While Chinese residents of Swindon gather for a special family meal on the cultural holiday, a grocery store has revealed that many non-Chinese locals also take part.

Moon Festival is an annual Chinese tradition tracing back 3,000 years and is closely tied to the harvest season when the moon is at its brightest and fullest, legends say. 

This year it is taking place on September 17, although the date varies depending on the lunar calendar. 

Festivities include moon-watching and eating mooncakes - a pastry with a thin crust wrapped around a soft filling often made of red bean paste or lotus -  which town centre store JJ Chinese Food say becomes very popular around this time of year - even among non-Chinese people. 

The Havelock Street business specialises in East Asian and Southeast Asian products and offers products popularised in Western culture, such as instant ramen, to a more niche selection of syrups and snacks.

In preparation of the festival, red boxes of mooncakes - imported from London where there is a much bigger Chinese community - stack up near the entrance.

(Image: Newsquest) The owner, who prefers not to be named for privacy, immigrated from China and eventually settled in Swindon.

 

"Because Moon Festival falls on a Tuesday, work goes on as usual and it’s difficult to organise a large celebration," she said in Mandarin, which has been translated into English. 

"Instead, Chinese families gather for a lavish dinner and share mooncakes. In the days leading up to it, many Chinese customers have visited to purchase the pastries.

"Yet it’s not just Chinese or British-Chinese residents who celebrate. Many other people learn about Moon Festival on the day of when national news outlets such as the BBC highlight its traditions.

"In the days following Moon Festival each year, I see non-Chinese customers flock to the store in search of mooncakes to taste," she added.

One of the store’s customers, carrying her 18-month-old child, was from China and married to a white-British man born and raised in Swindon.

"My husband is very enthusiastic about celebrating Chinese holidays," she said. 

"For Moon Festival, he is coming home early from work to cook their family a traditional meal of pineapple chicken and sweet vinegar pork ribs."