tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post116037692717004815..comments2023-04-26T17:27:01.571+08:00Comments on To the Tale, and Other Such Concerns: Of Dice and MooncakesSeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-21587674320280250002016-09-18T01:31:12.796+08:002016-09-18T01:31:12.796+08:00TEN YEARS LATER AND I AM READING THIS POST. THANK ...TEN YEARS LATER AND I AM READING THIS POST. THANK YOU!annndiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02329939129626625450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-57555082379237056152010-09-29T11:00:55.797+08:002010-09-29T11:00:55.797+08:00your post always comes out of google search result...your post always comes out of google search results ;)<br /><br />Thanks for the information :D I was able to use your post as reference too for mine ;)Rochhttp://www.rochellesychua.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-39505688993393523052010-09-24T17:06:10.466+08:002010-09-24T17:06:10.466+08:00I'm personally surprised that this is still ge...I'm personally surprised that this is still getting comments. :)Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-64593997826050066122010-09-23T14:41:12.964+08:002010-09-23T14:41:12.964+08:00Hi Sean,
Thank you for the game guide. This is wh...Hi Sean,<br />Thank you for the game guide. This is what i am looking for to our game this coming Saturday among batchmates. The Mooncake Dice Game is surely one way for great bonding among friends and relatives.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15774236652413985001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-86538056902212493582010-09-10T09:47:02.934+08:002010-09-10T09:47:02.934+08:00our Church in Anaheim, Ca USA, is sponsoring a dic...our Church in Anaheim, Ca USA, is sponsoring a dice game on the 19th of September. If anyone wants to join us, pls email me for the details. <br /><br />kenongtan@aol.comKennethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-45121406311043063612008-09-04T01:20:00.000+08:002008-09-04T01:20:00.000+08:00Kat: You're welcome to reference what you need fro...Kat: You're welcome to reference what you need from this post; feel free to link or take excerpts. (I've contacted you via e-mail in case you can't read this response for some reason.) I'll only require a link to this blog, and the web address of your site so that I can visit.<BR/><BR/>I find it funny, though, that people would still be reading this post even after two years...Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-58716355608807352422008-09-03T22:06:00.000+08:002008-09-03T22:06:00.000+08:00Hi, Sean. Great post! Timeless...I'm currently w...Hi, Sean. Great post! Timeless...<BR/><BR/>I'm currently working for an online Chinese bookstore and I was looking around for Moon Festival Activities. I saw one blog about this dice game but yours is more complete.<BR/><BR/>I would like to add about this game to the site (for families who may also want to do this) and will credit your post.<BR/><BR/>Me, I've also decided to celebrate Moon Festival this year with my boys (we're non-Chinese) and the dice game sounds like fun... Will just have to be a little more creative about the prizes or the system since there'll only be 3 of us.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again Sean!Katolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627663030562142140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-81218013231402933302008-08-02T17:39:00.000+08:002008-08-02T17:39:00.000+08:00Danjulie: Er.. the only reason as to why I posted ...Danjulie: Er.. the only reason as to why I posted the rules here was because I couldn't find them anywhere else online. I'm glad that it helped you in some way, though... feel free to ask if you need any more assistance.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-54541656853806346172008-08-01T09:46:00.000+08:002008-08-01T09:46:00.000+08:00thank you for your GREAT description of the moonca...thank you for your GREAT description of the mooncake festival game. this year is my family's turn to host the game. we have been playing it for as long as i can remember :). but wanted to LIST down the rules, since that always slows us down in the beginning (with the older people arguing about the rules!). will make a big chart of your rules :)have been looking all over the internet and not many people explain it well. <BR/><BR/>thanks again!<BR/><BR/>juliedanjulie2003https://www.blogger.com/profile/15540895746325777865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1161054651024334892006-10-17T11:10:00.000+08:002006-10-17T11:10:00.000+08:00cstiu: A few days after the festival weekend, one ...cstiu: A few days after the festival weekend, one of the local dailies called attention to the fact that about 85% of Chinese families had their origins in Fujian (Xiamen) province. That at least gives a clear number to our earlier estimates, although I find myself wondering why the Philippines maintains such an overwhelming concentration.