ET Speaks From Home

Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way

  • Chinese Culture & Festivals
    • Chinese Culture
    • Chinese Cuisine
    • Chinese Festivals
    • Chinese Wedding
  • Craft
    • Adult Craft
    • Children Art and Craft
    • Chinese New Year Craft
    • Origami
  • Family Life
    • Home Improvement
    • Life & Parenting
    • Modelling
    • Printable
    • Sensory Play
    • STEM
    • Summer Activities
    • Tutorial
    • Lichfield Mandarin Club
    • Collaboration
  • Food & Drink
    • Bake Recipes
    • Cookbook
    • Dessert
    • Drink
    • Food Products
    • Meal Recipes
    • Restaurant
  • Review
    • App
    • Beauty & Health
    • Book
    • Drama, Movie, Theatre
    • DVD & Blu Ray
    • Fashion
    • Game & Board Game
    • General Products
    • Household Products
    • LEGO
    • Nintendo
    • Puzzle
    • Technology & Gadgets
    • Toy
    • Travel
    • Twitter Party / Party
    • Stationery
    • Vlog
  • Giveaway

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival

18 September 2013 by Eileen 14 Comments

Mid-Autumn Festival is also know as Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival in Singapore. For every festival, there are lanterns hanging across the street and children showing off their beautiful lanterns. I still remember I used to hold a paper folded red lantern and sometimes it would catch fire if I swing it around. Now the lantern are battery operated so it will be safe for children. Each year, the lanterns are getting more and more fanciful.

mooncake

For those of you who do not know the background to this festival, there are two versions of the original stories:

Some say Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. He received a magic potion of immortality which he refused to take as he wanted to be with Chang Er. One day, Feng Meng forced Chang Er to give up the potion. She swallowed it and flew to the moon. Hou Yi came back home and found out. So every 15th day of the Eighth month of the Chinese calendar the day she flew off and became the Moon Goddess of Immortality, he put out fruits and cakes for her.

Others say it is Chang Er who stole the magic potion to prevent her evil husband King Hou yi from becoming immortal. She took the portion and fled to the moon.

The latter story was the one I was brought up with.

Now I would like to tell you more about mooncake. Again there are two versions of how mooncake came along. They say it is an offering to Chang Er as she is the Moon Goddess of Immortality. Others say it is a folk tale about the overthrow of Mongol rule facilitated by messages smuggled in moon cakes.  A secret message hidden inside the cake and once the messages were read, they were destroyed by eating the cake.

Making a mooncake is not very easy. I wanted to make some but I could not find the right ingredients in the Chinese supermarket so I bought a tin of ready-made mooncake. This is the double yolk lotus seed mooncake. The yolk is from salted duck eggs.  I normally save it for Mr C.  Yuck! I hate the salted yolk. The filling comes in various types. I personally prefer lotus seed to red bean paste as they are lighter in flavour. I love the skin as it is like a firm crust. They are always beautifully baked. If you see one in the UK, go and give it a try!  They are delicious!

These are a few photos I would like to share with you.

This is the biggest mooncake in the Philippines, Eng Bee Tin Binondo, Manila.  My friend B kindly shared her personal photo on my blog.

largest mooncake

The following picture was shared by a Singapore friend Mrs D.  Her son is carrying an Angry Bird lantern.

Angry Bird Lantern

This is in one of the hotel kitchens where they make mooncake. Credit to Mr BG.
making mooncake
mooncake in tray
different type of mooncake

These are from my lovely friend ST collections:

xiao ding tang Lantern
chang er lantern
flower lantern
fish lantern
dinosaurs lantern
lotus mooncake
Deep Fried Thousand Layers Yam mooncake
durian mooncake

Thanks to all who shared. Do you have any photos you would like me to share?  Contact me!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Related

Filed Under: Chinese Festivals Tagged With: chang er, chinese, festival, Lantern, mooncake, Singapore

« Exploring the Nature in Autumn
What have I learnt on Manchester Tots100 Blog Summit? »

Search

Hello!

Welcome to ET Speaks From Home. My name is Eileen, mother of two children aged 14 and 13 with visual impairment. We've been online since 2012 and continue to grow. I love to cook, craft, DIY, write about Chinese Culture and YouTube reviews.
Top 20 UK Parent Blogs 2020
Tots100 2014 Top 20 Blog on Twitter
Tots100 2015 Mummy Vloggers, Tots100 2016 Top 20 Vloggers
Shortlisted Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Awards (BiBs) Video 2014 Read More…

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Click here for Media Pack!

pr media pack

Click here to get in touch!

Contact Me here!

Recent Posts

  • My True Ghost Story – Operating Theatre
  • My True Ghost Story – Taxi
  • A Comprehensive Guide To Buying A Family Car
  • Choosing The Right Doors For Your Home
  • My True Ghost Story – School Toilet
  • 8 Things You Must Have When Shipping Your Car Overseas
  • Down Valuation
  • Bugsy Malone The Musical at The Rep
  • My True Ghost Story – Ang Mo Kio Flat
  • Tips For Creating A Beautiful Living Area In Your Home

Archives

Amazon Affiliate

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.co.uk and affiliated sites.”

AWIN Affiliate

“We are a participant in the AWIN Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to their clients and affiliated sites.”

Google Privacy Policy

By continuing to use this website, you agreed to be bound by the Google Terms of Service. To find out more, see here: Google Privacy Policy

YouTube API Term & Condition

By continuing to use this website, you agreed to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. To find out more, see here: YouTube API Term & Condition

Copyright

©2012-2022 Eileen Teo unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved. You may not reproduce text excerpts or images without my prior permission.

Disclaimer

To find out more, see here: Disclaimer

Privacy Policy

To find out more, see here: Privacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agreed to their use. You also agreed to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress