Happy Mooncake Festival

Hi guys! It's good to be back. I know, I've been absent for sometime and I apologize for that. I'm not inventing excuses but, you see, when I first started, a fellow blogger already warned me at the outset to be weary of a syndrome which every new blogger may face, i.e. a possible 'burnt-out' or 'going out of steam' after sometime. Another friend, a journalist, wished me well but gave me a friendly reminder - that to be a successful blogger, one needs a lot of discipline (to post regularly, if possible every day).

Well, the 'excuses' dispensed with, let's get on with my latest offering. As the title suggests, it's about mooncake, a Chinese delicacy eaten once a year. Yes, today is Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival in Asia. In my country Malaysia it's also called the Lantern Festival, simply because of the lantern displays or processions associated with the festival. But in my home state Sabah, it's also popularly known as the Mooncake Festival simply because mooncakes are eaten as highlight, hence the title of this posting.

So, what is this festival all about and how did it originate? There are several versions about its origin but generally this Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness dates back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. "Togetherness" because, just like Chinese New Year, families gather for dinners on this auspicious occasion to celebrate 'abundance' (of harvests, for example). So, in a way, it is a sort of Chinese Harvest Festival. Not only are there several verions of its origin, you even have Vietnamese and Korean versions of the festival itself, with their own names of course. Apart from Asia, the Moon Festival, just like the Chinese New Year, is also celebrated by Chinatowns in other parts of the World, for example San Francisco and New York.

As a kid in a Chinese primary school, I did learn a bit about the origin of the festival but have since forgotten most parts of it. So instead of running the risk of misleading you, I would leave the talking to the experts. I did some searches on the Internet and the one that I liked best was still from Wikipedia. They did a good job. Not only they told me about the festival's origin, but even the Vietnamese and Korean versions and related articles and sites. If you are interested, please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival.

Before you do, however, I would just like to share with you what I read in the local Chinese newspapers today. You see, the festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the Eight month of the Chinese or lunar calender, when the moon is said to be at its fullest or roundest. I am not sure if the practice is still common in this 21st Century, but during my time as a kid we used to gather round a table outside the house after dinner, 'appreciating' the beautiful and 'roundest' moon while eating mooncakes and drinking Chinese tea (apparently to 'wash down' the oily cakes); while our parents told us stories or folklores about the festival . But, according to the Chinese papers, for this year the moon will be fullest on the 17th day. So, if you miss tonight's 'moon-sighting' for whatever reason, you will get a second chance on Thursday, provided no rain, of course.

Until then, cheers! (with Chinese tea, please)