Mooncake are usually about 10 cm in diameter and 4–5 cm thick. Like the rice dumplings, mooncake are stuffed with things inside as well such as lotus seed paste, sweet bean paste, five kernel etc. In Shanghai, the place where I come from, there is also meat inside the mooncake as well, which not only tastes good, but also smells so good! The mooncake would be put into the oven after they are made so that the crust of the mooncake would be crispier.
Nowadays people are being more creative and thus there are more types of rice dumplings and mooncake and these food are almost seen everywhere on the streets. Sometimes, it is common for business people to give rice dumplings and mooncake to their clients or relatives as presents.
America Section
As international students from different countries, it's probably some of us' first time to experience Americans' traditional festivals and their food. I want to introduce two festivals today: Thanksgiving and Easter.
Thanksgiving
For most of the freshman in American universities, this year was the first year that they spent Thanksgiving away from their family. As I talked to one of the student from Georgia Tech, he shared his Thanksgiving experience of this year with me. They had a potluck "Friendsgiving", which is what a number of people call a Thanksgiving gathering with friends. At the same time, the Christian groups around campus hosted events for international students to make them feel welcomed. By sharing the traditional Thanksgiving food together, American students and international students got a chance to talk to each other about food and festivals in their home countries. Food in this situation was more than just something to fill people up. More importantly, it set the stage for communication between students come from different cultures.
A traditional Thanksgiving dinner (photo from Wikipedia)
The most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner is turkey. Thanksgiving is even sometimes called “Turkey Day” because turkey is so important a dish on the dinner table that day. The Broad Breasted White turkey is particularly bred for Thanksgiving dinner, and most Thanksgiving turkeys are stuffed with a bread-based mixture and roasted (Wikipedia). Another very traditional Thanksgiving food is pumpkin pie. Other typical Thanksgiving foods are pudding, apple and sweet potatoes crisp, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, carrots and squash. There are regional differences for the stuffing or dressing served with the turkey.
Thanksgiving is an American festival. It is a time to get together and be mindful of your good fortunes. On Thanksgiving day, usually the entire extended family will gather and have dinner together. Some religious families in America pray grace before dinner, thanking god for all the things they get in their lives.