While some consider the chestnut to resemble a bat, an auspicious symbol of prosperity because its Chinese character is homophonous with the word 'fok' (which means luck and prosperity in Chinese) others believe that this dish is eaten during the festival because of the word 'ling' in its Chinese name, which sounds like the same ‘ling’ in the Chinese idiom 'chung ming ling lei', meaning smart or clever. They are probably one of the weirdest-looking nuts you'll ever see, but don’t judge a nut by its shell as underneath its devilish appearance, is white nutty flesh with a slight crunch that tastes like a mildly sweet combination of roasted chestnuts and potato. Known as water caltrops, and sometimes water chestnuts, this lesser-known customary food is only harvested once a year, usually a few weeks before the festival. Photograph: Courtesy cc/flickr/watashiwani ![]() Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges with families or friends during the night of Mid-Autumn, often served with tea or wine. T he most traditional ones, however, are made with a lotus seed paste with a salted egg yolk centre. In fact, there's an overwhelming variety of flavours to choose from these days. Nowadays, mooncakes symbolise togetherness and harmony, and every year we see shops and restaurants touting mooncakes of all kinds. Mooncakes are said to have originated from Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) revolutionaries as a means to pass covert messages hidden in them. This annual affair is a popular tradition that still remains in our modern city and every year, families, friends, and couples flock to the best spots in town to admire the beautiful moon. For thousands of years, communities would come together during the holiday to write wishes on sky lanterns (the type that floats up into the sky) and light them in honour of the legendary goddess of the moon, Chang’e, hoping that she would bless her worshippers with luck.Įach year, there are three important days to gaze at the moon among the Chinese community: on the eve of Mid-Autumn Festival when we welcome the moon on the day of the festival to admire the moon and on the following day to send off the moon. Lanterns are no doubt one of the oldest traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival. ![]() Photograph: Courtesy Leisure and Cultural Services Department Today, this public event has become one of the most famous annual rituals in Hong Kong and shines as a testament to the city’s rich cultural traditions. The Tai Hang dragon is a massive structure is covered in thousands of incense sticks burning on its body, made out of hemp rope, pearl straw, and ratton and requires hundreds of performers to prop it up. ![]() To commemorate the victory, the villagers would perform a fire dragon dance through the alleys and streets of Tai Hang every year since. Legend has it that in the 1880s, the villagers in Tai Hang successfully chased off plague and evil spirits by parading the village with a straw dragon covered with incense. The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is one of the most spectacular traditions during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong.
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