Full Harvest Moon and Mid-Autumn Festival

Today is the start of Chung Ch’iu, the 3-day Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. It's a happy and beautiful Asian family celebration that comes each year at the time of the full moon in September or October.

The full Harvest Moon rises this evening-- obliquely, close to the horizon-- and remains big and bright for a long time, giving extra light to harvesters.

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. But today it's time to CELEBRATE! The full moon is a time of fruitfulness, creativity, and completion, and also strong (sometimes overwhelming) emotion. This month I feel hopeful, energetic, and and a little obsessive, and I want to acknowledge and embrace the whole spectrum of my emotions.

Today I will celebrate how far I've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

Agenda for today:
1. Journal queries

2. Make moon cakes
3. Make floating lanterns
4. Have a moon-viewing party
5.  Full Moon ceremony

1. Journal queries:

The full moon shines a bright light on everything, and I might experience intuitive and creative breakthroughs. I might be surprised by the clarity of my insights. 

At this phase of the moon, I'll see the work I've been putting in begin to pay off, but also see where I need to work harder. I might see some ugliness - the full moon illuminates all the things I've left in the shadows, some heavy truths and some embarrassing mistakes.

Today I sit down with my journal, and my New Moon list of goals, and I seek the truth:

Do these aims all still seem vital? What are my deepest reasons for persuing these goals? 

What beliefs, obstacles, doubts, or attachements are holding me back? Can I release them now? 

What opportunities for growth do I see today? What are my next steps?

Make two lists:

1. Write out the things I want to celebrate: My achievements, and events of the last two weeks that deserve commemoration. 

2. Write out a few things I'd like to release this month: Habits, beliefs, obstacles, and attachments. 

5. Make moon cakes:

Normally on this blog I would give you an authentic Chinese recipe, but this simplified recipe has sentimental tradition in our family.

When my children were young, the city library hosted a Moon Festival event every fall, with telescopes, Asian writing and crafts, hot tea, and all the moon cakes you could eat. We went every year. The bakery that made the moon cakes gave us this recipe, an Americanized version, and that's the recipe my family has made and loved for 25 years.

For a similar but more complex and traditional recipe see Food52.

Ingredients:

• sweet red bean paste
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• egg yolk
• red food color (optional)

Makes 8 cakes-
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 


Make 8 large marbles of bean paste, and put them in the freezer to chill. (You might need flour on your hands.)

2. Mix together the flour and butter until crumbly. Mix in the sour cream; stir until dough forms into a ball.

3. Knead the dough a few times then divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then pat to flatten into thick 5-inch circles.

4. Put a marble of sweet red bean paste in the center of each circle, fold the edges up over the filling, and seal. Shape each into a fat round moon. If you have a mold, you can press it in now, but it's not necessary.

5. Place moon cakes on an un-greased pan. Whisk an egg yolk with a little water until smooth and spoon a little over each moon cake. Dot the center with a chopstick dipped in red food coloring (for good luck). Bake for 15 minutes at 350ºF.

6. Remove the moon cakes from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.

6. Make floating lanterns:

Lanterns are another key part of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some families make handmade lanterns, including small lanterns to float, like these waterlily lanterns.

Supplies:

• small white paper plates
• green foam sheet
• pencil
• scissors
• aqua crayons or paint
• black permanent pen
• hot glue gun
• tea light

1- Draw and cut 2 small paper plates into flowers, leaving a circle in the center just big enough for a votive candle.

2- Color or paint the edges of the flowers, on the front and back side of the plate. We used aqua crayons to reduce the mess, and blended them with a damp brush.








3- Curl the petals.

4- Cut a leaf out of foam, and draw lines with a permanent marker. 

5-Hot glue the layers together, with a tea light in the center.

This year's lanterns in the bathtub, popular with the grandson!

 

7. Have a Moon Viewing Party:
In China, the big event is a picnic outside to admire the moon, with tea, moon cakes and round fruits (a symbol of family unity).

The festival continues for three days with games and fun. During this time it is believed that flowers fall from the moon and anyone sharp-eyed enough to see them will have very good fortune.

After moon viewing, we sometimes write poetry to show our appreciation of the moon.

5. Full moon ceremony:

The full moon is the right time to celebrate wins and release losses. Since it's a time of high energy and emotion, I use this simple and quiet ceremony:

1. Take the two lists I wrote, along with a lit candle, outside after dusk and look for the moon in the northeastern sky. Plant my feet firmly on the ground, take some slow breaths, and soak up the light of the full moon.

2. Read out my list of things to celebrate: My achievements, and events of the last month that deserve commemoration, and thank the universe.

3. Read out my list of things I'd like to release this month: Habits, beliefs, obstacles, and attachments. Hold this list to the flame and watch the smoke and ash float away.