Crankin, I am looking for what-causes-the-seasons stories if you have any.

The seasonal traditions are nice, too. I was just reading the link Sardine posted about the Mooncake Festival - thank you, Sardine! - about how it originated as a celebration of gratitude to the Moon Goddess for a bountiful growing season, celebrated on the autumn moon because this is when the moon is its largest and most beautiful...lovely! And then later the festival tradition of baking mooncakes was used by rebels to overthrow the former government and establish the Ming dynasty. (They baked the map of their attack into the cake tops. Clever.)

From that story, the Moon Goddess didn't cause the season change, but she did bless the growing season, allowing for the bountiful harvest.

Sardine, where in SE Asia? I'm just curious as to variations on the folktale. I have a sister-in-law from Bangkok. I'll have to ask her what stories she heard as a little girl. I have a friend here who is first generation Chinese American and she told me a couple of years back about missing the mooncakes her mom made, and that she would, but that they're a lot of work. She gave me a commercially-produced mooncake instead, which was good, but I wondered what her mom's tasted like. Do you know how to make them?

Aussie and Kiwi friends, does Santa Claus wear shorts for you?

Roxy -- back to reading about Moon Goddesses and Nisses.