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| Me with my Colombian neighbours |
Water caltrops are only brought to our local markets from China once a year in Fall when the Chinese celebrates the Mid Autumn Festival.
Mooncakes
* For the clueless, read about the festival in my previous post here.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Mid Autumn Festival
Sharing these year's photos of the annual Mid-Autumn/Lantern/Mooncake festival that was held at the condo where we live. It's official - my boys have outgrown the lantern-toting ritual but sadly, I haven't! I love the enchantment of a procession of excited kids with their colourful glowing lanterns under a full moon against the jetblack sky. I know I should have seen this coming when we lost our last lantern-toter the year before to teenage snobbery but I was wishing the magic would last forever. I shall miss the pleasure of my boys following me to Chinatown and helping them pick their lanterns! Sob!
My boys weren't amused when I bought them an elephant lantern. They refused to light it up!
Food!!! It was a potluck party!
Traditional foods like caltrops, pomeloes, mooncakes and yams are served during the Mid Autumn celebration. A mortar & pestle is available for cracking the hard shells of the caltrops.
These creepy bat-like thingies are called water caltrops aka bull's horns because of their horn-like structures. They are totally edible! They are actually nuts from an aquatic plant belonging to the same family of water chestnuts. I can still recall my dad turning them into a spinning top using a bamboo skewer and some string when we were kids. Show that to a kid these days and chances are they are not impressed.
Water caltrops are only brought to our local markets from China once a year in Fall when the Chinese celebrates the Mid Autumn Festival.
Mooncakes
A turtle-shaped mooncake
* For the clueless, read about the festival in my previous post here.
Water caltrops are only brought to our local markets from China once a year in Fall when the Chinese celebrates the Mid Autumn Festival.
Mooncakes
* For the clueless, read about the festival in my previous post here.
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Looks like another fantastic festival! What a great way to celebrate! I love the mooncake! lol
ReplyDeleteThat turtle mooncake is sweet!! I bet it is delicious too. Love the lanterns...it all looks like a great deal of fun throughout the festival.
ReplyDeleteI chuckled at the picture of the elephant lantern you circled seated next to your son =-D I am sure they will look back at this with their children and appreciate this! If you get a chance, maybe you can post your recipe for mooncake along with pictures of yumminess!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of fun! I'd never outgrow something like that. :)
ReplyDeletePot luck parties are the very best kind!! Looks like you had so much food.
ReplyDeleteLove the seal lantern
Hello I came over to visit from the Tea on Tuesday social link up. I love the name of your blog it is very creative. I am now following you on GFC.
ReplyDeleteLove
Patricia @ www.thettdiaries.com
I love the lanterns, that is so cool. It's so sad when the kids outgrow fun stuff :( though.
ReplyDeleteThose nuts are totally evil looking. They are awesome!
We enjoy the traditional fillings like the red bean, lotus paste and do not care for the fancy filings of today!!
ReplyDeleteNice gathering of neighbours and a good way to spread some neighbourliness.
That looks like so much fun...and what a spread of delicious food! I can understand your sadness at your kids not wanting to participate. Those lanterns are truly beautiful though! I bet they'll come back around when they are a bit older ;)
ReplyDeleteYou look fantastic and the boys too!You see,we maybe forgot how we used to act in the same situation!The boys are now feeling they are grown up persons and is like it's a "shame" to be -at this "age"-with the parents!They love to be on their own and cannot enjoy what we like! We look at them as they still are our sweet kids and never want to admit they are changing and have different style of acting,having a good time only among the ones of their age!Yes,that's what I can feel about my daughter sometimes.I am terrified I will louse her one day! One said children are ours only when we carry them inside us,and then, they are free spirit we cannot control or change after our wills!
ReplyDeleteThe photos are gorgeous and I love to look at them !
hugs,
I've never had a moon cake. I want one!
ReplyDeleteI would like to invite you to link up with us at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week if you’d like to attend.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/10/clever-chicks-blog-hop-5-happy-hen.html
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy
The Chicken Chick