Celebrating the mid-autumn festival

With today being the 15th day of the Chinese eighth lunar month, I started thinking about what we in Penang actually call it. In English, there are two names commonly used: Mid-Autumn Festival and Mooncake Festival. But when I was growing up hearing Penang Hokkien, there was yet another name that sounded more familiar: pek-gueh chap-goh. That is how many of us first knew the festival: not by its formal Chinese name, 中秋节, or by the English name "Mid-Autumn Festival", but simply as pek-gueh chap-goh.

So which name should be used? There isn't really a rule saying that one must be used and the others avoided. "Mooncake Festival" is perfectly familiar in Malaysia, Singapore and among Chinese communities elsewhere. But if I had to choose one in English, I'd still go with Mid-Autumn Festival. The reason is quite straightforward. The Hokkien name is 中秋节 (Tiong-chhiu chek). Tiong-chhiu means "mid-autumn" and chek means festival. So the literal translation is Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Mooncake Festival", on the other hand, is a popular name that has developed from one of the customs associated with the occasion. There's nothing wrong with it, but it does make the festival sound as though it revolves around a particular pastry.

However, there is considerably more to it than that. The festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar when the moon is traditionally regarded as being at its fullest and brightest. It is closely associated with the autumn harvest, the full moon and families gathering together.

There are also lanterns, moon gazing, poetry and the familiar stories connected with the moon, particularly the tale of Chang'e and Hou Yi. Different parts of the Chinese-speaking world have their own customs and foods too. In some places, pomelos and osmanthus feature prominently.

Here in Penang, we have our own particular way of celebrating. Lanterns are still a familiar sight, especially where children are involved, while mooncakes come in an almost bewildering variety of flavours. Traditional lotus paste and salted egg yolk still have their followers, but these days we're also seen everything from durian to chocolate and all sorts of combinations that our grandparents would probably have regarded with some suspicion.

And then there is the packaging. Mooncakes have become big business. Every year the boxes seem to become more elaborate, more expensive and, occasionally, considerably more impressive than the mooncakes inside them. Hotels, restaurants and bakeries compete to come up with new flavours and presentation, while companies send them out as corporate gifts.

This is another reason why I prefer the name Mid-Autumn Festival. "Mooncake Festival" puts the emphasis rather heavily on the commercial and culinary side of things. It is a bit like calling Christmas the Christmas Pudding Festival. The pudding may be an important part of Christmas, but it doesn't really tell us what Christmas is about.

Still, I can understand why "Mooncake Festival" has caught on, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. It is simple, catchy and immediately gives people an idea of what the festival involves. If someone unfamiliar with Chinese customs hears "Mooncake Festival", they at least know what to look out for.

So I'm not suggesting that we should start correcting people every time they say "Mooncake Festival". That would be taking things rather too seriously. For me, though, Mid-Autumn Festival feels more appropriate because it describes the occasion rather than the food.

And perhaps pek-gueh chap-goh is the most Penang way of looking at it. It doesn't even try to explain the festival. It simply tells us when it happens on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Those words would have been enough for an older generation of Penang Hokkiens to know exactly what you were talking about.

Which brings me back to the question of what we should call it. Mid-Autumn Festival, Mooncake Festival or pek-gueh chap-goh? Perhaps all three are perfectly valid, depending on who you're talking to. But when I look up at the full moon, I'd still rather think of it as the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon, after all, was there long before the mooncakes.