Mooncakes and US customs don't mix

[Meidon]

Well, everyone i just got back from china a week ago, it was a wonderful trip. Me and my SO went to GUZ and met some fellow CFL'ers (Buffalo Paul, DavidZixuan, Jason & Joanna) and had a wonderful time in GUZ with everyone. It was a blast to say the least remember the kids with flowers....they tackle better than NFL players....haha

 

As I returned stateside sadly ... US customs stopped me and asked me if I had any Mooncakes on me. I said no, I ate it on the plane . I did not ask them why, but all body language and voices pointed to them taking it away from me. So my question is what is the problem with mooncakes? I was glad it was alreadly in my tummy or maybe i should be worrying ....

[Dan R]

Maybe they are trying to protect the fledgling mooncake industry here.

[MoonCarolCafe]

What is the problem with Mooncakes?

The problem is that they are nasty. Already in your tummy? Not much need to worry, the worst part is over once they are past your tastebuds.

 

Look guys (and gals) I'll consume as much Chinese cusine as any colored chap, but some things I have to draw the line at. Moon cakes are on the far side of that line.

[jim_julian]

Here's the deal .... check food on your entry form, the person checking will ask about it, tell them it's commercial baked goods sealed in the original package .... OK sir, you may pass!

[tonado]

The custom agent wants to eat some.

[Dan R]

At the market I had mooncake made with hawthorn or black plum (not sure but it had that smokey taste the black plum drinks have) and boy was that ever good. The problem is they are so sweet you can only eat a few bites.

[goneflying2000]

I think they are just confused about the word Moon. EG: Did you Moon me. Who are you Mooning, and I promise I wont Moon you.

[impatient]

I brought 2 boxes of those nasty things back and was never asked about them.

 

Bill

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Welcome back.......

 

Them mooncakes....My SO was VERY sad that I could not be in China to celebrate moon day..........It did make for some nice romantic conversation tho talking about the moon with her......

 

....will have to try one of them soon....or not....I'm not hearing many good reports about them....

[frank1538]

What is the problem with Mooncakes?

The problem is that they are nasty. Already in your tummy? Not much need to worry, the worst part is over once they are past your tastebuds.

 

Look guys (and gals) I'll consume as much Chinese cusine as any colored chap, but some things I have to draw the line at. Moon cakes are on the far side of that line.

154768[/snapback]

Ate our mooncakes last night as part of the celebration. If you can stomach fruitcake, you might actually enjoy the taste of the Chinese variety - less sweet fruit and more nuts.

[jimglot]

What is the problem with Mooncakes?

The problem is that they are nasty. Already in your tummy? Not much need to worry, the worst part is over once they are past your tastebuds.

 

Look guys (and gals) I'll consume as much Chinese cusine as any colored chap, but some things I have to draw the line at. Moon cakes are on the far side of that line.

154768[/snapback]

Ate our mooncakes last night as part of the celebration. If you can stomach fruitcake, you might actually enjoy the taste of the Chinese variety - less sweet fruit and more nuts.

154964[/snapback]

The hotel i am at in Shanghai left one in my room lastnight. I tried a little bite. My last bite

 

Wonder if its like the fruitcake, there is only one in the world and everyone keeps

passing it around.. <grin>

 

 

Regard,

 

Jim

[Jason+Joanna]

We bought some mooncakes here at a local asian supermarker (Ranch99). I actually liked them -- and I was prepared for something really bitter or Sour.

 

Not as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

[obxtrainman]

I sat on the back deck last night, looked to the moon, and had another overly sweet substitute. Yea, that's right, I had a "Moon Pie"

 

Uh, it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

[turtle]

My wife made chocolate-filled mooncakes yesterday. So good! The meat-filled ones? Just ok. Red bean paste? Not really my thing...

[bubbafred10]

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the

living, was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon,

around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as

the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". In the Western calendar, the day

of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of

September and the second week of October.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chinaconnection/message/1053

 

This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits,

vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was

abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival ,

it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were

placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches,

grapes, pomegranates , melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen.

Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro,

edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with

sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling

black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be

included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food

discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could

not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

 

The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and

one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in

taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus

seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A

golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each

cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the

festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid

to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is,

twelve moons plus one intercalary moon.

Origin

 

 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han

and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon

(called xi yue in Chinese) can be traced back as far as the ancient

Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty

(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and

worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It

becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people

enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-

1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives

as gifts in _expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When

it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go

sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-

1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-

Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Together

with the celebration there appear some special customs in different

parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn

trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However,

the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to

be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver

moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full

silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking

of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of

their best wishes to them.

Moon Cakes

 

 

There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty

(A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders

from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at

submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the

rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion,

knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making

of special cakes. Backed into each moon caked was a message with the

outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels

successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon

cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon

Cake.

 

For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of

nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped

in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle

of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum

pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday

seasons.

 

Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month

before the arrival of Moon Festival.

 

Different Celebrated Forms

 

 

For thousands of years, the Chinese people have related the

vicissitudes of life to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes;

joy and sorrow, parting and reunion. Because the full moon is round

and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the

festival of reunion. All family members try to get together on this

special day. Those who can not return home watch the bright

moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.

 

Today,festivities centered about the Mid-Autumn Festival are more

varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to

attend special perfomances in parks or on public squares.

 

 

People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate

the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern

show is a big attraction for local citizens. Thousands of

differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast

with the bright moonlight.

 

In East Chia's Zhejiang Province, watching the flood tide of the

Qian-tang River during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must

for local peple, but also an attraction for those from other parts

of the country. The ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing

and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In

mid autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational

forces upon the seas. The outh of the Qiantang River is shaped lik a

bugle. So the flood tide which forms at the narrow mouth is

particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the river bank,watching

the roaring waves. At its peak, the tide rises as high as three and

a half meters