Singapore Airlines celebrates the Mid-Autumn festival

This Mid-Autumn festival, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will once again bring the celebration onboard to its passengers with a delightfully tasty treat.

On 11 September 2003, SIA passengers on all flights to, through and from selected Asian destinations will be presented with specially made lotus paste and melon seed mooncakes to commemorate this day in the Lunar calendar. The destinations include Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most well known Chinese festivals in the Lunar calendar. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year, where the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest in the entire year. Also known as the 'Harvest Festival', this festival (which coincides with the Earth God's birthday) is held to signal the end of a year's hard work in the fields, with only the harvest left to attend to. Hence, Chinese peasants use this traditional festival to express their gratitude to heaven (represented by the  moon) and earth (symbolized by the earth god) for the blessings and bountiful harvest they have enjoyed over the past year.

Mooncakes, which are sweet pastries in the shape of a moon and traditionally filled with a lotus seed paste, are eaten during this period to commemorate this festival.