moon viewing: 2 posts

Tonight, the moon rises full and radiant, the harvest moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In many places across Asia, families gather to share tea and mooncakes, to light lanterns, to pause. I’ve always loved this idea: the celebration of something as mysterious and serene as the moon.

When I read my childhood journals from Ukraine, I find many references to it—the crescent moon I saw on Christmas Eve, the full moon glowing above a blooming cherry garden at dusk. The moon made me look up, take a breath, and let beauty flood in. It still does.

When I lived and traveled in Asia, the Mid-Autumn moon became a kind of companion. I remember sitting on a balcony in Singapore with a cup of green tea, the city humming below, the sky pale gold. One marvelous autumn in Tokyo, I experienced the scent of osmanthus mixing with the soft moonlight. And tonight, from my home in Brussels, the moon will rise again, the same moon, the same quiet invitation to look and remember.

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Mid-Autumn Festival is on Saturday, September 10th, and I already envision brewing a pot of tea and admiring the full moon in the evening. Some years the weather doesn’t cooperate, and the temptress moon hides behind the clouds, but when it reveals its full splendor, the effect is magnificent. The pearly moonlight makes the sleeping city shimmer and the skies turn a deep blue color, with soft whispers of grey.

My moon-viewing is incomplete without mooncakes, pastries filled with lotus seed paste or red beans, and an appropriate perfume. The latter is particularly important to set the ambiance and add more magic to my evening. Below are my seven choices, for both men and women.

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