Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner. The actual day is on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month in the Lunar calendar and this year, it falls on 17 September 2024 (Tuesday). It is believed that the moon will be the brightest on this day of the year.
Originally, Mid-Autumn (or 中秋 as directly translated) was a day (or should we say, night) dedicated more towards worshiping the Moon and giving thanks for summer crop harvest. As families and communities gathered for the occasion over the years, it gradually turned into a festival for celebration.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is built on the classic Chinese legend of Hou Yi and Chang E. Today, making or carrying lanterns, eating moon cakes and drinking tea gradually became part of the festive traditions that are passed down in relation to this celebration.
Pairing Mooncakes with Tea
Traditional round-shaped mooncakes are made with sweet lotus seed paste and salted duck egg yolks (which represents the full moon). Loaded with high calories and carbohydrates, mooncakes are usually cut and shared among family members and friends during the festival instead of eating it whole on your own like a burger. Also because of this, mooncakes are often paired with black or green tea to cleanse your palate, and aid digestion.
Mid-Autumn Tea Appreciation activity with your children
A simple tea appreciation ceremony can be a fun, mindful activity to grace the occasion with your children, loved ones or companions during the festival. What matters most however, is the time spent making warm memories with your loved ones.
Even if you do not own a Chinese Tea Set, we have a short video below about the basic Chinese Tea Appreciation Ceremony (in Mandarin with English subtitles) which you can share with your child(ren). We have also included an accompanying illustration of the items found in a basic Chinese tea set featured in in this video. Have a go spotting them from the video!
All there is left to do is just to get ready your favourite mooncake, teacups, and a tea of your choice.
We hope your child will like it and have fun identifying the tea ware. You can also download the accompany activity sheets for free below:
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