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Customs celebrating Mid-Autumn
By Tan Weiyun |
August 10, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MID-AUTUMN Festival is always a charming time to savor mooncakes in the tranquil moonlight with the late summer's gentle breezes and enjoy time spent with family. This year the moon festival falls on September 12 and below are some of its traditions, Tan Weiyun reports.
Worship the moon
Moon worshipping is a very ancient tradition in China, a thousand-year-old respect paid to nature.
In the days of yore, ancient Chinese set up a long altar, on which incense burners and various dishes were placed. The sacrificial offerings included mooncakes, watermelons, apples, jujubes, grapes and plums, among others.
The watermelons and mooncakes were indispensible. And the melon had to be cut into a lotus shape.
Families would put a statue of the moon god facing the direction of the moon, light candles and bow to the moon. Then the hostess would cut the mooncake into pieces of the same size, one for every family member including those absent from home.
Savor the mooncakes
The round shape of the mooncake symbolizes a family getting together around a big table. Its sweet taste also is a blessing for a peaceful life. There are various mooncakes in all parts of China with different flavors. Among them, the Suzhou, Cantonese and Peking styles are the most popular.
The Peking style with a moderate sweet taste is popular in north China. It uses much sesame oil, which makes the cake especially soft. Fillings include rock sugar, walnut meat, melon seeds, sweet-scented osmanthus petals, green plum, hawthorn and many others.
Suzhou mooncake is famed for multiple layers of crispy paste. It has sweet and sour flavors. The sweet mooncake is stuffed with rose petals, red bean paste, melon seeds and sesame seeds, while the salt cake includes fillings such as sliced ham, pork meat, dried small shrimps and green onions.
The Cantonese style has earned its reputation for its thin soft skin and delicate baking patterns on the dough. The mooncake uses a wide variety of precious food materials, such as bird's nest, shark's fin and abalone as well as some traditional food including salted egg yolk, lotus seed paste, mushrooms and shredded chicken.
Throw the love handkerchief
In some areas in Shandong Province, local girls would throw their silk handkerchiefs on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival to find their love partners. An opera stage is set up in the center of the square, decorated with osmanthus trees and paper rabbits.
Young girls are dressed up as Chang'e, a fairy in Chinese mythology. After the dancing, girls throw their handkerchiefs to the audience. The young man who catches the handkerchief can ask for a date with the girl if she accepts the handkerchief.
Light up lanterns and guess the riddles
The night of the Mid-Autumn Festival is always cool and refreshing with gentle breezes. People light up lanterns to decorate the velvet black night. The lanterns, often painted with bright bold colors, supported by bamboo sticks, are made into various shapes of animals, goddesses and historic heroes.
They are hung on the trees, roofs and balconies. People sit under the lanterns to sip rice wine, have some light dishes and enjoy the moon.
Sometimes people would write riddles on the lanterns, a fun small game to cheer up the night. All the riddles are about the moon, which touches upon many fields such as literature, history, cultureand tradition.
Worship the moon
Moon worshipping is a very ancient tradition in China, a thousand-year-old respect paid to nature.
In the days of yore, ancient Chinese set up a long altar, on which incense burners and various dishes were placed. The sacrificial offerings included mooncakes, watermelons, apples, jujubes, grapes and plums, among others.
The watermelons and mooncakes were indispensible. And the melon had to be cut into a lotus shape.
Families would put a statue of the moon god facing the direction of the moon, light candles and bow to the moon. Then the hostess would cut the mooncake into pieces of the same size, one for every family member including those absent from home.
Savor the mooncakes
The round shape of the mooncake symbolizes a family getting together around a big table. Its sweet taste also is a blessing for a peaceful life. There are various mooncakes in all parts of China with different flavors. Among them, the Suzhou, Cantonese and Peking styles are the most popular.
The Peking style with a moderate sweet taste is popular in north China. It uses much sesame oil, which makes the cake especially soft. Fillings include rock sugar, walnut meat, melon seeds, sweet-scented osmanthus petals, green plum, hawthorn and many others.
Suzhou mooncake is famed for multiple layers of crispy paste. It has sweet and sour flavors. The sweet mooncake is stuffed with rose petals, red bean paste, melon seeds and sesame seeds, while the salt cake includes fillings such as sliced ham, pork meat, dried small shrimps and green onions.
The Cantonese style has earned its reputation for its thin soft skin and delicate baking patterns on the dough. The mooncake uses a wide variety of precious food materials, such as bird's nest, shark's fin and abalone as well as some traditional food including salted egg yolk, lotus seed paste, mushrooms and shredded chicken.
Throw the love handkerchief
In some areas in Shandong Province, local girls would throw their silk handkerchiefs on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival to find their love partners. An opera stage is set up in the center of the square, decorated with osmanthus trees and paper rabbits.
Young girls are dressed up as Chang'e, a fairy in Chinese mythology. After the dancing, girls throw their handkerchiefs to the audience. The young man who catches the handkerchief can ask for a date with the girl if she accepts the handkerchief.
Light up lanterns and guess the riddles
The night of the Mid-Autumn Festival is always cool and refreshing with gentle breezes. People light up lanterns to decorate the velvet black night. The lanterns, often painted with bright bold colors, supported by bamboo sticks, are made into various shapes of animals, goddesses and historic heroes.
They are hung on the trees, roofs and balconies. People sit under the lanterns to sip rice wine, have some light dishes and enjoy the moon.
Sometimes people would write riddles on the lanterns, a fun small game to cheer up the night. All the riddles are about the moon, which touches upon many fields such as literature, history, cultureand tradition.
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