Photo credit: Nikon-Guy
Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance...
(Mandarin: "Zhong Qiu Jie"; Cantonese: "Zung Cau Zit")
The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being Chinese New Year). It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which parallels the Autumn Equinox -- when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. The festival is traditionally seen as a celebration of abundance and togetherness.
A traditional celebration of the Mid Autumn Festival includes the consumption of mooncake (Mandarin: "yue bing", Cantonese: "jyut beng"), a Chinese pastry made with a thick filling of lotus seed paste. Often, the yolks of salted duck eggs are baked into the mooncake, to symbolize the full moon. The saltiness of the yolk balances the sweet filling. Mooncakes are a very rich food and typically are cut into small wedges and served with Chinese tea.
In 2008, this festival falls on September 15.
(Fun fact: I am, in fact, eating a piece of mooncake as I'm writing up this cache description!)
The cache is a lock-and-lock style container hidden a short distance off the Stittsville rails-to-trails pathway. There are many other caches along this route, which is very bike-friendly. Look for some really neat landscapes and wildlife as you walk the trail, including the location where the above photo was taken.
I placed this cache while walking the trail with Nikon-Guy and Trinitea on a clear August night. They've already signed the log, but forfeit all FTF rights. Have fun!