Hey! Just went back from a traditional family dinner we have every year, small dinner at my grandma’s, where we celebrated the day when the moon is closest to the Earth and is completely full.
Moon Digital Painting by me 🙂 http://daphyin.deviantart.com
I don’t really know what the custom is in China, but here in my family, here’s what we do:
First we eat dinner… of course! lol! a rich dinner and great wine (yeah! my uncle really knows how to choose the best). We have to wait for the moon to appear, because it’s often cloudy. Meanwhile the parents have to light up the red chinese candles… in front of the window which opens up to a direct and clear view of the moon. We place three plates with moon cakes and three glasses of chinese tea next to the candles. It is believed that there are 3 Gods coming and therefore are eating and drinking these while we light up the candles. We pray to them.
Unfortunately we don’t usually take photos so I can’t really show you what happened… anyway I really love this festival. It’s so simple, it’s only among us, small family group…
So we wait for the candles to melt half of their heights – time when the gods are accepting our gifts, and believe me Chinese Gods love to eat! xP – before we open the window to start some sort of ‘ritual’: we have to give money to the gods.
The ‘money’ is some special yellow red papers we just burn then throw outside. My father is ready to splash water in case an accident happens… that’s so funny! The children always rush to watch and want to burn too, but it’s too dangerous.
What’s always stunning and fun is that every year, the sky is cloudy and every year the moment we light our first paper ‘money’ to give to the gods… the moon just shows up! Just like that! Due to superstitions we enjoy ourselves saying that we have to burn everything before it hides behind the clouds again.
Ritual is now almost done and the final stage is very easy: we do what Chinese people always love to do: EAT. 😀
Yeps we eat moon cakes! If ever you’re wondering how are these fascinating moon cakes I quickly took some photos at home for you:
It’s not necessarily in such a beautiful box… usually they’re placed separately in small plastic bags but this box is so beautiful that I had to share this with you 🙂
See? Separate in plastic bags 😀
Anyway I feel so tired now… going to go to sleep! I drank Chinese tea but although it should make me stay awake it doesn’t work on me lol! just like coffee… to me they’re just some nice drinks 😛 Only fizzy drinks can make me stay awake! ^^
Write to you next time!
Your Chinese Evil Nymph.
An Evil Nymph's Blog 
mmmmm…mooncakes……:9
Wow, your family is much more traditional than mine. My mom didn’t even want to go to my grandma’s today to celebrate lol… good entry though, I learned a thing or two!
Thanks! 🙂 My friends don’t celebrate neither… I think that’s too bad.
The moon is beautiful these nights, I love it. I also love the inside glimpse into your world and family traditions. Those moon cakes look so tempting, I could just reach in and grab one, lol. I must try them some time. Thank you for sharing such a lovely experience with us, well written 🙂
hehe I love to eat them! You’re welcome!
i cant believe i didnt celebrate this yr!!
oh well there’s still next year 🙂
I actually LOVE moon cakes, love ’em. An entertaining post 🙂
They taste good! 🙂 Thank you!
LOL… I love the festival too, already! Imagining your dad ready to with the water in case of an accident made me laugh. And how the Chinese gods love to eat. 🙂 I love your pages, Evil Nymph.
I hadn’t realised you painted the moon yourself! Really cool. It’s beautiful.