FÊTE DE LA MI-AUTOMNE

This party was born under the Tang Dynasty and is one of the most important of the Chinese calendar. It is a day of worship of the god of the Moon. It also bears the feast of the moon cakes, as it is customary to eat special cakes and recite poems in view of the full Moon. The moon is associated with the cassia flower (Osmanthus flagrans) which, according to legend, smells the lunar landscape. The full moon of that night is the most round and éclatante. «Moon cakes» evoked an uprising of the Chinese population against the Kingdom of Mongols (the people had been called to revolt by small papers wrapped in cakes). Today'moon cakes'are filled with a paste based on lotus and crushed sesame seeds and, often, a cane egg. It is an opportunity for lovers to find themselves in the forefront and to pray together for their union, represented by the roundness of the moon. In all markets, portable candlelight are sold. Children have permission to watch late and go with their parents on the heights in the parks or in the countryside to turn their candlelight on before they taste their moon cakes (we have the impression that throughout the territory the black night is affected by colorful fireflies).