![]() ![]() I threw a Lunar New Year party and hand-pleated 100 dumplings. At Imperfect, I push to focus less on Euro-centric recipes and feature more diverse dishes and delicious Asian recipes. I began incorporating Asian recipes in our dinner rotations at home. Call it maturity or give credit to therapy or the more diverse representation in pop culture (see Crazy Rich Asians), but by the grace of God, a few years ago, I started to love my Asian-ness. So I refused to speak Mandarin, I proudly declared that “I wasn’t that Asian,” and I made racist Asian jokes to distinguish me from the “rest of them.” No one else could make the jokes if I said them first.īut like the moon, people go through many phases. So I decided the best way would be to make myself as “white” as possible. More than once, someone tugged their eyelids into slits and chanted, “ching chang chong!” to my face.Īll I wanted was to fit in and feel accepted for who I was. At school, classmates gagged at my noodle and rice-based lunches. I grew up in the California Bay Area in a mostly white neighborhood. But until recently, I would have preferred to be just American. So much so that many of my coworkers consider it one of my personality traits. But for most of my life, I’ve associated it with “pumpkin spice season” rather than the Mid-Autumn Festival.īeing the child of two Taiwanese immigrants technically makes me Taiwanese American. I’ve never actually celebrated the holiday in Taiwan.īut what I do know is that I LOVE autumn. Delicious mooncakes and pomelos are enjoyed for dessert as the fall air breezes by. You hang out with your favorite people while eating and grilling. In Taiwan, where my parents are from, you set out chairs, eat barbecue, and feast outside right on the street. The roots of the holiday originate from a time when farmers would celebrate the season’s bountiful harvest and hard work on the day the moon was thought to be at its fullest and brightest.īut these days, it’s a time to appreciate the moon and celebrate with loved ones over a feast. But I know it best as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Harvest Moon Festival, Moon Festival, or Chuseok, to name a few. #Midautumn festival story fullIllustration by Irene Lee.Įvery year around September and October, when the moon is looking incredibly full and bright, many East Asian cultures celebrate a multi-day holiday known by many names. #Midautumn festival story seriesThis story is part of the Elbows on the Table Essay Series and featured in our Imperfect Almanac. ![]()
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