The Chinese Mid Autumn Festival, sometimes known as the Mooncake Festival, was celebrated on September 12th this year. It is one of the most charming and colorful celebrations of the year. During the festival people gather together for family dinners, eat mooncakes and gaze at the full moon.
As the time for the festival drew closer, we saw tons of lanterns appear in shops, office buildings and homes. They can be found in almost every shape and size imaginable. Figuring that this was a celebration not to be missed, Ken and I decided to decorate our apartment with colorful lanterns as well.
Next on the agenda was mooncakes. Traditional mooncakes are dense sweets made of ground lotus and sesame seed paste with egg yolks in the center. They are in a soft cake that is quite decorative. More and more there are choices of filling and style for mooncakes to suit the more modern pallate. We went in search of mooncakes that we could try. We saw "Mooncake Central" at Times Square where they had tons of varieties and even some chefs making them on the spot.
After much deliberation we decided that we wanted a traditional one...
...some Mickey Mouse custard filled mooncakes from Disney...
...and one we couldn't resist...
Haggen Dazs mooncakes.
The day of the festival our friend Vesper stopped by with a tin of mooncakes in various flavors. They are yummy. We never know what flavor we are getting because they are labeled in Chinese. It makes dessert an adventure.
There are two stories about mooncakes that are fascinating. The first tells of the start of the tradition. There was an Emperor who was very mean to his people. He found an elixer that would give him eternal life. One of his Empresses did not want him to have that power and keep treating his people so badly, so she snuck in and drank the elixer herself. After drinking she flew to the moon and resides there to this day along with a rabbit. Thus the tradition of spending part of the festival gazing at the moon.
The festival also commemorates a 14th century uprising against the Mongols. In a cunning plan, the rebels wrote the call to arms on pieces of paper and embedded them in cakes which they then smuggled to compatriots.
We also took a trip to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to see the lantern festival. This exhibition is set up every year with giant sized lanterns and stages for performances throughout the three days of the festival. This year there was an added attraction in that Guinness World Records was there to see the entry for the largest structure built entirely of lanterns.
This gigantic fish is about three stories high and a football field in length. What's more, every fifteen minutes the music begins and the entire lantern turns into a light show.
The ground are awash with lights overhead.
The lanterns take on many shapes and sizes from the traditional...
...to animal...
...to an amusement park.
And while viewing all of these wonderful displays, we even had a chance to spend some time gazing at the moon.
It was a wonderful holiday that gives the same kind of feel as our Thanksgiving. It is about food and family and making memories.
When we arrived in Hong Kong many of our new friends told us that if we had been to any US Disney park, Hong Kong would be a disappointment. The park is small and definitely geared to families with smaller children. But we had to see for ourselves. Besides, who can spend a day at Disney (of any size or type) without smiling the day away.
Getting to the park is really easy and fun. Board the MTR to the Sunny Bay station. When you arrive at Sunny Bay you walk across the platform and wait for the Disney train. And who doesn't love a train whose windows are shaped like Mickey and so are the hand holders.
After a short ride through the mountain (literally) you arrive at the station and the entrance to the Magical Kingdom.
Upon entering, it would be hard to tell which park you are in. Main Street opens out before you and the castle lies ahead. It is a very familiar feeling.
This castle is a bit shorter and has a slightly different style, but it is a castle none the less. From here we entered Adventure Land. There are only two rides in this Adventure Land - Tarzan's Treehouse and the River Cruise.
There is something corny and wonderful about hearing the same jokes told when you were younger being told to the next generation - and with a Chinese accent. After our cruise we took a short musical break before moving into Fantasyland.
Fantasyland had many of the rides we are all so familiar with. We had our lunch there and I was quite surprised when I had a courtier pull out my chair for me in the royal cafeteria.
Since school was back in session and we were there on a Tuesday, we expected the crowd to be skewed more adult. But what a surprise to be in the loading queue for It's a Small World and realizing that there were no children ahead of us. Luckily there were some behind us so we knew we hadn't entered some sort of weird time warp or Benjamin Button kind of thing.
From Fantasyland it was off to Tomorrow Land and Space Mountain. Ken was a bit hesitant because of the dark thing, but he sucked it up and got on the ride with me. It was a blast.
One of the interesting spots in each area was the interactive fountains. These help the kids (large and small) cool off from the very warm temps. Users can play among the sculptures which periodically spray them with much appreciated water.
Ken has long been a huge fan of Buzz Lightyear. Well, he was happy to pose with his hero and then take his ride.
In this attraction you are under Buzz's command in a battle against Zorg and his minions. Once in your space ship you take your laser gun and try to knock out as many targets as you can. Once you top 1 million points you have maxed out the score. So we set off on our space adventure. At the end of the ride there was my score...
...and Ken's...
... enough said!
We blasted out of Tomorrow Land in search of Main Street and the gift shops.
After wandering through all of the shops and buying some Mickey Mouse Mooncakes for the upcoming Mid Autumn Festival and having a milkshake break (I think it's required), we were ready for our front row seats for the parade. So was a young mom across from us who really got into the spirit. She's the one in the pink ears.
This year is the Fifth Anniversary of Hong Kong Disneyland and the parade was a celebration of that landmark. It was terrific.
It was a fun parade and we had completed the park. Since there were still four hours till the fireworks, we decided to save those for another visit and made our way to the station and life beyond the mouse.
