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Saturday 17 September 2016

Chinese Moon Festival - An Evening Tea Party in Lincolnshire

The Moon Festival is the second most important Chinese festival so we felt we had to mark it in honour of Poppy, especially since today is also her first birthday to be celebrated since moving to England.





We had plenty of cakes at the ready, but no champagne...it was a tea party.



Time to make a selection and boil the kettle.



My beautiful Chinese tea service was brought out, Moon Cakes were sliced and very carefully presented  - they may look a little like pork pies, but these particular ones are nutty and sweet.



Poppy presided over the tea kettle and made pot after pot of tea as we all nibbled moon cake and shared a very happy family time.   The youngest member of the party settled for milk, happy to be over at our house and taking part in the fun.  His enjoyment was no doubt enhanced by the fact that his younger sister was at home and tucked up in bed.

We dimmed the lights and sang 'Happy Birthday' to Poppy who blew out her candles in one breath and got to make a wish.   Party poppers popped and more tea was supped.




We learned a little more about Chinese traditions and tea parties.  It was another lovely evening, although I fear we made Poppy work very hard as we all drank endless cups of delicious tea.


Unfortunately, the guest of honour didn't put in an appearance.  No sign of the moon, but that is England for you.


Thank you, Poppy.   


We are so glad you are part of our family.
xxx

9 comments:

  1. What a wonderful ceremony and celebration. Thanks for showing us the photos. Our full moon was large and bright in a clear sky. No lunar antics this full moon. The weather has remained dry and warm thank goodness.

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    1. Hi Linda, That sounds perfect - dull, damp, dismal here, I'm afraid. Still, it is the end of the week and we have lots to look forward to. Have a lovely weekend!

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    2. Thanks. We are on holiday! Weather holding

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  2. How very interesting! The moon cakes sound delicious to accompany the tea!
    Happy weekend!

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    1. Hi Christine, Poppy is Chinese, so we felt it was really important to do a bit of celebrating with her, especially as it was so close to her birthday, too. I hope you have a lovely weekend, too.

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  3. Very nice gesture though I did think the cakes looked like pork pies but they probabley tast nicer

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    1. Hi Bill, They were sweet and nutty, quite unlike pork pie, but still the image persisted! I last ate some about 55 years ago, as a child in Hong Kong. These were just as I remembered them, but then they were imported from HK, so not surprising. Next year we will make our own - and who knows, the moon may even make an appearance!

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  4. Happy First English Birthday Poppy! I hope you had a lovely day

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    1. Hi Sol, I'll pass that along, thank you! It was fun to combine the two occasions, though Poppy's birthday took precedence. The celebrations culminated with a meal out, last night. She is giving a demonstration and talk at our Village Hall tomorrow, so back down to earth with a bump!

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.