China's Mid-Autumn Festival: A time to bring in the Fall with family and friends.

It’s been years since we’ve been in a place with four distinct seasons. While friends and family are still enduring 100 degree temperatures in Texas we've seen a drastic cool down begin here in Bejing. Yesterday morning was even a bit brisk but this morning as we walked out for some brunch we were greeted at the door by 57 degree winds and rain. After about 30 meters, another gust of wind, and some heavier rain we abruptly about faced and walked into the nearby coffee shop.



Hui Ping, our fitness club's master yoga instructor puts on a short clinic for the kids at the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner.

Traditional costume and dancing at the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner.

Jacob enjoyed the dancing.

Clown for the kids.

Fall is in the air and the summer clothing has promptly subsided for the long pants and autumnal tones. China wastes no time saying goodbye to summer and hello to fall. They kick it all off with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Karen and the kids all set to kick-off the festivities which included a myriad of chinese dishes, entertainment, and games.

This week the spirit of Mid-Autumn Festival filled the air. On Friday you could sense the celebratory spirit as everyone looked forward to the long weekend to get together with friends and family and celebrate one of China’s most significant holidays. Mid-Autumn Festival or Zhongqiujie, is a harvest festival and one of the four major traditional festivals in which everyone gets together with new and old friends and family to celebrate the final harvest, the full moon, and the coming of fall. The holiday is not the same day every year as it is aligned with the lunar calendar. This year it falls on the 12^th of September with Monday as an official holiday.

Lots of lights and sky lamps are a traditional decorative touch during Mid-Autumn Festival.



One of the most well known Mid-Autumn Festival traditions is giving out and eating mooncakes (yuebing). Mooncakes are typically small round cakes with a lotus seed paste or egg yolk filling and a thin outer crust. The outside is usually decorated with Chinese characters. Like traditional holidays in the states, Mid-Autumn Festival has fallen victim to commercialization. Nowadays you can find mooncakes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors at any of the hundreds of boutique bakeries in Beijing.

Isabelle with some party favors.

Though mooncakes are an acquired taste, Jacob did not hesitate to dig in.

Me with the empress.



Mooncakes are definitely an important part of Mid-Autumn Festival tradition. In fact, the week before Mid-Autumn Festival usually experiences some noticeably more congested traffic conditions in Beijing. Isabelle’s bus was late three times during the week leading up to the festival. This is attributed to increased traffic on the roads with delivery people making mooncake deliveries. You can see the delivery bikes and trucks gathering under bridges and in parking lots to redistribute their deliveries. It is quite the scene. In fact the energy sort of reminded me of the last minute Christmas rush or the hustle and bustle on the streets and people rushing home early on Halloween. Luckily we had plans for dinner on Friday night as many of the local restaurants we frequent in our neighborhood were closed up. I imagine many of them hold private dinners for friends and family.

One of Isabelle's best friends at the gym and playroom.



Isabelle was one of the big winners of the evening holding a one thousand yuan certificate to the spa.



The festival according to the lunar calendar falls on the day when the moon is at its fullest. People will often gather outside and eat under the moonlight and decorate with colorful lamps or sky lanterns. The decorative nature is much like Halloween or Thanksgiving in America.

Some of the other xiao pengyou (little friends) from the building.

The clown and majic show were popular.

On Friday evening our building’s fitness club celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival at one of the restaurants in the building. Friends and family gathered. The neighborhood kids had a chance to play and enjoy some great entertainment to include a magician, clown, and two women in white lace cocktail dresses playing the violin. Not sure if the violinists were for the kids but I know many of the adults sure enjoyed it. The food and drink was amazing and a good time was had by all. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhu ni Zhongqiujie kuai Le)!

Great traditional music with a bit of a modern accent.