mid-autumn festival

Unlike Malaysia and Singapore, Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday in Taiwan... here, many would make use of the opportunity to go home and spend the day with their family.. and giving gifts of moon cakes and pomelos are the norm..

Last week I was surprised to receive a gift of moon cakes, pineapple tarts and pomelos from a classmate of mine.. :) She insisted that I must experience this local festivity and be a part of the community.. 

a mini moon cake and a black sesame pineapple tart..

2 small pomelos and a box of pineapple tarts

One thing I've noticed is that the pomelos here are much smaller than those found in Malaysia/Singapore, about half the size.. the ones I had were slightly sweet but I've no idea how sweet they were supposed to be..  the moon cake was also smaller and not too sweet..

Personally, Mid-Autumn Festival was more fun when I was young.. we played with paper lanterns which had shapes of dragons, tigers, rabbits, etc. and we put candles on our main metal gates, illuminating it as did most of our Chinese neighbors in the housing estate.. as adult, this festival holds no huge significance to me...  truth be told, the celebration of Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali resonate more closely to my heart than Mid-Autumn Festival.... and I think that is something only those who had lived in a multiracial and multicultural country like Malaysia could comprehend and appreciate..