A magnificent day for a Mooncake!
With the 11th of September being the fifteenth day of the eight month, following the Chinese Lunar calendar, it meant it was time for Melbourne’s annual mid-autumn festival “The Mooncake Festival”.
The traditional Asian celebration of family and unity brought hundreds of people to the Queen Victoria Market on Sunday to experience showcases of Asian culture and cuisine. From international street food, to Lion dancing, to wacky recreations of Asian logos, the festival successfully gave an insight into the Asian arts.
But how has this Asian tradition been translated all the way across to Australia?
I spoke to Liling Yang from Takoyaki Cuisine about what the festival means to her living in Australia.
“It (The Mooncake Festival) is the second biggest festival in China after the Chinese New Year so it is very important to me, and fortunately, with a big Asian population here in Melbourne, I am able to celebrate it here in Australia.”
“The Mooncake festival is celebrated on a full moon as to the Chinese, it is a symbol of prosperity and togetherness. Although it is an Asian tradition, it encourages everyone to connect with their families and celebrate happiness.”
Melbourne is famously known for its diverse and multicultural population and events such as The Mooncake Festival, provide evidence for this strong demographic. According to figures from Study Melbourne and the Australian Census, Melbourne is home to more than 200 different countries and over 230 languages are spoken.
Amongst the crowds, it was clear the festival attracted many different nationalities, most noticeably Asian, Australian, Indian and American. I spoke to some attendees asking what brought them to the festival.
Although, the full moon was not exactly visible at the festival on Sunday, its symbolic representation seemed very much present. The appreciation of Asian culture was thriving across a unified, multicultural community and it is events like this that are important to Melbourne, and Australia at large, in maintaining a peaceful population. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a mooncake?
The traditional Asian celebration of family and unity brought hundreds of people to the Queen Victoria Market on Sunday to experience showcases of Asian culture and cuisine. From international street food, to Lion dancing, to wacky recreations of Asian logos, the festival successfully gave an insight into the Asian arts.
But how has this Asian tradition been translated all the way across to Australia?
I spoke to Liling Yang from Takoyaki Cuisine about what the festival means to her living in Australia.
“The Mooncake festival is celebrated on a full moon as to the Chinese, it is a symbol of prosperity and togetherness. Although it is an Asian tradition, it encourages everyone to connect with their families and celebrate happiness.”
Melbourne is famously known for its diverse and multicultural population and events such as The Mooncake Festival, provide evidence for this strong demographic. According to figures from Study Melbourne and the Australian Census, Melbourne is home to more than 200 different countries and over 230 languages are spoken.
Amongst the crowds, it was clear the festival attracted many different nationalities, most noticeably Asian, Australian, Indian and American. I spoke to some attendees asking what brought them to the festival.
Although, the full moon was not exactly visible at the festival on Sunday, its symbolic representation seemed very much present. The appreciation of Asian culture was thriving across a unified, multicultural community and it is events like this that are important to Melbourne, and Australia at large, in maintaining a peaceful population. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a mooncake?
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