Happy Mid Autumn Festival

Love and family are two of our favourite things here at Laing, so it's no surprise that we also love the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival - a time to celebrate with friends, family and loved ones.

Falling on the 15th day of the 8th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) is the second largest festival after the Chinese New Year, widely celebrated by many Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore etc. The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at this time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest.

In the past, Chinese people observed the movement of the moon and used to plan the growing and harvesting of crops. The mid autumn festival is the Chinese equivalent of Thanksgiving, a celebration of the harvest and the moon's contribution.

This custom can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC), and has been celebrated widely since with folk music, lanterns and traditional foods.

The festival also has a romantic side, which celebrates the love story of Hou Yi and Chang E. Hou Yi was an ancient archer who shot down 9 of the 10 suns that were threatening the earth. For his heroics he was gifted an elixir that would make him immortal, but he didn’t want to be immortal without Chang E, so he refused to drink the elixir and instead asked Chang E to keep it safe for him. When one of his students attempted to steal the elixir, Chang E drank it so that he couldn’t, and floated up to live on the moon. Hou Yi, saddened by her departure, set out tables of food under the light of the moon so that they could still share meals together.

Middle Autumn Festival is a great time for the reunion of families and lovers. People celebrate it with a special snack, called the Moon Cake, which come in various flavours and is normally round, symbolizing the reunion. If you eat your moon cakes under the light of the full moon, the goddess of the moon will offer you a long and happy life. Nowadays people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to pass on their best wishes.

On behalf of the Laing Family, we wish all of you the very happy Middle Autumn Festival. Here are a few phrases you might find useful:

中秋节快乐 (zhong qiu jie kuai le)= Happy Middle Autumn Festival

祝您万事如意 (zhu nin wan shi ru yi)= wish all your dreams come true

恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái) = Happiness and prosperity!

We look forward to welcoming all our customers in store to celebrate Middle Autumn Festival with us and to try some Moon Cakes! Our Mandarin speakers will be here to help you with all your needs.