<BR/><BR/>The practice of visiting parks is more along the lines of the international standard, I think. Seasonal festivals are usually spent outdoors, although I'm not sure where the practice of buying lanterns comes from. (Maybe they're a symbolic representation of the full moon? Hmmm.)<BR/><BR/>After over twenty years of the dice game, I'll openly state that I'm starting to get a little tired of mooncakes. They're good, mind you, but you don't want an entire load of them staring you in the face. (I'm not sure what a 'snowy' mooncake is, although I've seen some jellied ones being sold in the United States.)Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160975266055560632006-10-16T13:07:00.000+08:002006-10-16T13:07:00.000+08:00I see a couple of people have made comments about ...I see a couple of people have made comments about the dice throwing tradition being unknown in other parts of China. As its mentioned that the tradition come from Xiamen, I believe that the tradition only exists for Fukienese Chinese. People in Hongkong and Guangdong are totally unaware of this tradition as I've found out when I moved to Hong kong years ago. Instead, they celebrate Mid Autumn by getting off work early (most, if not all companies, always let their employees off at 3 or 4pm during the day/night of Mid-Autumns festival) and gathering together with family members by eating an early dinner. Once dinner is finished, most families head off to parks with their makeshift lanterns (or buys them off the street.. hawkers abound everywhere near the parks at this time) to view the moon and spend the evenings at the parks with families. That's also why the day after the Mid-Autumn festival is declared a holiday - most families end up coming back home at 12 midnight or 1am after viewing the moon. <BR/><BR/>Its quite a packed event here, and on holidays such as this, I completely avoid parks - unless you want to be shoulder to shoulder with someone. Its that packed. Thank goodness our technology has enabled us to create battery powered lanterns instead of laterns with actual candles during the olden days - otherwise, its a fire incident waiting to happen ... especially when you let little kiddies hold them in the parks like they do know. <BR/><BR/>It may be a little late, but Happy Mid Autumn Festival nevertheless. Hopefully you didnt eat too much mooncakes. Are snowy mooncakes available back there too?cstiuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090083899249455393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160719369727541482006-10-13T14:02:00.000+08:002006-10-13T14:02:00.000+08:00OK, thanks, Sean. Appreciate the effort. Ailee, wi...OK, thanks, Sean. Appreciate the effort. <BR/><BR/>Ailee, with prizes like that, the yearly dice game in your family must be something everyone looks forward to!pgenrestorieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488972802998454637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160709899796808912006-10-13T11:24:00.000+08:002006-10-13T11:24:00.000+08:00Ailee: It'll probably be a whole new generation be...Ailee: It'll probably be a whole new generation before someone buys a MacBook for a grand prize somewhere... :)Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160667099004307442006-10-12T23:31:00.000+08:002006-10-12T23:31:00.000+08:00Sadly, I have yet to win any of those nifty prizes...Sadly, I have yet to win any of those nifty prizes. The closest I got was last year, when I rolled a straight (1 to 6), and I got a cordless phone/radio/alarm clock. The year someone buys a MacBook for the grand prize, I hope it's my turn to get lucky. :)Ailee Through the Looking Glasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111169317804877235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160534962076920102006-10-11T10:49:00.000+08:002006-10-11T10:49:00.000+08:00pgenrestories: I've got a lot on my plate right no...pgenrestories: I've got a lot on my plate right now, but I'm still trying to come up with something...<BR/><BR/>Ailee: You've got to be kidding. (The P10,000 and the Nokia N91 top prizes, I mean, not the six fours.) I'll admit that everyone gets lucky for at least one stage of their lives, but getting lucky when those kinds of prizes have been laid out... well...Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160489250617444662006-10-10T22:07:00.000+08:002006-10-10T22:07:00.000+08:00My mom's side of the family plays the dice game ev...My mom's side of the family plays the dice game every year. We used to play for hopia and mooncakes, but one year, for some reason known only to him, our grandpa plunked down an angpao containing P10,000 as top prize, and since then, we've been playing for increasingly extravagant items, from an iPod Mini to this year's Nokia N91. To prove the universe has a sense of humor, the N91 went to my 4-year-old cousin, who actually rolled 6 fours (see http://sillingtonhouse.multiply.com for photographic evidence). Mercifully, she let us keep our prizes. :)Ailee Through the Looking Glasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12111169317804877235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160456868278500142006-10-10T13:07:00.000+08:002006-10-10T13:07:00.000+08:00Hi once more, Sean. Thanks for your sympathies. Ye...Hi once more, Sean. Thanks for your sympathies. Yes, chances are, I'll be the supervising adult at the kid's table come dice time. Oh well, at least the kids will have a good time.<BR/><BR/>I found out from my friend that ghost month was longer this year because it's a time anomaly that occurs every certain number of lunar animal cycles (he forgot how many, every three rams or roosters, or something?). Anyway, it's like leap year on the western calendar, which happens every four years, only in the case of ghost month the cycle is longer. An extra month for the ghosts to party hearty! And then the calendar is re-balanced. <BR/><BR/>I'm still crossing my fingers that you may send something to me in time for the first issue... :) Thanks and take care!pgenrestorieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488972802998454637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160408337203650222006-10-09T23:38:00.000+08:002006-10-09T23:38:00.000+08:00pgenrestories: That makes sense, I suppose. I'm pr...pgenrestories: That makes sense, I suppose. I'm pretty sure that my family doesn't come from Xiamen, but rather from the same area. Regardless, most of the local Chinese community does come from there...<BR/><BR/>And if you're handling the kids' table, then you have my deepest sympathies. :) Do you provide the mandatory adult supervision as well? :)Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160386689235138722006-10-09T17:38:00.000+08:002006-10-09T17:38:00.000+08:00Hi Sean. Your entry enticed me to research. Here's...Hi Sean. Your entry enticed me to research. Here's a link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-09/28/content_378318.htm<BR/>It is indeed a traditional practice, originating in Xiamen, where I think most of our ancestors came from. Yes, we play for money as well as items and mooncakes, but there's a compulsory "entry fee", and the kids' table is on me. Oh well, at least the food afterwards is usually good. Once more: good fortune to you and your family!pgenrestorieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488972802998454637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160384181151715902006-10-09T16:56:00.000+08:002006-10-09T16:56:00.000+08:00pgenrestories: Yes, I noticed that the game was vi...pgenrestories: Yes, I noticed that the game was virtually unknown in both the American Chinese communities and the Mainland Chinese families; It makes me wonder as to whether or not it's an actual traditional practice.<BR/><BR/>That, and the "Ghost Month" <I>was</I> abnormally long this year. I can't remember the last time I played the game in October; It feels odd, somehow.<BR/><BR/>No, I didn't get lucky at the tables last weekend -- which isn't bad, really, seeing that I would have been floating in a sea of mooncakes otherwise. I wish you all the luck in your celebration, though, and hope that you're playing for money or something else instead. Heheh. :)Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03300224368246428017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8307761.post-1160382538150676122006-10-09T16:28:00.000+08:002006-10-09T16:28:00.000+08:00Hi Sean. Great description of the game. Hope you w...Hi Sean. Great description of the game. Hope you won your fair share this year. My wife's family will be having theirs soon. My daughter won at the kid's table last year, so I'm shelling out for the kid's prizes this year :(. My brother, who is based in Guangzhou and came home recently to attend a wedding, told us that the dice game is, curiously, not commonly known among the local Chinese where he is based. Perhaps it's a provincial thing that has died out in China but has spread courtesy of the overseas Chinese. "Ghost month" was long this year, wasn't it, lasting a full calendar two months. Good fortune to you!pgenrestorieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488972802998454637noreply@blogger.com