The ancients were very wise when eating moon cakes, they had to reduce rice and drink this drink.

What to prepare for Mid-Autumn Festival

The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival is usually held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (15th month of the 8th lunar month). It is the traditional festival of Vietnam and some East Asian countries, so worshiping on the 15th month of the 8th lunar month has many good meanings, showing gratitude and respect to ancestors.

This is also the occasion for families to gather and offer offerings to their ancestors to pray for peace, health, luck, happiness, prosperity... in life. Therefore, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is also called the Reunion Festival, Moon-Watching Festival...

In addition, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an occasion for ancient people to look at the moon to predict the harvest and the fate of the country. According to folklore, if the autumn moon is yellow, that year will have a good harvest of silkworms. If the autumn moon is blue or green, that year will have natural disasters. If the autumn moon is bright orange, the country will prosper...

The offering tray for the 15th day of the 8th lunar month is not solemn, but needs to be neat, cannot lack moon cake and most importantly, must be sincere. Photo from internet.

Simple offerings for the 15th day of the 8th lunar month

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, every family prepares a respectful meal to offer to their ancestors. Then, children and grandchildren gather together, share the difficulties of daily life... become closer and love each other more.

However, for Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 8th lunar month) and other 1st and 15th days, homeowners can choose to worship earlier to suit each family's circumstances. They can prepare offerings early on the 14th day of the 8th lunar month.

The offering tray for the 8th lunar month does not need to be as solemn as Tet, but it needs to be clean, neat and most importantly, sincere. Depending on the family, you can choose to offer the 8th lunar month with savory dishes or vegetarian dishes. In particular, the offering tray for the 8th lunar month cannot lack moon cakes, sticky rice cakes, fruits, incense, flowers and candles... (if possible, offer a box of 4 moon cakes placed neatly and solemnly on the altar).

At the same time, you can prepare an additional offering tray including boiled chicken, sticky rice, vermicelli soup with mushrooms, green bean sticky rice, stir-fried beef, spring rolls, etc. Depending on the season, you can prepare dishes to suit your family's taste.

In general, there is no standard for worshiping the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. You can prepare offerings as you wish as long as they are in accordance with your family's beliefs and regional customs. Many families prepare simple offerings such as moon cakes, fruits, betel and areca nuts, wine and tea, etc., then light incense, recite prayers to the gods, and then worship their ancestors.

Incense to connect with the spiritual world is recommended by feng shui experts to use herbal incense produced by feng shui companies because the quality is guaranteed to be clean incense, helping the incense offering ritual to be spiritual, attract good luck, have a pleasant aroma, good for the spirit of the worshiper and family members.

Many people wonder why ancient people had to drink tea when eating moon cakes. Photo from the internet.

On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, eat moon cakes and enjoy the moon, so drink tea.

Every year when the moon rises, the village beats the drums, and groups of children carry lanterns everywhere. Adults gather together to drink green tea (or black tea), eat cakes, watch the moon, and display fruits and candies for children to play with, carry lanterns, dance with lions, and watch the moon return, then enjoy feasts together... (in 2024, the North has just experienced heavy floods, so many wards and communes did not organize drum festivals for children to carry lanterns like previous years).

However, families still celebrate the feast, eat mooncakes, and drink tea while admiring the moon. Many people wonder why people in the past had to drink tea while eating mooncakes. And what can people who are sick and have to abstain from eating mooncakes do if they want to eat them?

This issue was answered by Doctor Thu Hang (Center for Research of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicines on Kienthuc.net) in general as follows: The best way to control blood sugar is to choose the right type of cake, with low sugar and fat content. You should stop at the level of tasting the flavor to control the amount of sugar entering the body.

For normal people - especially those who are on a diet, when eating moon cakes, they need to reduce rice and fat in their diet, and increase physical activity to burn off some calories. When eating cakes, they should drink tea - because this special drink contains a lot of acetic acid which helps break down fat.

There are many types of moon cakes for diabetics on the market. Some cakes are less sweet by using natural sugars with mild sweetness instead of sucrose. At the same time, increasing the amount of nuts such as almonds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds not only reduces the sweetness but is also suitable for dieters.

On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, eating mooncakes should be accompanied by tea to be delicious and to burn off some of the energy taken into the body. Photo from the internet.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/ong-ba-ta-khi-an-banh-trung-thu-la-giam-com-va-uong-kem-thu-nuoc-nay-thao-nao-khong-ai-len-can-172240916192901551.htm