Folk customs of moon worship vary from region to region in China. The most unforgettable I have seen was in central Shanxi. An altar was set up in the yard to burn Mid-Autumn Festival moon cake patten showing the "Sal tree of' life" and the lade hare from the molto palace. (jishan, ShanxO. incense and candles. Layers of fruits piled up on the altar as offerings to the moon fairy. Placed in the middle
of the altar was a huge round cake of one-meter in diameter, showing patterns of radiating lotus pedals coming from the center and colorful floury flowers and figures like "Monkey eating a peach." In between of the lotus pedals were jujubes, symbolic of life and propagation. The cake, likening lotus to the moon and mother's body, was a prayer for a bumper harvest, family reunion and prosperity.
