Issue 12
Date: 05 September 2024
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Faez Abdul – Leeton Mooncake Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is one of the most cherished traditional holidays in Chinese culture. Celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, it’s a time for family reunions, moon gazing, and indulging in mooncakes – these round pastries, often filled with lotus seed paste or red bean paste and sometimes containing salted egg yolks, symbolize unity and completeness. The festival is also celebrated in many Asian cultures, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and even the Philippines.
The Festival is steeped in legend, most famously the story of Chang’e, the moon goddess, who ascended to the moon after drinking an elixir of immortality. As families come together to share mooncakes and admire the full moon, the Mid-Autumn Festival encapsulates the themes of gratitude, harmony, and the poignant beauty of fleeting moments.
Leeton is to have its first festival BUT it is in SPRING on 21 September in Mountford Park.
While Faez told the stories underlying the moon festival, Mary-Anne prepared the paints for Rotarians to paint their own lanterns for the festival.
Following the fun, Rotarians were treated to some Mooncakes. Yum!
Faez was thanked on behalf of the club by Jennifer.
