What is mid-autumn festival?

 What is the mid-autumn festival?

It is now July, and it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a while. In Chinese society, the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the festivals with literary colors. If you plan to travel in early September, then you can experience the Mid-Autumn Festival together when you travel to Hong Kong. 

Mid-autumn festival story

The historical backdrop of the Mid-Autumn Festival goes back more than 3,000 years. 

Legend of the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival: Chang'e flying to the moon

Chang'e flying to the moon is one of the top ten ancient love stories in China. According to legend, Chang'e's husband, Hou Yi, asked the queen mother for a package of immortality medicine and gave it to Chang'e to keep. Unfortunately, the villain Pengmeng took advantage of Houyi to go hunting and forced Chang'e to hand over his immortality. Seeing this, Chang'e swallowed the elixir of immortality, and her body immediately floated off the ground and flew towards the sky, flying to the moon closest to the world.

When Hou Yi learned about this, he was devastated and looked up at the night sky and called out his beloved wife's name. He unexpectedly found that the moon on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month was bright and bright, and there was a swaying figure like Chang'e, so he placed it on the altar and put it on the altar. Chang'e favorite sweets and fruits. When the people found out, they also worshipped.

Legend of the Origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival II: Zhu Yuanzhang and the Mooncake Uprising

According to legend, during the Yuan Dynasty, in order to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for an uprising and hid a note containing "August 15 Night Uprising" in a moon cake in order to pass on the news. As a result, the uprising was successful that day, and Zhu Yuanzhang passed down an oral decree that the Mid-Autumn Festival should be fun with the people, and the "moon cakes" used to secretly convey information were rewarded to ministers as a seasonal cake. Later, the custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people.

When is the mid-autumn festival?

Mid Autumn is hung on the fifteenth day of the August of the Chinese lunisolar schedule. On this day, the full moon is larger than any day in the year.

Meaning of mid-autumn festival

There is a Chinese proverb "people and moons are reunited". That means all family members gather together for this festival. Greet and connect with each other, especially relatives who live apart, have their own families, or work in the long term. 

On the other hand, it is necessary to inherit the thought of Chinese filial piety of elders and love for their parents.

Due to the length of this time, this time I will introduce some of the origin and meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the next article, I will introduce some activities about the Mid-Autumn Festival in more depth. See you in the next article.

How to celebrate the mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong

1. Fire Dragon Dance in Tai Hang

In 2020 and 2021, this activity is suspended due to Covid19. And this year, there is a good chance to re-evaluate if the epidemic does not increase significantly.

According to the lunar calendar, this event is held annually for 3 consecutive days from the 14th to the 16th of August.

A glittering fire dragon walks around the city. To operate this fire dragon requires a lot of people to participate. Citizens, men, women, and children, will be around to watch and celebrate. It is hoped that all disasters and diseases can be eliminated through this activity.

Date: September 10 – 12, 2022

Time: About 7:30pm–10:30pm each night

Venue: Tai Hang, Causeway Bay (Best vantage point: Wun Sha Street)

This activity is free of charge. You can take MTR to Tin Hau station. Exit A1. Cross King's Road and turn right. Walk straight to the second junction on the left to enter Tung Lo Wan Road which leads to the Tai Hang area.

2. Lanterns Illuminate Tai O as Community Celebrates Mid-Autumn Fest

Thousands of colorful hand-painted lanterns were hung high on the scene, attracting many tourists to check in and take pictures, but because the scene was full of people, in 2021, the lights will be turned off on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let the residents live normal life.

Therefore, if you are really interested in participating, it is recommended that you go online to inquire about detailed information about the event and the relevant transportation arrangements.

3. Lantern Carnivals of the mid-autumn festival in Victoria Park

The Community Programmes Office organizes Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals in different districts. These fun-filled evening programs feature spectacular lantern displays and various kinds of performances. Other popular activities like lantern riddle games, folk craft demonstrations, and workshops are also very welcome by the participants.

The largest program is in Victoria Park of Causeway Bay

Date: September 10, 2022

Time: 7:30pm to 11pm

Site: Victoria Park

Admission: free

Transportation: Island Line, Causeway Bay Station, Exit E

The above are some large-scale activities you can participate in, but if you love tranquility as much as I do. Then you can prepare Chinese tea and buy a box of moon cake with your family and loved ones after enjoying dinner, and share and chat with everyone. 

So, What is Moon Cake? The following will introduce you to the types of moon cakes

What is Hong Kong Mooncake?

Every Mid-Autumn Festival, every family will buy a box of moon cakes to celebrate. Usually, after dinner, they eat moon cakes with their family members, drink Chinese tea, and gossip with their family members to enjoy family happiness.

But there are so many choices of mooncakes on the market, how much do you know? Have you tried many organic varieties? Let’s discuss it together!

Hong Kong Mooncakes can be divided into the following types include Traditional Mooncake, Nuts Mooncake with Jin Hua Ham, Chiuchow Mooncake, Snow Skin Mooncake, Icecream Mooncake and Lava Bustard Mooncake

1. Tradition Moon Cake

This kind of moon cake is the most representative one, although the popularity of this type of moon cake has been decreasing. But it is still loved by many people today.

The ingredients are straightforward, mainly salted egg yolk, sugar, and lotus seeds. Modern people choose other types of moon cakes because they focus on a healthy diet and fear fat. Both. I seem to eat these kinds of moon cakes from the fine to the most. In addition to the taste, the most important thing is the feeling and familiarity with the taste.

Even if the taste is purely compared, it is very delicious, with a soft and fluffy crust, sweet and sweet lotus paste, and salty, oily, and salted egg yolk, to achieve a perfect balance, not too sweet and not too dry. Try it no matter how healthy it is, you will fall in love with it.

In addition, there are two kinds of lotus seed paste, yellow lotus seed paste, and white lotus seed paste. Many people in the market prefer white lotus seed paste because it is more fragrant and not too sweet. In addition, the number of egg yolks varies, such as using 2 egg yolks or 4 egg yolks to make moon cakes

2. Nuts Mooncake with Jin Hua Ham

The ingredients of this kind of mooncake include mix with melon seed, almond, sesame, walnut, and olive seed.

This condiment is not as soft and smooth as traditional moon cakes, but the taste is more authentic. In addition, Jinhua ham has a unique fragrance. Although the flavor is unique, it may not be acceptable to everyone.

3. Chiuchow Moon Cake

This is a moon cake with Chiuchow characteristics because there are a lot of Chiuchow people living in Hong Kong. Chiuchow-style mooncake is baked and stuffed with taro and preserved egg yolk.

The outer layer is baked with layers of puff pastry, and the filling is smooth taro paste. This combination is simple and delicious

4. Snow Skin Moon Cake

This is a moon cake that is more popular with young people and has nearly half or more of the moon cake market.

The main reason is that it has not been baked, and the ingredients are mainly fruits, which can effectively reduce the absorption of calories and sugar. Even if you eat a lot, you will not be prone to obesity. And there are more choices in taste. Another reason is that young people think that traditional moon cakes are an option for older people.

5. Icecream Moon Cake

Ice Cream Mooncake is a very innovative and revolutionary product. In addition to mixing Chinese and Western cultures, it has also changed people's impression of mooncakes. Once these mooncakes are moved, the outer layer will be made of chocolate, and the inside is ice cream with different flavors.

If you ask yourself if you like eating ice cream so much that you feel that there is nothing new in eating it, you can't miss this mooncake.