hello my beauties it is basically my favorite time of the year because not only is a perfect fall weather it is also when you have mooncake so this is probably around the time where you see a lot of mooncakes popping up in Asian grocery stores they're pretty much everywhere mid-autumn festival also known as the mooncake day falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar year calendar so for this year it falls on the 4th of October and in preparation for that day I thought I will share with you the reasons why we celebrate mid-autumn festival but also some of the staple foods that you will find on the dinner table the mid-autumn festival is one of three most important holidays that the Chinese people celebrate second to the Chinese new year this is pretty much the Asian version of Thanksgiving because this is a day where families reunite and they celebrate under the moon and this is also around the time when the moon is the brightest the fullest and the roundest as early as the time dynasty people used to worship the moon they would actually offer seasonal foods as well as burn incense and they believed that the moon was a symbol of prosperity, happiness and family reunion so traditionally people would make moon-shaped cakes and then after offering them they would cut them up and then share amongst the family and this is pretty much how it started the mooncake tradition mooncakes are basically pastry filled cakes with various types of fillings you get the most common ones like lotus seed you get mun bean paste red bean paste and sometimes nuts and fruits and things like that but even modern ones now you get green tea or taro flavored ones I personally love the traditional one with the words printed on top and I definitely prefer the red bean paste with egg yolk so besides the mooncake obviously there are six other staple foods that we eat during this time of the year and I'm going to tell you what they are and why we eat them number one hairy crabs I know it sounds disgusting but it's actually surprisingly delicious this is definitely a must-eat and it's super popular around that time of the year because it is actually the season where they come to shore and lay their eggs and it is also when they're probably the most expensive but also quite delicious this is very popular amongst the southern parts of China especially in Shanghai because hairy crabs are considered a cold or yin type of food they're usually served with ginger and vinegar which is also a warm type which will balance out the dish for you a very important tip is to avoid eating the heart of the hairy crab it's basically this gray rubbery flesh that is the size of a sim card so make sure you pick it out if you do see it the reason why to avoid eating that is because hairy crab alone is already cold but the heart apparently is the coldest and when you eat or consume too much cold foods it'll result in stomach aches vomiting you know diarrhea and all that stuff so best to not have that during the mid-autumn festival so hairy crabs contain a lot of proteins, amino acids, vitamin A, B1, B2 and phosphorus that helps to enrich the bone marrow, boost blood circulation and help with muscle growth you can also cure ulcers which is normally caused by overheated or trapped heat in the body number two pumpkin this is attached to a legend that was told from generations to generations it's about a girl from a very very poor family who was so poor that couldn't afford to feed themselves and the parents got sick and ill so what happened is this poor girl found the pumpkin lying on the side of the road and she decided to take it home and cook it for her dying parents this humble little pumpkin restore the parents back to life and then this legend has been passed on from generations to generations to basically tell people the story of family, love, reunion, compassion so now they make pumpkins in various dishes from main course appetizers to desserts pumpkins are jam-packed with vitamin A which is super good for your eyesight it also has a ton of fiber that will help to detox and clean out the body antioxidants that will fight off free radicals and keep you youthful and then also beta-carotene that can even fight off certain cancers vitamin C improves your immune system and potassium hydrates and protects your body from the upcoming cold weather number three river snails another common yet sounds quite disgusting but it's very specific to the Asian culture and super common around that time of the year it is also the season to harvest them so you'll find them across the dinner tables it's not the fancy ones you get in Paris it's actually tinier and they smell really bad they're often cooked with wine and medicinal herbs to take out the odor because they do harvest them from the rivers this is very common in Guangzhou city and places in Hong Kong as well not only do snails contain protein and a bunch of vitamins and minerals it has omega-3 fatty acids that improves brain power lowers cholesterol levels prevent heart diseases and improves eyesight you may have heard about the recent snail craze skincare line that's popping up all over Korea so not only is it good for you on the inside but also on the outside number four is pears there's another Chinese saying that to never split a pear with your loved ones because pear in Chinese li is the same sound as the word li which is to leave someone or to separate so they say to never split a pear with your family or your friends or your partner or your lover so therefore it's actually because of that reason we have pear during mid-autumn festival it actually implies the desire to reunite with a family for the following year and it's also the same reason why you often see pear in a lot of Chinese traditional culture offerings and then we eat them afterwards it contains a ton of good things like potassium which will help with the heart and muscle function it also contains fibers that will help with the digestive system and also helps your body better absorb the vitamins and minerals you eat number five duck which is also one of my favorite Chinese dishes the Peking duck however during the mid-autumn festival you will notice the duck being cooked in various different forms one of the most popular and the most traditional way is the osmanthus duck duck is known to help expel pathogens from the body it also helps to create the perfect yin and yang balance not only does it have complete proteins and minerals to support your immune system it prepares your body for the changing weather it also has vitamin b complex which will boost your nervous system and prevent stress and depression last but not least number six osmanthus you pretty much find this in your wine your tea your dessert your cakes and even in your duck this is such an iconic and important element in the especially during the mid-autumn festival osmanthus also has a backstory legend it actually is one of the three most famous legend during the mid-autumn festival so the emperor punishes this guy called wugang to chop down the osmanthus tree so what he would do is chop down the tree and then it keeps growing back and then he'll go back and chop it down again and it grows back chop grows back chop grows back so now we use this saying as to describe anything that we do as like an endless task so during the mid-autumn festival that's when the osmanthus flowers is in full bloom and it has a really sweet fragrance often described as like apricots or peaches so this flower has been used in traditional Chinese medicine during the ancient times as it has a sedative effect to relax and calm the mind it also has anti-allergic agents that can reduce congestive throat and the mucus caused by the inflamed lungs osmanthus is also known to help reduce menstrual cycle pain as well as bloating and gas stomach aches as well as preventing bad breath so you can have osmanthus in your tea your wine your desserts everything it's super good with oolong tea and it also is great with some goji berries or longan as well as osmanthus jelly or cakes that you can research these recipes online super simple and easy to make my favorite is the osmanthus glutinous rice balls often cooked with zhou niang which is this fermented rice wine however it's usually cooked over high heat so a lot of the alcohol content is evaporated so even children can have it it's definitely a best way to end a big feast and it also helps to keep you warm during the cold winter so that was it i hope you guys enjoy a little insight into traditional chinese culture and speaking of that i just want to let you guys know one of my favorite shows sheng ying the symphony orchestra is actually touring around the world and they're stopping by new york on october 14th and 15th at the carnegie hall so if you guys are interested definitely go check it out the mission of the sheng ying symphony orchestra is to revive the true traditional chinese culture from 5 000 years ago the great thing is that they combine both traditional chinese instruments with the modern western ones so you get pipa, erhu all those things along with your violins and your trumpets and whatnot so i think that's quite interesting and definitely very fascinating and they try to bring that out through music which is the universal language and you don't need to speak anything you just have to be there to listen with your hearts and i think definitely worth checking out if you are in new york they're also touring around the world i will link it down below for you to show you where when they're visiting your city if you guys are going in new york please let me know down below as well because maybe i'll see you guys there so thank you guys for watching and happy mid-autumn festival bye