Moon Festival Celebration

Today is Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival. It is the second most important Chinese holiday, second only to Chinese New Year. The harvest moon is full and family is to gather at a round table and enjoy each other as they eat.  It comes at a strange time to have a vacation when school has only been in session for a week. (I had students email me my 150 essays to grade while I "rest".) It is one of the most very ancient festivals. 

We have received our share of Moon Festival greetings and of course Moon Cakes. “While there have always been different variations of moon cakes across Asia, including some savory ones, the classic sweet pastry most closely associated with the festival has been made the same way for centuries: salty egg yolks stuffed in paste made from lotus seeds or beans.”  http://time.com/4492595/mid-autumn-festival-lanterns-moon-mooncake/  Mmm….yuck. Really, some of them are palatable. We enjoyed a lovely buffet with our fellow team mates, as close to family as we have here.

We also received on WeChat (social media) this beautiful youtube post showing a local tv program commemorating Moon Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfbzFyVMiZ4. It truly is worth watching and makes visual references to the lore associated with Moon Festival.