Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival...It's Mooncake time!

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) is a traditional Chinese festival that is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, around the time of the autumn equinox. Some of the other names for this festival include: Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, Lantern Festival and Festival of Reunion. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 30 this year, is a time when farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season, and when family members gather to appreciate the beauty of the autumn moon. Spectacular is the evening, when families eat mooncakes and sip on a pot of tea while gazing up at the moon, which is at its maximum brightness for the entire year. There are many stories that are associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most popular is about the legend of Houyi and Chang'e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality. 

One of the most common traditions associated with Zhongqiu Jie involves making and eating mooncakes: sweet round cakes. This festive food used to be only consumed during Mid-Autumn Festival which made the event known as Mooncake Festival.

Mooncakes used to be only consumed during this time of the year until the festival became a month long event. Traditional baked mooncakes are filled with lotus paste and egg yolk in the middle which signifies the moon and either served round or square.

Over the years, Traditional mooncakes have slowly evolved from an age-old Chinese delicacy to something as stimulating as ice cream cake. Ice cream moon cakes are a creative and contemporary version of the traditional moon cake. The emergence and popularity of ice cream moon cakes is a result of the union of the traditional and the contemporary. 

Ice cream mooncakes thrill both traditionalists and those looking to try something new and unique.

Iconic ice cream maker, Häagen-Dazs has unveiled a splendid selection of 4 different flavours - White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate and Strawberry Chocolate. All 4 flavours have a crispy praline base and a Mango Sorbet ‘yolk’ in the centre to symbolise the full moon.

Furthermore, this year Swensen's launched their popular ice cream mooncakes in 6 flavours - Durian Royale, Yummy Yam, Strawberry Fields Forever, Mocha Almond Delight, Cookies 'N' Cream Dreams and Sticky Chewy Chocolate.

So get into the spirit of the Mid–Autumn Festival, by not just enjoying traditional mooncakes but also ice cream mooncakes!