Mid Autumn Festival ’08

Yesterday was the Mid Autumn Festival here in Hong Kong which is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunar month. That somehow equates to September 14th of this year. It’s a time of worship to the moon god for a year of good harvest and continual family fortune and abundance. Typical customs include eating mooncake pastries and lighting and displaying brightly lit lanterns.

Mooncakes can come in many varieties. A traditional mooncake looks like this with usually a lotus seed paste filling. The filling can be substituted with other types of fillings such as sweet bean paste.

Below are a few night shots of some lantern displays I ran into.

One thing that children like to do is walk down streets with the lit lanterns. I still remember trying to find the darkest roads to walk down as a kid to show off our lanterns. This time around I was busy with my own family functions to spot anyone carrying lanterns outside. Maybe next year.