Yesterday (September 25) was the mid-Autumn festival. I'm told that this is one of the most important "holidays" in China although people don't get the day off work in current times. It is linked to harvest time and to the full moon. It is a time to connect with one's family and to eat well.
Central to this holiday (like the turkey is to Thanksgiving) are mooncakes (see photo of various mooncakes). I've heard them described as resembling fruitcake in taste and consistency... honestly, I think they're better than that (particularly those chocolate ones given to me by Xiaohong, the Program Director here)! They can be filled with fruits, nuts, bean paste, and even minced meats of various types. (The chocolate ones came from the Hyatt Hotel... not exactly a traditional variety.) It is incredible how many mooncakes are floating about this week. People give them as gifts to friends, families, and co-workers. Stores are stacked high with mooncakes and people are buying baskets full of mooncake gift packages. Businesses actual have serious "mooncake budgets." I'm told that regifting is a frequent phenomenon -- kind of like fruitcake at Christmas, I guess.
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