To be completely honest, I don't have a lot of experience celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. I grew up in mostly non-Chinese areas, and for some reason my family didn't place as much emphasis on this holiday as we did with other Chinese celebrations, such as the Lunar New Year.
Now that Ben and I are our own new family, we'll definitely be making the Mid-Autumn (or Zhōngqiū) Festival a big deal in the Kortlever holiday lineup. Because it's super awesome! Here's why:
1. Mooncakes.
They taste like the lovechild of a lima bean and a Fig Newton (in other words, an acquired taste), but they're so cute and pretty to look at.
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| Ben's first mooncake! (he hated it) |
Who doesn't like red and gold lanterns everywhere? And Chinese dancing? And Chinese opera? Actually, scratch that - Chinese Operas are historic, engaging and wonderful (my beloved grandfather actually wrote a few of them), and I am an avid supporter of the arts in all cultures and countries... but I do have to admit that the signature Chinese operatic sound can take some getting used to.
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| Chinese Opera time. |
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| umbrella dance. |
Anyway, Ben and I had a chance to check out the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival at the Crown Casino. It was fun! Lots of food, lanterns, exploding pillars of fire, and a stage of rotating performances from the aforementioned opera, to traditional dancing, and of course - cover bands.
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| Festival celebration at the Crown Casino |
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| NOODLES. are for good luck. |
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| somehow we always end up getting one of these at every festival. |
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| random pillars of fire. I think it was a casino thing. |
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| Angry Bird lanterns. very traditional. |
I have no idea why there was a parade of children holding burning lanterns and chasing an animatronic bear around the casino grounds, but it was really exciting. Someday if/when we produce our half-Chinese offspring, we'll definitely make them follow in the footsteps of their ancestors and join the festive bear-hunt!
CK
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