Kids

5 Ways How to Celebrate the Mooncake Festival at Home

by Kevyn Gohu
September 7, 2021

The Mooncake Festival may be a Chinese tradition but it’s a fun tradition even for kids to play at home especially this September and during quarantine.

While September does have Hungry Ghost Month, we also have another festival to celebrate at home: the Mooncake Festival! Many Chinese families would often book restaurants and private rooms to celebrate this because it does get noisy! It’s a game of chance and luck which Chinese believe that winning the first prize means you’ll be lucky for the whole year. The best part is, it’s a game you can do at home with the kids to liven up their quarantine.

1. Order different from the usual Chinese food

We usually order the typical Sweet Sour Pork, Yang Chow Fried Rice, or Siomai when we look for Chinese food. But, the Mooncake Festival’s the best time to expose them to other good Chinese food. Some recipes like Hakaw (Shrimp Dumplings), Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings), Hot Prawn Salad (gets them to eat fruit without knowing), and Spinach Seafood Soup to sneak in some veggies will definitely spice up the Mooncake Festival celebration at home.

2. Play the dice game

The dice game’s probably going to be the highlight of the mooncake festival celebration at home. All you need are six dice and a ceramic bowl. The dice bounce better in ceramic sadly but that’s what makes it fun! There are 9 different combinations that dictate which prize you get from 6th prize to 1st prize. 1st prize is where it gets tricky; some combinations are higher than others so you’ll have to print a guide or have one on your phone while you play so you know who wins. This is the perfect way to test your kids’ math skills — especially when prizes are involved. Kids can even do it online by rolling dice on Google.

3. Buy hopia for the family to taste

While some of us are not fond of the plain mongo bean filling, there are other fillings like Red Bean, Ube, and Salted Egg. More modern versions include strawberries, chocolate, and other flavors. In most Mooncake Festivals, Hopia is the prize. But most Chinese families usually just eat the Hopia as dessert and instead have different prizes like notebooks, toys, candy, plates, and even electric fans as prizes instead. The easiest places to buy Hopia are either from Eng Bee Tin, D.E.C, Marriott Hotel (which has the Mooncake Festival Chest with all the assorted flavors) which you can either just Grab or use Pick-A-Roo to deliver so you can eat at home.

4. Go moon-watching

Moon-watching’s an old tradition but it’s a good way to also get some fresh air. Talking or even eating under the moon’s a more quiet way to celebrate the Mooncake Festival at home. Some families would do this while talking about their plans for the future, things to be thankful for, things for work because they believe the moon gives them power. Plus, the moonlight does create a soothing environment especially when everybody’s trying to improve their spiritual health.

5. Lantern-making

While we’re sticking to something that’s more screen-free, making a lantern during the Mooncake Festival lets your kids’ artsy and creative side come out. It can either be a family effort or even make a contest out of it — having a particular theme. Although lanterns are usually let out into the sky to send wishes to others, they can also be wish lanterns that you can hang outside your home to remind everyone about all the pandemic milestones they’ve accomplished.

The Mooncake Festival can be fun at home too!

Although it’s impossible to physically celebrate with the whole family, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a smaller one with your immediate family. The Mooncake Festival is usually when people prayed for a bountiful harvest but it can also be a time when we can all reflect with family how we’ve survived this crazy pandemic. It may not be as glowy as Minecraft for the kids but, it’s a new game that kids can eventually play together with their friends when they can see each other again.