Sep 29, 2009

mooncake festival and something NOT green and blue!

the chinese mooncake festival falls on this weekend :) and i haven't had a single mooncake yet!!

the mooncake festival, also called the mid-autumn festival or lantern festival is to celebrate the end of the summer harvest. it usually occurs in late september or early october and on this day, the moon is said to be in it's full glory. as a kid, my bros and i looked forward to this festival where mom would buy us each an animal lantern weeks before the festival and we'll be walking around with it for weeks! on the night of the festival we would have a family gathering and eat plenty of mooncakes! after dinner, the kids would then go out into the garden to "play lantern" and fireworks :) we would light candles all around the fences and i remember the neighbourhood kids (and the adults) would all gather at someone's house (usually ours) to just chat, eat more mooncakes and open pomelos. the adults will tell us stories and one story i particularly remember, not becos it's funny or anything, but becos they kept telling us the same story every year :p.

it was a story about how the chinese used mooncakes to overthrow the mongols and got their land back. it is believe that during the mongol rule in china between 1280–1368, all gatherings were banned for obvious reasons. so one smart guy from the village thought of a way to spread the rebellion word around by inserting notes into the mooncakes and distributing them to all those who celebrated this festival, which was practically all of china besides the mongols :) of course word got around and each and everyone who got the note in the mooncake gathered and the rebellion began. the chinese successfully overthrew the mongols and got their land back. and that became another reason to celebrate the mooncake festival.

and coming back to the family gathering ... after all the food, and the mooncakes, the pomelos, the gossips and storytelling, the night would end with the burning of the lanterns (if it's not already on fire before that :p). all the kids would be so sad but the adults would assure us that the better the lanterns burned, the better the luck of the family would be in the coming year. and with better luck we'll all get bigger lanterns next year!

so in accordance to the mooncake festival (just an excuse actually) i have created something not blue, not green and definitely not turquoise! and i'm so proud!! *gives myself a pat on the shoulder* this is asian mod ... the bead :D

this asian inspired creation is given a little abstract twist with the paint splatters :) i really quite love this one. the images dun really do it justice...

and this is asian mod ... the refrigerator magnets :)

as you can see, i like the idea of getting multiple uses in one item (the chinese in me indeed! :) so i've added a clip at the end of the magnets. now you not only can hold notes with the magnets, but can hang notes off it as well!

i'm going to list these in my etsy shops, bead in ithilien and magnets in pimp&paint ... well, as soon as etsy allows me to :))

happy pimping! :)


  1. Beautiful Luthien!! I really enjoyed the post about the festival! I want moon cake now!!xo

  2. Thanks for sharing about the Moon Festival. I had never heard of it before and it sounds like so much fun.

    And of course, you know I love the bead/magnet. I think you have really found your calling with clay. All your pieces are stunning!

  3. Very cool & I love the history behind it too:)


  4. What an amazing story Luthien!!! I love learning more about another countries culture.

    What are the mooncakes made of? I just love that name!!!


  5. Genius idea - those fridge magnets with little clips.

    How about sharing a mooncake recipe with us??

  6. great story (and bead!); sounds like it was fun remembering... you certainly brought it to life.

  7. michele :)
    thank you!! i want one too!! i haven't even tasted one yet this year and they're gonna be gone after this weekend. this is indeed a desperate mission ... tmrw will be mooncake eating day!

    julia :)
    it is a really fun and boisterous festival! and i think we enjoyed it as kids more than now, somehow when you become adult, it loses the magic cos we can't run around with the lanterns anymore. mayb when baby llara is older we can get her the lantern and relive that magic through her :) wow!! thanks for that sweet comment on my clay work. i'm really quite enjoying it!

    jolene :)
    thank you! stories like these are told from generation to generation but you know, we dun exactly know how much facts are in them. but it's fun all the same :)

    catherine :)
    thank you! it is quite fascinating isn't it... i feel the same when i read about stories from other cultures :) mooncakes traditionally are sweet... very sweet! made either from lotus paste or red bean paste with the crust of course. now they come in so many different flavors, they even have icecream ones!! but my favorite is the lotus paste with double egg yolk :) yes... egg yolk made from salted eggs! so yummy... imagine the sweet paste melding with the richness of the slightly salty egg yolks! ahhhhh.....

    lisa :)
    thank you!! actually i'm utterly rubbish when it comes to cooking...i can't even cook a simple meal! and baking a mooncake is said to be an artform. each baker who bakes it has their own recipe and each year they will come out with different ingredients and different flavors. and it's really top secret thingy for them ... it's like pride. apparently the bakers will prepare the ingredients and bring it to the shop, then the staff will just put the ingredients together but they never know what's inside :)

    mermaiden :)
    thank you! yea... some of these stories you just remember cos they form such a big part of your happy childhood days :) and now it's my turn to tell my kids these stories :)

  8. Luthen....GORGEOUS creation and I loved reading about the history of the celebration...and reliving a bit of your childhood with you!!!! Wonderful story!!! I hope you are having a very blessed day!!!

  9. Wow Luthien, I LOVE your fridge magnets! It takes a truly talented, creative spirit to take ideas to the next level of artistic expression while incorporating functionality into a piece. Well Done!

    Many HUGS and the best of thoughts from me to you♥

    Dawn xox♥

  10. Moon cake sounds DEEEEEEEEEEElightful!

    I love the magnets!


  11. Luthien, I loved your story. The mooncakes remind me of...forget about it, really, what I want is
    YOUR PLACEMATS! I saw them in your Etsy store, I want them, but I saw your shipping costs and I don't want to overcharge you. I recently sent something to Greece and it cost more to ship than the piece was worth. Maybe it is just the (scared USA, ) but I don't want that to happen to you. $30 shipping to outside USA?
    Please let me know, I love your art and want you to make bucks :)

  12. Wow Luthien, this was SO cool!! Why is all the fabulous holidays are in other countries?? I love the culture you grew up with - the things that make childhood SO magical!!

    Your newest creations are spectacular and I absolutely adore your magnets!! You're incredibly ingenious!!

  13. penny :)
    thank you so much :) the celebration has so many different stories attached to it, lolz i think history has melded with folklore :) but i'm sure there's truth in it... all folklores start with some amount of truth anyway:))

    dawn :)
    wow!! thank you so much dawn!! you always seems to be able to put thoughts and words in the most exquisite ways!! you just made my a totally happy camper!!

    lulu :)
    you should taste it! you should taste it!!! LOLZ!!

    lisa :)
    thank you!! woah!! and thank you for loving my placemats!! i've emailed you a note :)) hehehe...

    sharon :)
    thank you very much!! lolz! everyone seems to like my magnet idea .. HA! i'm gonna make more of those in different designs then :)) childhood is so much more magical then now isn't it... and yes.. we seem to celebrate everything! you know, there's a survey saying that the country that has the most public holidays is actually malaysia! :O we really work less days than any other countries in the world!!!

  14. The Moon Festival sounds like fun. Enjoy! Love the new magnets.

  15. It's so pretty, I mean the magnet. I thought if it's a earrings when I see the picture, But the design and the colour is so matching..


Luthien :)