Perth and Kinross ’s Chinese community is gearing up for one of the biggest events in its calendar.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is second only to Chinese New Year as a celebration.
Also known as the Mooncake Festival, the event takes its name from the fact it is always celebrated in the middle of autumn at the time of year when the moon is at its roundest and brightest.
Common customs include family members eating dinner together, just like a Thanksgiving dinner, sharing mooncakes, worshiping the moon with gifts and displaying lanterns.
Mooncakes are the must-eat Mid-Autumn food. They are a traditional Chinese pastry and Chinese people see a symbol of reunion and happiness in the roundness of the cakes.
Other foods eaten during the festival are crabs, pumpkins, pomelos and grapes.
Andy Chan, chairman of Perth Chinese Association, thanked the local authority for supporting to Chinese community for events like Mooncake.
He said: “There’s lots and lots of food, the speciality is the mooncake which is only ever eaten at this festival.
“The best way to describe a traditional mooncake is like marzipan with a preserved egg yolk in the middle, but you get lots of different kinds nowadays, with ice cream and things like that.
“Over the years there have been many excellent examples where Perth and Kinross Council and the Chinese community have worked together to celebrate Chinese culture and support and develop the Chinese community in Perth and Kinross.
“Our partnership working shows that we can achieve so much more when we work together in cooperation, sharing our resources and our goodwill.”
“Through the years, because of the efforts of Perth Chinese Association and Perth and Kinross Council, I have been delighted to see the Chinese celebrations in Perth grow and grow to be an event where all the diverse communities of our area can share in the joy and appreciate the Chinese culture and celebrations.
“Finally I wish all our friends and families a very happy and safe Mid-Autumn Festival.”
In the past, the festival was celebrated at harvest time. Ancient Chinese emperors worshiped the Moon in autumn to thank it for the harvest. The ordinary people took the Mid-Autumn Festival to be a celebration of their hard work and harvest.
Nowadays, people mainly celebrate a time for family reunions.
.png?w=600)
