Resources

There is plenty more about Mid-Autumn Festival, Harvest Festivals, Chinese festivals and China. Here’s more information about the festival, folktales, making mooncakes (although 'no one' does it anymore) and the lady in the moon. The main subjects under Mid-Autumn Festival are: mooncakes, their role in rebellions against the Mongols, the Moon Goddess, and the Jade Rabbit. You may also want to learn more about the Jade Emperor or less common tales such as one of Wu Kang Chopping Down the Cassia Tree. These links were good as of September 2004.

Note: Not all versions of Chang Er’s tale may be appropriate for your child(ren). It is a tale of love and infidelity with a bit of drunkenness, in addition to a tale of love and faith, the birth of agriculture and animal domestication in China.

http://www.familyculture.com/holidays/augustmoonfest.htm includes links to books and other sites, and lists other “thanksgiving”/harvest festivals.
http://www.montreal.com/events/1999/09/24moon.html includes how to make mooncakes, original moon festival folktale & Chang Er, the moon goddess
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/references.htm

Books on Mid-Autumn Festival and China are available from a number of sources or can be ordered from your local bookseller. I assume that these good folks will be around for many more years: www.childbook.com, www.fccny.org. www.pearlriver.com and www.chinasprout.com also sell China objects, mooncakes, chopsticks, decorative objects, and arts and crafts supplies.

Picture Books on China include:

• Moon Lady by Amy Tan
  
• The Empress and the Silkworm by Lily Toy Hong
  
• Moon Festival by Ching Yeung Russell
  
• Round is A Mooncake by Rosemary Thong. (also Red is a dragon, One is a Drummer)
  
• The Seven Chinese Sisters By Kathy Tucker
  
• The Five Chinese Brothers (Paperstar) by Claire Huchet Bishop, Kurt Wiese
  
• The Seven Chinese Brothers(Blue Ribbon Book) by Margaret Mahy, Jean Mou-Sier Tsang

Moon Information

http://www.thenazareneway.com/current_moon_phase.htm

Why is the Harvest Moon the brightest?

Why is the moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox called the “Harvest Moon”? http://earthsky.com/scienceqs/browsefaq.php?f=106

Mooncake Websites

http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/mooncake-variety.htm

Recipes

(first Link broken)

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/famtrad/foodfolkart/mooncakeofferings/mooncake.htm

http://kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/recipes.htm

http://adoptshoppe.com/images/artfulgifts/MoonCookiesRecipe.pdf

http://adoptshoppe.com/images/artfulgifts/MoonCakeRecipe.pdf

http://thestar.com.my/kuali/recipes/lunar.html

Mooncake Filling Recipes

http://www.kitchenlink.com/msgbrd/board_3/2000/JUL/4383.html

Easy Chinese Moon Cakes: similar to German jam thumbprint cookies.

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/china/easy_chinese_mooncakes.htm  

http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/china__dim_sum__moon_festi.html 

Molds

Hand-carved, wooden mooncake molds are not always easy to find. Mooncake molds are custom-made usually with the baker’s insignia. The mold is used to shape each mooncake and some have used them off-season to shape butter. The following places have had them in the past but may not always: www.chinasprout.com, www.adoptshoppe.com, www.wokshop.com, and www.pearlriver.com.

Last reviewed: August 2007

Links still being updated.