Happy Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 快乐)
This month has been a great lead up to a very important festival in China- the ‘Mid-Autumn’ Festival 中秋节. The mooncake festival (Mid-Autumn festival) is derived from ancient Chinese emperors who worshiped the harvest moon in autumn as they believed that the practice would bring them a plentiful harvest the following year. It was later decided (based on the legend of Chinese hero Hou Yi and his lover) that everyone who aren't with their families (家) at this particular time can just look up on the 25th day of the 8th lunar month and see/share the same big, bright moon from anywhere around the world so they can be reunited once again. This felt particularly special for us since we were looking at the moon and thinking about our families 家 back in Scotland/reuniting with them by looking at the same moon we share. Follow this link to watch the full story of where the mooncake festival originated from.
Our university (大学) had a little celebration after class on the Friday before the special day. They taught us about the festival, told us this story and they also gave us a background history to traditional Chinese culture. We learned about the traditional headwear and clothing (often made with silk back then) and a few of us were even lucky enough to try some of the traditional Chinese outfits on.
These outfits used to be worn all the time as part of the old, traditional Chinese culture however nowadays this silk wear is only mostly seen at special events/occasions. Both men and women would wear such attire with pride.
The 2 piece combination that I wore was explained to me as being an everyday outfit that used to be worn in China. It is very thin so can be worn on particularly hot days included. (And it is good fun to twirl in 😉).
The material on the left side of our body is always wrapped over the top of the right side to show dominance. This is because the Chinese believe that left is a more important side as this is the side where your heart is found.
We played Chinese charades with Chinese students and listened to several poems, songs and traditional Chinese instruments being played (which sounded beautiful). It was so interesting to learn more about their culture and make some new friends. We also tried to teach them the ‘Gay Gordons’(to show them a little from our culture in return) which took a few attempts but it looked like everyone enjoyed it and got the hang of the steps eventually.
A few of us spent this year’s 中秋节with one of our new Chinese friends (中国朋友) who we met up with to have lunch together. Our friend really wanted an English name and we found it tricky to remember his long Chinese name so we gave him the name ‘Duncan’. Duncan kindly brought moon cakes (yuè bing月饼) for us all to try as a tradition for the mid autumn festival. Mooncakes 月饼 are round to symbolise reunion and completeness. They come with various patterns and fillings (traditionally depending on the district you come from in China). Family members normally share a 月饼together. 月饼 can be filled with delicious pastes, fruits and meats but the most common (and my favourite) being nuts, seed paste and dates. Traditionally, an egg yolk is found inside them.
We then spent the evening with this thoughtful Chinese family 中国家 who showed us around local food markets and taught us how to make dumplings to accompany the delicious homemade dinner they cooked for us. We are fresh beans, lots of vegetables, quail eggs, and shrimp which we bought at the market only a few hours ago. (The shrimp were still alive when bought them so I guess you can’t get more fresh than that). I enjoyed the homemade meal so much that I didn’t even realise that everyone was laughing at me for holding my chopsticks upside down! After dinner 啊月饼was sliced into pieces so we could all have a bit before we went outside to look at the moon and be reunited with our families 家 in Scotland.
Our Chinese family 中国家 took us for a walk along the stunning riverside in Tianjin 天津。There were so many colourful lights, lots of people taking pictures, admiring the view and listening to this busker playing guitar. We even stopped off to try a Chinese snack that our Chinese family 中国家 ate when they were children- steamed rice circles with sweet fruit puree on top.
What a wonderful day spent with wonderful people and we were so lucky to experience and unite with our Chinese family 中国家 and friends. There’s is a recipe on the next page for making and baking your very own Chinese mooncakes 月饼。 Give it your best try, send me a photo of your special mid autumn festival mooncake and I will choose a winner.
中秋节快乐! (Happy Mid Autumn Festival)
Goodbye everyone (再见大家)!
With love (爱)，
Kayleigh (凯琳) x
