Mooncakes...

I am on a roll today...ha!ha! Its another post about my rumblings..my nonsense as my DH calls it. The mooncake festival has gone..its over. So, why in the world am I writing about it?  My little Prince was given a piece of mooncake at the temple and he said that the old uncle told him that this mooncake comes from the moon and there is a story behind it. My little Prince kept pestering me to tell him the story about the mooncake and I told him this version and it goes like this (my version, anyway):

There's a beautiful Goddess named Chang-Er who lives on the moon. That's why when the moon is full, if you try hard enough, you will see this beautiful Goddess. She lives there with her only companion which is the Jade Rabbit. Whenever you see the full moon, you know that Chang-Er has visitors and she is doing a wonderful dance for them and chatting with them. During the mid-Autumn festival, a lot of families will set up an altar facing the full moon and worship Chang-Er. Mooncakes are placed on the altar for her blessings and she will blessed her worshippers with good health.  That's why we have mooncakes during the mid-Autumn festival as these mooncakes resembles the moon, in honor of her.  I am not a good storyteller...I just wanted him to associate the moon with Chang-Er and the Jade Rabbit. When he is bigger, I will tell him the real version.

I wanted to make some mooncakes this year but since DH's friends were giving us boxes of it, I decided not to. We tried several brands and I must say that this brand tastes like Kum Lun Tai (our all time favourite)...yummylicious!!!

Here's a photo or two of the mooncakes which we really love eating this year. Its from Hong Kong Elegant Flower. This is called the double yolk mooncake.

Here's the real version of the Chang-Er story from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm

The story of Chang E is the most widely accepted tale regarding the origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that in ancient times, ten suns existed and the extreme heat made people's lives very difficult. It was the hero Hou Yi who, owing to his great strength, shot down the nine of the ten suns. On hearing of this amazing feat and the hero who performed it, people came from far and wide to learn from him. Peng Meng was among these people. Later, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind woman named Chang E and lived a happy life.

One day, Hou Yi came upon Wangmu (the queen of heaven) on the way to meet his old friend. Wangmu presented him an elixir which, if drunk, would cause him to ascend immediately to heaven and become an immortal. Instead of drinking the potion himself, Hou Yi took it home and presented it to Chang E to keep. Unfortunately, Peng Meng secretly saw Hou Yi give the potion to his wife and three days later, while Hou Yi was out hunting, Peng Meng rushed into the backyard and demanded that Chang E hand over the elixir. Knowing that she could not win, she took out the elixir and swallowed it immediately. The moment she drank it, she flew out of the window and up into the sky. Chang E's great love for her husband drew her towards the Moon, which is the nearest heavenly body to the earth.

On realising what happened to his wife, Hou Yi was so grief stricken that he shouted Chang E' s name to the sky. He was amazed to see a figure which looked just like his wife appeared in the Moon. He took the food liked by Chang E to an altar and offered it as a sacrifice for her. Hou Yi's neighbours also burned incense and prepared food to express their good wishes to the kind Chang E. This became a custom later every year.

Till next time....take care, folks!!!