Happy Mid-Autumn Festival or Chuseok to beanies! 中秋节快乐

As a child, I have fond memories of walking around the neighborhood in the night, carrying my lantern. Each year, I’d get to choose a different lantern. I remember being fond of the ones which comes in animal shapes and were fashioned with wires. They were wrapped in multi-colored cellophane . However, the best part is lighting the candle because we don’t usually get to play with that.

These days, most children’s lanterns are battery operated and the bulb comes encased in inflatable plastic. When my kids were younger, I bought them the traditional cellophane ones with real candles. It was a blast. They had a hard time keeping the lantern lit because a gust of wind would easily blow the flame out. Or they were too unsteady holding them and the lanterns caught fire.

Mooncakes prices have overrun inflation. It’s exorbitant to say the least. A box of 4 can cost USD40 for the basic flavors. I think the trend of giving them as corporate gifts to business associates gave rise to this phenomenon. Needless to say, restaurants, bakeries and hotels jumped onto the wagon happily.

These were mooncakes I made previously. This year, I had no time to take pictures before they were consumed.



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    *cries* They’re so lovely, and so are your memories! Thanks for sharing!

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    中秋节快乐! Those are beautiful!

    Alas, growing up in the US and with working immigrant parents, I only saw lanterns through dramas. LOL

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      Thank you!

      Are the lanterns available where you are now? I loved festive occasions when I was a kid. As I got older, they became less significant. These days, however the importance of preserving traditions and such has returned. We should try putting up lanterns, enjoy mooncakes and sip Chinese tea under the full moon during this festival.

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        Yes, we are pretty close to Chinatown and lots of other Asian markets. I totally agree with preserving traditions. We never get to see the full moon where I’m at coz it’s ALWAYS foggy. Next year I’ll at least work on the lanterns. I’ll share some stories tonight with the kids! Hope you enjoy your celebration!

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      Sammeeeeeeeeee
      I learn most about Chinese culture through the movies I watch with my parents.

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    Looks good! Ah I miss those times where I would light candles and burn the wax on my hands. I think part of my childhood memory might involve burning my traditional lantern away too. I love my cellophane lantern too! Not to mention those fire crackers, those that are safe to light here. How I wished I went down to play today, but had to work instead

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    Those are beautiful

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    Theyre so pretty! I think I got to have a lantern only once or twice as a kid, before I stopped participating in the (few) events held by the Chinese community.

    My mom has kept buying, gifting and receiving mooncakes every year around this time though. Every year she convinces me to try them (“theyre different this year!”) and every year I get tricked into trying them… and almost every year I end up disliking them, but feeling bad about taking a piece so I end up eating the whole piece anyway.

    Sadly those precious mooncakes are wasted on this westernized child.

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      I am impressed, you ate the whole piece? The ones in the picture above are mini sized. Usually they are about three times bigger. For those and especially the lotus paste traditional types, I would cut into quads or even 8 pieces. I do know of people who love them and eat an entire piece.

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    中秋节快乐！Wow looks yummy! Are they snowskin?
    I grew up with cellophane lanterns as well, (my parents have nv gotten me a battery operated one before) and picking a lantern becomes THE decision of the festival.
    Nowadays the focus have changed to which hotels have the best mooncakes 😂, but it was a pretty sight to see children carrying their lanterns and playing with sparklers last night beneath the bright moon.

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      Yes, they are snowskin. We have shops that sell all ingredients including premixes and mooncake fillings so it’s very easy to make them. My family prefers snowskin rather than the more traditional ones.
      I think battery operated lanterns are more suitable for younger kids like toddlers. Most children like the fun of real candles. The glow is different too, they look much prettier to me.

      It tickles me to see hotels trying to outdo each other in coming out with new flavors or exotic ones. I must admit though that some of the packaging are so beautiful.

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        They are prettier indeed.
        And gosh the mooncake boxes are really getting so exquisite… it could be the reason why the mooncakes are getting so expensive😂.

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          I don’t have discerning taste so it’s all wasted. Forget about the ones filled with truffles or XO, let’s just take the Maoshanwang durian mooncake for example. For SGD75, I’d rather buy the actual durian. Anyway, I bought the MSW puree and made lots of these snowskin mooncakes with it -unadulterated, pure durian filling.

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