Mid Autumn Festival...

.....also known as the Moon Festival is a popular
harvest festival celebrated by Chinese, Japanese,
Korean and Vietnamese people, dating back over
3,ooo years to moon worship in China's Shang
Dynasty.

Held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the
Chinese calendar, usually around late September
or early October, paralleling the Autumnal
Equinox of the Solar Calender -
when the moon is supposedly its fullest and roundest.

Mooncake (yum!) is the traditional food of the festival and while celebrations and traditions vary, many include carrying brightly lit lanterns, Fire Dragon Dances and the planting of a mid Autumnal tree.

**In Taiwan, since the 1980's barbecuing meat outdoors has become a widespread way to celebrate this holiday.**

So what does all this mean(??) AND keeping it real as we celebrate this significant Chinese holiday for the very first time......as best we can....our way.......

Years ago both Scott and I recognized the importance of blending important aspects of our children's birth countries into our lives and our family's traditions - and it has been nothing less than a pleasure to explore these rich & diverse celebrations and to better understand and embrace these beautiful cultures. We also have witnessed with great interest the evolution of said explorations as each one has changed or been tweaked through a growing child's individual passions, contributions and perspectives. Never static, never quite the same each time or each year, but always uniquely representative of our uniquely blended family.

We also acknowledge that these celebrations will only have meaning to our children & our family if they are personal, manageable, hands-on and approachable. That's not to say we shy away from the more complex issues, heritage threads or customs but rather we intuited (once upon a time) that if it involved untenable expectations, critical expense ( we are after all saving for two trips to two amazing homelands down the road!!) or a sense of celebrating out of duty rather than joy and pride, such cultural pursuits would quickly fade away or defeat the intentions behind each one. And honestly this is true of most of our traditions, including the ones forged all those years ago as a newly married couple, striving to blend 2 distinct sets of experiences and customs ~ striving to keep those we most cherished, while creating new ones ideally suited to just....us.

So (again) what does all of this mean?? :) Well, as this is a new one for us (though we have known of it for several years) we started small, with books and a few discussions. We asked both kiddos for their ideas and even little Tyler had a say! Lauren wished to make mooncakes and that's on the agenda for later this week ~ please keep those fingers crossed and please feel free to share any kid friendly Mooncake recipes!! Tyler will love this also, for nothing suits him better than flour covered faces & hands!! We have the aprons ready and Tyler will look smashing in his chef's hat!! :)

Tyler and I have also watched the sweet Sagwa episode celebrating the Moon Festival and though its old and possibly no longer in circulation, it is a fabulous kid friendly way to explore the various legends and folklore surrounding this holiday. We also spent quite a lot of time at the table this morning with our Play-doh, cutting out moon shapes, full & crescent, which quickly morphed into adding plenty of star cut-outs and a slightly off key but enthusiastic rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star! An absolutely delightful way to spend a bit of time celebrating with a 2 year old!

We plan to grill out tonight and were beyond tickled to find that nugget of information on Taiwan's unique way to honor this date. Our little guy is not too big on the meats just yet ( me either ) so we will add our own touch of veggies and corn on the cob grilled just right! Adding a bit of that Autumnal crop harvest seems just right too!!

As the years pass, I suspect this celebration too will change and undergo its own metamorphosis. I can't wait to see what it looks like 3, 4...10 years down the road. It may eventually resemble a well used, tattered but cherished cookbook....some of its pages smudged or dog-eared from use, tiny notes in the margins, a few recipes & dishes long forgotten............. but always the first one we reach for.

And this little guy(??) ( and our best girl too) is/are SO worth the celebration!!