s surface to burn and threatening mankind.  The emperor ordered his most famous archer, Hou Yi, to shoot down all but one of the suns.  Hou Yi did what he was told, and the emperor rewarded him with a pill, the elixir of life, and advised: “make no haste to swallow this pill, but first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year.”  Hou Yi took the pill home, hid it under the pillow.

When Hou Yi was out of the house, his beautiful wife, Chang Er, discovered this pill and swallowed it.  Soon she discovered that her body was flowing in the air and started flying.  Hou Yi came home just in time to watch his beloved wife flying away to the moon.  When Chang Er reached the moon, this pill is no longer powerful, and therefore she is then stuck at the moon eternally.  Once a year, on the 15th of August, Hou Yi visits his wife, and therefore the moon is the brightest on this special day.

There are many versions of this story, but this is my favorite version.  I hope you enjoy it and will share it with your child too.

Mooncake – 月餅 – yuè bǐng

Mooncakes are a MUST when it comes to Moon Festival.  Mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion, and are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival.  This year, Moon Festival will be on October 3rd. 

There are many folktales, stories, and tradition we will talk about over the next few weeks for Moon Festival.  However, I always think about food first.  So we will begin this festive celebration with learning how to say mooncake in Chinese.  Traditional mooncakes come in lotus seed paste, red bean paste, or mixed nuts.  The more delicate ones come with salted egg yolks inside.  Nowadays, mooncakes are offered in various flavors such as Green Tea, Durian, Green Bean, Taro, Date, and Pineapples. 

We are proud to partner with a NYC bakery this year to offer you some fresh baked mooncakes!  Please visit our shop for more information.