Today, Tuesday September 16th, is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, a festival held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month each year. It is celebrated all throughout Asia, including in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The Mid-Autumn Moon always falls on a day of the full moon, and originated as a harvest festival that has been celebrated as far back as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE).
As a harvest festival it is a time of family gathering, thanksgiving and prayer. One of the favorite foods of the holiday is mooncakes. These are tasty round pastries usually filled with sweet pastes made from lotus seeds or dates. Sometimes they also contain other things such as seeds, nuts, or salted egg yolks. The round shape of the cakes mimics the shape of the full moon, and the round shape also symbolizes completeness, fullness, and therefore, family harmony and reunion.
Aside from these associations with mooncakes, they also are connected to an interesting political story. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368 CE), when Mongol rulers controlled China, Chinese revolutionaries, led by Zhu Yuanzhang (who later founded the Ming Dynasty), used mooncakes to secretly plan their uprising. According to legend, they hid messages inside mooncakes instructing people to rebel on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. This clever strategy helped coordinate a successful revolt against the Mongols, making mooncakes a symbol of unity and resistance in Chinese history.
I'd like to wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Moon festival and express my gratitude for being part of your extended family!
