Author:Edwin Lin

Speaking of the Mid-Autumn Festival, surely we will associate it with eating moon cakes and enjoying the moon. But do you know the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival? These two words, Mid-Autumn Festival, came from Li Ji-Yue Ling in Zhou Li(Rites of Zhou) , which says “Keep good health to defend aging during the second month of autumn by eating porridge.” The exact date of the “Mid-Autumn” was not mentioned in the book. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the “Mid-Autumn” became a regular festival. And the word “moon cake” was coined by Wu, Zih-Mu in the Southern Song Dynasty. In his work Meng Liang Lu (《夢梁錄》), he originally mentioned it as a kind of pastry food. In the end, people combined the activities of enjoying the moon and eating the moon cakes, which symbolizes the idea of family reunion. Therefore, moon cakes have become presents connecting people together.
I believe the gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year must be a box of moon cakes! That’s right! The gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival chosen by the company is the moon cake gift box made by Cih-Yu Sheltered Workshop. Like the gift box for the Dragon Boat Festival, the gift box for the Mid-Autumn this year is made by one of the organizations belonging to Yu-Cheng Social Welfare Foundation as well. Cih-Yu sheltered workshop was established in December of 1994. The specialists provide the disabled with relevant training and sales services. Every product is made under the attitude of enthusiasm (Love) and happiness (Joy). The attitude is shaped through the training sessions. The food they made does not contain preservatives. And it is certified by the Public Health Department of the New Taipei City Government. They hope the consumers eat healthily and without worries. The workshop is working hard in order to receive an ISO 9000 certification at present. Although the workshop is united by the disabled, and the improvement of the equipment and the environment remains a problem to be solved, the workshop still hopes to provide the customers with products of better quality. This kind of attitude really makes people feel awe for.