Zhong Qiu Jie - Mid-Autumn Festival

I awoke this morning to what I thought were gun shots outside of my 10th story apartment in the Changning district of Shanghai. After conferring with some others who had heard similar noises we realized that the noises we were hearing were actually coming from fireworks. People were celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Although the actual festival isn't until Monday, there are been signs of the up coming holiday since our arrival in Shanghai. The biggest and most obvious sign of the holiday is the sale of Moon Cakes, a traditional pastry like food, eaten during the festival. Almost every store in Shanghai sells it's own version of the heavy cake, including American brands like Starbucks. Everyone wants in on the action. I received one at my internship on Friday and after tasting it I have to say they're not at all to my taste. They're truly meant to be shared rather than eaten as a whole because they're very dense. Traditional Moon Cakes are filled with a sort of egg yolk which I don't find very appetizing, but newer versions come filled with fruit and nuts. Haagen Dazs is even selling ice cream Moon Cakes which bare little resemblance to the original except in look. I happened to pass by a promotion that Haagen Dazs was running today for their Moon Cakes and their line wrapped around the store.

Aside from these moon cakes the main activity associated with the festival is staring at the moon...no, really. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Moon Festival, hence the name Moon Cakes. This comes from the story of the moon goddess Chang'e. The story is interesting but very long winded. As always, wikipedia proves to be an excellent source of information. I'm not sure if I'm going to spend Monday night staring up at the moon, or if I'm going to be eating anymore Moon Cakes, but I will enjoy having off from school for the National holiday on Monday!