Moon Cakes
2 min readCelebrations are held at night with moon cakes playing a predominant role.These are small round tarts baked with different fruit fillings-date，pear，apple and pomegranate among others.People used to lay out a feast with good wine.
When the moonwas rising in a clear sky，they would place the moon cakes and fresh fruit on a table as an offering.Even today a family will sit around the table，enjoying the beautifulmoon and eating moon cakes and fruit.Those who are away from home try to return for a family reunion，giving the occasion its other name-Family Reunion Festival.
Folk Arts in Making Moon Cakes
Eating moon cake is a palatable custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival.The moon cake relief patterns are numerous and colorful，both in terms of art and cultural implication.Fairy tales told through moon cake relief patterns include“A pairingfish”；“Baby with coiled hair”；“Sal tree of life”；and story of the jade hare from the moon palace.
The Meaning of Eating Moon Cakes
Eating moon cakes is one of the important activities.There are three interpretations about its origin.Firstly，as the story goes，it was evolved from the custom of presenting the elderly glutinous rice cakes to show their respect.Another interpretation traces its origin to the Yuan Dynasty.The leaders of rebellors against the rule of Yuan nationality inserted into moon cakes the notes calling for uprising.
When people ate cakes，they saw the notes and answered to the call for rebellion.Since then，it has become a custom to eat moon cakes.Still another interpretation is that eating round moon cakes on a full-moon night symbolizes family reunion.
