The Moon Cake Festival

Lotus Paste Mooncake - Photo Credit

We Malaysians are blessed with so many different celebration and holidays. Do you know that Malaysian enjoy at least 14 days of national public holidays in a year? We also have quite a number of celebrations from the Kaamatan Festival, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festivals & Christmas just to name a few? You gotta be proud to be Malaysian.

I'm pretty sure all of us are aware there is also a celebration called the 'Mid Autumn Festival' also popularly known as the 'Moon Cake Festival' celebrated by the Chinese community. When you start noticing the supermarkets selling these round shaped pastries measuring about 10 cm in diameter and are 4-5 cm thick, you know that the festival is near, usually as early as a month. (Nowadays you can pretty much purchase these cakes all year round) The Moon cake festival falls on the 8th moon, 15th day of the Chinese Lunar calendar. In the Western calendar, this festival normally falls between the 2nd week of September and the 2nd week of October. In essence the Moon Cake Festival is a celebration of unity.

Qubilai Setsen Khaan (Yuan dynasty)

So what is the history behind this celebration? According to records, the Chinese have celebrated the autumn full moon as early as the Shang Dynasty in the (16th century B.C.E.)! The harvest celebration originally began with worshiping Mountain Gods after the harvest was completed. It began to kick off during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) and according to legends Emperor Xuanzong started to have formal celebrations after personally having the chance to explore the 'Moon Palace'.

Tai Thong's Imperial Musang King Royale

The Moon Cake has also played a big part in overthrowing the Mongolians during the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 A.D.). As the mid autumn festival drew near, rebels used the opportunity to pass messages on the attack plans by inserting it into the cake. On the night of the festival, with the help of local villagers, the government was successfully overthrown and the new Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) was established. The Moon Cake Festival has then on were celebrated on a large scale.

Nowadays, the celebration symbolizes friendship and unity. Moon Cakes are usually purchased as a gift for other family members, as a corporate gesture among business partners or for own consumption since there are so many different flavors out there. Tai Thong for example is offering more than 20 flavors. Have you tried a 'teh tarik' flavored Moon Cake before? What about pineapple or even 'limau manis'. 'Musang King' durian flavored Moon Cake anyone?

About The Writer
KAY KASTUM
Born in Sabah with an interest in open water diving, wall climbing,music and video production and a passion for Android custom ROMS on his XT910 Motorola Razr Kay Kastum plans to make the world a better place by empowering people through his work. Whatever that means. You can follow his YouTube channel to see what he is up to during his free time