I'm a TA for a music class, and the teacher gave me a box of moon cakes. :)
They usually contain lotus root and salted duck egg, some of them have sesame seeds, and some are sweeter and contain a custard filling.
Mooncakes from different bakeries.
Last night I went with some of my local friends from the dorm to see the lanterns in Tai Po Waterfront Park.
The decorations were gorgeous! People walk along the waterfront carrying lanterns with candles in them (or plastic lanterns for the kids) down to the park.
There is a story associated with the mooncakes, as well. Some of the girls in my dorm tried to explain it to me in Chinglish; those of you who have read David Sedaris' account of attempting to explain Easter in French [from Me Talk Pretty One Day] will have some idea of what went down. From what I gathered, a man was given a pill from the gods which would grant him eternal life, but he was only supposed to take half of it. His wife wanted to live forever, so she took the whole pill, not knowing the correct dosage. Then she felt very light and flew to the moon, where a rabbit also lived. [No idea where the rabbit came in, but he's on the mooncake tin.] She has no way to get down because she is so light, so every year she looks down on the families who gather for Mid-Autumn festival from a palace in the moon.
The girls also felt it necessary to explain that this was a myth.
