Opening Thoughts

As someone born after 1995, I've always loved festivals, mainly for the seasonal delicacies! During festivals, social media feeds get flooded with food photos, with everyone showing off their special festival dishes. Honestly, I often wonder why we eat specific foods during specific festivals. For example, why do we eat tangyuan during the Lantern Festival and mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival? There must be many stories behind these traditions that we don't know! As a food enthusiast, I've done extensive research, and today I'd like to share these interesting stories behind traditional festival foods!

The Mystery of Tangyuan

When it comes to the Lantern Festival, the first thing that pops into my mind is that white, plump, round tangyuan! Interestingly, it's called tangyuan in the South and yuanxiao in the North. They're actually the same thing - small balls made from glutinous rice flour and served in soup. But these little rice balls are not simple at all; they carry thousands of years of Chinese hopes for family reunion!

I remember when I was young, our house would be especially lively on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Early in the morning, my mom would clean the kitchen thoroughly and start preparing tangyuan. She would pour glutinous rice flour into a large bowl, gradually add water, and knead it by hand until it became a smooth dough. This process required great care - the water had to be added gradually, and the flour needed to be kneaded bit by bit, or else the dough would become too dry or too wet.

I loved helping with the filling because I could sneak some bites! We had many different fillings at home - sweet ones like red bean paste, black sesame, and peanut, and savory ones like ground pork. Making tangyuan was a skilled task - you had to roll the dough into small balls, make a hole with your thumb, put in the filling, then close it up and roll it round. When I first started making them, they were quite ugly, either uneven in size or with filling showing through, but my mom always taught me patiently.

In recent years, tangyuan flavors have become increasingly diverse. I've seen matcha, chocolate, cheese flavored ones online, and even durian filling! Although these new flavors sound tempting, I still love the traditional red bean paste filling the most. When cooked tangyuan float in the soup, white and round like the moon in the sky, they perfectly match the festival atmosphere.

The tradition of eating tangyuan during the Lantern Festival is said to have over a thousand years of history. In ancient times, tangyuan were offerings to deities before becoming festival food. Ancient Chinese believed that roundness symbolized reunion, and the white color symbolized purity, so eating tangyuan during the Lantern Festival represented people's hopes for family reunion and happiness.

The Mooncake Code

When it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, we must talk about mooncakes! There are so many varieties nowadays, with all sorts of unusual flavors emerging. I remember last Mid-Autumn Festival, I tried a durian snow skin mooncake, and that taste, well, it was unforgettable! But did you know that in ancient Beijing, mooncakes were very particular, divided into red and white colors?

Red mooncakes were specifically for moon worship and had to be placed on the altar. White mooncakes were for people to eat. This distinction wasn't arbitrary but reflected ancient people's reverence for deities. They believed that offerings and food for people must be kept separate to show proper respect.

The history of mooncakes is even more interesting. Legend has it that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang and his followers used mooncakes to pass messages about their uprising, hiding notes inside the cakes - it was like an ancient version of secret codes! Although this story has been questioned by historians as possibly being made up later, such a cool story adds a bit of mystery to mooncakes, which is quite nice!

Today's mooncakes come in dozens of varieties, just in terms of fillings. My favorite is the five-nut mooncake, even though many young people say it's their least favorite. I just think the five-nut flavor is particularly fragrant. The mixture of various nuts provides both texture and aroma, and it's perfect with a cup of hot tea!

To be honest, there are some complaints about modern mooncakes. Some businesses focus too much on profit, making extremely luxurious packaging that accounts for most of the cost. Some mooncakes even cost hundreds of yuan per box, which seems excessive!

However, the tradition of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival should be preserved. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, when families gather together, admiring the moon while eating mooncakes, chatting and laughing - these precious moments are truly valuable. Now many young people like to make mooncakes at home, which I think is a great way to pass on the tradition.

Climbing High and Enjoying Cake

The Double Ninth Festival might be the least prominent among these festivals, but the Double Ninth cake is no less significant! These layered pastries are quite appetizing just to look at. Why are Double Ninth cakes made in layers? This is because the Double Ninth Festival has a tradition of climbing heights, and the layered cake symbolizes rising higher and higher.

I remember last Double Ninth Festival, I specifically went to a traditional shop to buy Double Ninth cake. Their cakes were handmade, with each layer as thin as cicada wings and decorated with beautiful patterns. The shop owner said their recipe was passed down through generations, and they only use the finest ingredients.

The making of Double Ninth cake is very particular. First, you need to select high-quality glutinous rice flour and mix it with the right amount of water to make a batter. Then, oil is brushed in copper molds, the batter is poured in, and the cakes are steamed. The cake layers must be stacked while hot, with sugar syrup brushed between layers to make them stick together. Finally, sugar powder or osmanthus flowers are sprinkled on top, making it both beautiful and delicious.

Modern Double Ninth cakes have many innovations, with some adding matcha powder or red yeast rice powder to create different colored layers. Some also experiment with fillings, adding various dried fruits and preserved fruits, which taste quite good. But no matter the innovation, the layered shape of Double Ninth cake never changes, as this is its essential characteristic.

It's best to enjoy Double Ninth cake with a cup of hot tea, as the cake is quite sweet and tea can balance the flavor. I love pairing it with Tieguanyin tea - the combination of tea fragrance and cake sweetness is simply perfect!

New Interpretations of Festival Foods

As times change, our traditional festival foods continue to innovate. Today's tangyuan isn't limited to traditional red bean and sesame fillings; new flavors like matcha, chocolate, and cream have emerged. I recently saw a video online of someone making "explosive" tangyuan - bite into it, and the filling flows out, looking super tempting!

Mooncake innovations are even more impressive. Besides traditional Cantonese and Suzhou-style mooncakes, there are now snow skin mooncakes, mung bean cake mooncakes, and even French and Japanese-style mooncakes. Some brands attract young consumers with special flavors like bubble tea mooncakes or spicy crayfish mooncakes. Though they sound strange, many people are willing to try them.

However, despite all the innovations, the most important aspect of these festival foods is their symbolic meaning. Whether it's tangyuan symbolizing reunion, mooncakes representing remembrance, or Double Ninth cakes expressing hopes for a better life, these beautiful meanings are eternal.

Now many young people are starting to make festival foods themselves, which is a great way to pass on traditions. Although they might not be as perfect as those made by master chefs, the sense of achievement from making them yourself is incomparable to bought food. Moreover, the process of making these foods helps people better understand their cultural significance.

Conclusion and Reflection

After discussing all these traditional festival foods, my favorite is still tangyuan. To me, tangyuan isn't just food, but a carrier of meaning. Every time I see those white, round tangyuan, I'm reminded of the warm memories of making them with family when I was young.

These festival foods are like a bridge through time, connecting ancient traditions with modern life. They not only satisfy our taste buds but also pass on our culture. Each festival and each food carries unique Chinese emotions and wisdom.

As the new generation, we should protect and inherit these traditions. We can innovate, but we shouldn't lose the essence of tradition. Let these foods continue to tell Chinese stories and convey Chinese emotions.

Finally, I want to say that the significance of food isn't just about taste, but whether it can inspire our longing for a better life and help us appreciate the charm of traditional culture. So next time during a festival, try to learn more about the stories behind the festival foods, making them not just a pleasure for the tongue but also nourishment for the soul.