Happy Moon Festival 2020!

The Moon Festival is upon us! Also called the Mooncake, Harvest, or Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s a time many Asian families traditionally reunite to celebrate the changing of the season and celebrate with mooncakes -a dense pastry originally made with a hard-boiled egg and lotus filling. Legend has it that mooncakes were instrumental in the overthrow of Mongol rule, passed along from family to family with plans for insurrection hidden within each cake.

In many Asian countries, the Moon Festival is celebrated somewhat like a mix of Halloween and Christmas. Asianati contributor JP Leong’s mother, Ching, recalled what it was like being a child during the Moon Festival in Malaysia: “We’d parade from house to house dressed in our finest gowns and holding candle-lit paper lanterns. Mooncakes are passed from family to family; neighbor to neighbor; friend to friend.”

In this time of pandemic, it’s not practical for many of us to make it home to be with our families. However, the Moon Festival is, like this motley spread of cakes we got from Cincinnati Asian Market, also an opportunity to (safely) celebrate with your chosen family -whatever that looks like.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival from the Asianati team!