Mooncake Facts
The Mooncake Festival, also known as the Moon Cake Festival, is a traditional ritual of ancient Chinese society every 15th day of the 8th month based on Chinese calendar calculations. This is the time when the moon and the earth become very close and the sun (sun) and woman (moon) unite. In This Article there are so many mooncake facts that make your mooncake festival more special.
MoonCake Facts History
Mooncake History
The history of the Mooncake tradition begins with the habit of farmers asking the God of the Earth to produce a good season as well as gratitude for the God who has given abundant harvests.
Another tradition mentions the origin of Mooncakes related to The Legend of an archer who shot 9 suns out of 10 existing suns. The archer is considered instrumental in saving the earth from drought so that he was appointed King. One day the king was given an elixir that could make him ascend to the sky and become a god. The medicine was given to the empress to be kept. A palace official who knows this then wants to steal it from the Queen when the King is not around.
Unable to fight back, the Queen then chose to drink the elixir and then began to fly up and land on the moon. The king knew this was very valuable and then built an altar complete with offerings in memory of his beloved wife. This is the beginning of ancient Chinese society began to make offerings to the moon goddess, offerings in the form of moon cakes, grapes, and watermelons.
Despite the various histories and legends, Mooncakes today have a variety of flavors such as sweet, salty, and spicy. Meanwhile, in terms of contents, there are egg yolks, tausa or red beans, fruits, green beans, ice cream, and so on.
The Meaning of the Stamp Symbol on the Moon Cake Facts
Mooncake Symbol Facts
One of the characteristics of the moon cake is the presence of a stamp on the top that reads mandarin characters. What do you mean by this character?
Traditional mooncakes generally use Chinese symbols or characters meaning "long life" or "harmony". However, over time, many people have begun to modify the shape of this stamp.
Why Moon Shaped?
Many people say that mooncakes are round because the shape of the moon when viewed from the earth is round. But actually, there is another meaning to this shape. Professor Wei Shang from Columbia University said that "Rounds are a symbol of unity and kinship". No wonder the "moon cake festival" is often a gathering moment for every family member.
MoonCake Has Many Types
Maybe you only know one type of moon cake. Whereas in his home country there are many types of moon cakes. First, there is Cantonese. This type of moon cake is one of the world's most popular mooncakes, originating in the Guangdong province, and in its place of origin, there are more than 200 variations. Then there is Suzhou. This one moon cake appeared thousands of years ago, the dough mixture is rich in animal fat and sugar, and flour. There is Ningbo, a cake that is widely found in Zhejiang province, the taste tends to be saltier and slightly spicy.Mooncakes Carry a Secret Message
Mooncake Facts
During the Yuan Dynasty mooncakes were used as secret messengers to help the Han people overthrow the Mongol regime. The writing of the secret message was carried out especially in four mooncakes and packaged in one box. Each mooncake is then cut into four pieces, resulting in 16 pieces assembled in such a way that the secret message can be read. However, there is also a version that says that the secret message was written on paper and then inserted in the middle of the mooncake.
