Mid Autumn Moon Festival

---

I have a lot of catching up to do. Here goes with September's Mid Autumn Moon Festival:

This Chinese holiday falls upon the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar throughout most of Asia with huge celebrations of the bountiful harvest brought by the monsoon rains. The moon is shines brilliantly at this time, with special mooncakes eaten by all. There is a famous Chinese folk tale about a Chinese Princess that accidentally floated to the moon from earth though the details of the story escapes me.

One of my earliest childhood memories of Vietnam was celebrating this very popular Chinese holiday with family and neighborhood friends. I would compare it to Halloween without the costumes. Children would get their own lantern (usually made of colorful durable plastic) in the shape of fish, animals or fun kites. What made this really cool for kids was the center of the lantern in which a tiny candle was lit and inserted. You'd walk up the street near a river or lake if nearby and tell fun or scary stories, all the while munching on moon cakes, my favorite part.

Major cities outside of Asia also celebrate with great enthusiasm albeit commercialized to some extent, but so long as there are mooncakes, the festival goes on for a few days.

Cupertino Memorial Park puts on a a nice Moon festival with various local and internationl entertainers.

---

Photos

Lotus charms
Long life and good luck