MOON CAKE FESTIVAL :

Moon Cake Festival : A Mid- Autumn Festival, the 3rd major festival of the Chinese calendar, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month. (This year it falls on Sunday 14th Sept) This is the time of the year when most restuarants compete with one another to come out with the most "tasty moon-cake" The traditional mooncake of lutus seed paste with the salty yolk in the middle is now being replaced with some not -so-traditional flavours and fillings ..moon cakes filled with everything from dates, nuts and fruits to the more exotic creations which include green tea, "snowskin mooncakes" yam , yoghurt, durian , sharksfin,"nynoya mooncakes with belachan & chili" Haagen-Daz has even gotten into the act by introducing a line of ice cream mooncakes in Asian markets.
Starbucks in Malaysia, on the other hand, has come out with its Moonlight Brews Love with Coffee featuring Tiramisu, Hazenut Late, Berries Cheese and Green Tea Chocolate flavours...



Presentation is just as important....they come in beautiful "packing boxes" The above moon-cake is as big as mumsie's thumb...and it contains some yolk inside.

A close-up of the above


There is sharksfin inside this one and taste is not too sweet mumsie likes this...
Packed in individual boxes

This is from RHB Bank.... This is from one of our patients...A Great Eastern
life Insurrance agent....It not only has mooncakes in the box it also has a beutiful flowery cup

This is from CMIB bank
Different types of boxes

It also comes in "hamper basket"

Some of Mumsie's neighbours decorate their houses with lanterns....

Children roaming the neighbourhood with laterns

Wonder if Linny remembered this...mumsie used to invite a few of our Chinese nurses home on that night to accompany Linny (and her laterns) to "roam" around our neighbourhood....
Bicycles with their laterns
See this 2 big guys...(mumsie daren't use flash therefore...its a bit dark) and their lanterns????
Now the comittee of mumsie's street...Jingga 4,

decided to decorate the whole street with red laterns......It costs them 9 thousand ringgit!!!!

Even the guard house is not spared!!!

The lanterns during the day

The lanterns at night.....
Outside mumsie's bacony
Outside our house
Took this photo standing outside our gate

In front of our house....

Today the Chinese celebrates this festival with dances, feasting and mooon gazing..Then this house...Datuk...our (right-side neighbour) held a party to celebrate Mid-autumn festival and invited everybody...Jingga 3 and Jingga 4 to his house for a party.

Tents were put up outside his house in the middle of the road....
A small stage was erected for magic shows and ??"talentime" shows
The "neighbourhood singers"
Mrs Tan our immediate neighbour....


Dadda met "his babies" at the party...Ya he delivered these 2 sisters... (Beckham Kok's sisters)
There was also a clown at the party!!!! It makes you wonder whether it is a adult party????

Good support from our neighbours!!!
Another of Dadda's "babies" This lady got invitted because her husband's company did our automatic..."bars" that block the street....
The committee...of Jingga 4!!!!

The clowns entertaining the crowd with his balloons...

Lanterns are not only for children...This couple strolling around the compound with their lanterns....
Ice Kachang stall
Sponsored by our Jingga 3's neighbours
Since the party was given by Datuk for Jingga 4's residents...Jongga 4's residents came for free......but Jingga 3 came with some food.....

All round his house was decorated with lanterns


There was more than enough food ...think Datuk over "estimate"...

The children was being entertained by magician
He is acutally our Jingga 4 neighbour...(now mumsie knows who her neighbours are!!)
Acutally he is a " professional" magician... He is the boss of this company...
And this is his lorry......

Well that night mumsie was well entertained and well fed!!!!! Poor mumsie...had to put off her diet plan again!!!!

American Neil Armstrong may have landed on the moon and didn't find the " Chinese lady on the moon" but in the hearts of many Chinese she's still up there as their "mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality"

Never mind the scientific and astronomical and astrological stuff, for come the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month, children still come out to play with lanterns and mooncakes are devoured and exchanged. Much of the cultural significance has disappeared but it is still a day to be remembered...And every year the "Chinese speaking group " of Mumsie's church too gathered in the church hall and celebrate this day with songs and dances as well as feasting of moon cakes!!!

Used to send Grandma there the last 2 years...but not this year....cos church is renovating the hall..so no celebrations...

"Happy Moon-cake Festival to you all...Hope you have a great time with your neighbours and Familes just like Mumsie did"