MOON CAKES FOR COMPLETENESS AND UNITY

Today is the Mid-autumn Festival. Moon cakes are eaten only once a year around September in the Gregorian calendar. 

Centre courts of shopping malls are converted  to ancient Chinese villages with 

lanterns in infinite colours to attract and entice us to buy boxes of these delicacies for family or as gifts. 

Each cake is sealed in plastic to keep the flavours fresh and packed in sets of 

four different flavours in elaborate exquisite boxes, even a hand bag.

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These traditional cakes contain no butter or eggs but lotus paste from dried lotus seeds with

a whole salted duck egg in the centre. 

For the uninitiated, I suggest just the plain lotus cake to start with. The salted duck egg in contrast to the sweetness of the cake is an acquired taste. 

Here is Jocelyn and friends in Adelaide with their home-made moon cakes. 

Starting with coloured dough, square and round moulds, and pattern tops, this group of friends bond together to

give the true message that moon cakes are not just food, but a celebration of togetherness.

These traditions keep a culture alive -  that the Hungry Ghost Festival has ended and it is time 

to celebrate the abundant autumn harvest with love ones under a bright new moon.

CHINESE MOON WALK

Not the famed Michael Jackson moonwalk, but rather a lantern walk on a full moon night. The Chinese will be celebrating their Mid-Autumn festival on 21st September. Eons ago, the Chinese believe that the moon on the 15th day of the eight month of the Chinese lunar calendar was the biggest and brightest. This was also the time for the Autumn harvests and families got together to light lanterns and eat moon cakes. 

In the past, good wishes were written on the lanterns that were released into the skies and waters. 

Today, the lanterns are taken for a walk under the watch of the full moon. 

It is a difficult task choosing lanterns. There are infinite varieties in vibrant colours. The traditional ones come in folded paper, one just had to pull apart like an accordion, stick a candle in and viola ... all set for the lantern parade.

Then we have the intricate traditional ones made from wires twisted into animal shapes, 

aeroplanes or whatever takes the maker's fancy. The wire frames are enveloped in transparent cellophane, painted to enhance the design and lastly tied to a bamboo stick.

In today's language these creations would be called "artisan lanterns!"

With the advance of technology, lanterns have also "evolved" to plastic ones 

with an artificial light from a battery. The hearts above the seven dwarfs provide music.

The candles in the traditional lanterns have to be replaced frequently. These lanterns catch fire easily. We learnt how to relight our lanterns safely. Kids walked around with boxes of candles and matches in their pockets. We got some wax burns on our hands and that's about it. But this will be a huge NO, NO today! Kids DO NOT play with matches!!

Lantern gathering in the park.

And when we finally thought we had outgrown this silly MOON walk, 

we started again with our own kids! I prefer these traditional cellophane lanterns. The colours just bounce off the cellophane and dance on the roads. These are also environmental friendly and can be recycled for another year. 

The Mid-autumn festival and lantern parade under the full moon 

will live on as an everlasting tradition.

LANTERNS - DIFFERENT TYPES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

It was really difficult choosing lanterns for the Mid-Autumn festival last Oct 3rd. Did I want the traditional type like the paper ones above. These come folded flat in grooves and are sold in a pack of differnt colours as seen in the plastic piles on the table top. One just need to pull them open like acordians, stick a candle in the wire holder and viola....we are ready for the lantern parade.

The little kids have plastic ones and the 7 dwarfs are pretty amusing. Since paper and polythene lanterns catch fire very easily, these are much safer especially when the little ones get really excited and swing the lanterns. No candles are involved, the plastic ones are powered by batteries with artificial light. Notice the holes in the hearts above the dwarfs, well, now they can walk their lanterns accompanied with music. We, Asians are pretty ingenious!

The shopping complexes compete for the best decorations to attract customers to the moon cake stalls. There is so much variety from so many brands, it is hard to make a selection especially when the packaging is lovely. Special sections, usually in the Centre Court, are built to look like traditional China town.
These are lanterns made from wire frames to form different animals and then covered with colourful polythene paper. The lanterns are then hand painted for extra colour and to fill in the essential features - eyes, wings, beaks.

These are my favourite and I have had a different animal every year till I was 17 years old. I know, 17 is way too old to be doing the lantern parade but lanterns are irresistible. If one kid in the neighbourbood (even at 17) wants to walk her lantern, we have get our own and join in the fun. It happens in every home, "Mummy, Kim Lian has her lantern and Aunty has invited me to walk tomorrow." So even at 17, together with my sister and dad, we will be at the Chinese shops agonising over which animal to buy. Every animal has its own characteristics and vibrant colours. My very first was a squirrel, and rabbits, butterflies, dragons, flying horses have accompanied me over the years.

And... when we think we have finally outgrown the lantern parade, we have to start all over again with our own kids . Choosing the animals, buying boxes of candles, matches and lighters. The Mid-autumn festival of moon cakes and lantern walk on the night of a new moon - a tradition no one can ever out grow.