Mooncakes Are Here Again!

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival fell on 8th September, which coincides with the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar.  As usual, supermarkets and food outlets were flooded with various kinds of mooncakes for the consumer. Although there are new and creative flavours available now (such as green tea, durian, pandan and even chocolate lotus and cheese!), we have always preferred the traditional ones, maybe because we are a family steep in tradition!

This year I bought our mooncakes from another vegetarian shop instead of my usual one, just to see how good they are. Included in my purchases were two mooncakes filled with melon seeds and various types of nuts which were a favourite with Mum when she was alive.  These two I took to the temple as an offering to Mum.  The rest were used for prayer at home.

Every mooncake festival always brings back memories of the time when we were small and running around with lanterns bought for us by Mum and Pa.  My favourite was in the shape of a goldfish and we had great fun praying to the moon, a tradition which Mum carried on relentlessly for years until she became ill. The mooncake is a symbol of family reunion but of course not everyone nowadays has the time to observe this tradition, especially when their children are away overseas.

Mooncakes in their colourful boxes

Our offerings of mooncakes, moon biscuits and fruits

Mooncake offerings to Kuan Yin

 I also attended prayers at our Sai Centre which yearly celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival.  Devotees brought mooncakes, kueh and fruits as offerings.

Offerings at our Sai Centre

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoy your mooncakes!