So what IS Chinese New Year? Well, most people know of this holiday as celebrated by those with an asian heritage, and that it involves firecrackers, red outfits, and red envelope money? O.O It might highlight these three subjects, but the meaning behind this holiday is much deeper than just the highlights! So here are some follow-ups. Firstly, no one is sure when Chinese New Year first became a celebrated holiday. Most people think that it originated from a time where each year was an important event for every household, and the heavenly deities and ancestors thought to exist were honored and remembered. Through praying and going to temples, each individual comes to respect the memory of their loved ones, and wish their household and families good luck, fortune, and long lives. Yet others believe that the holiday was originally thought up to scare away a monstrous being, named "nian," or "Year" in Mandarin. This monster wreaked havoc and darkness over the places it lurked, and could only be chased away with loud noises, and the color red. Either way, I think that most people believe the holiday is not only celebrated with joy, but with a twist on festivities XD

As you might know, tomorrow, Thursday, Feburary 19th, will be Chinese New Year, known to some people as Lunar New Year,  marking the start of the Year of the Sheep. Sounds fun, right? Although it doesn't sound like much, this holiday is actually a VERY important tradition for us Asian people. And what, you might ask, makes this year's celebration even more important? Well, you see, in the U.S, this holiday has never been considered an official holiday before. However, this year, a legislation has been passed that might very well lead to Lunar New Year becoming an official holiday in the U.S. O.O Still, doesn't sound very exciting, right? Yet since many people have been rooting for this holiday, this has become an important topic for not just a small group of celebrators in a city, yet a whole community of people, reaching across the states. 

The Recipe for 月饼
Ingredients:
210 grams of Golden syrup
15 grams of Alkaline water (1 cup water mixed with 1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda, a.k.a. Bicarbonate of soda)
120 grams of regular vegetable oil
300 grams of all purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
3 cups of red bean
1 egg
1 mold for the design ^_^
Directions:
First, preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
Mix together the 210 grams of golden syrup, 90 grams of oil, 15 grams of alkaline water, and 300 grams of flour. 
Then, place the dough into a bowl, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Separate the dough into small amounts, depending on the size of your mold XD
Roll each piece out, in a circle, again, according to the size of your mold, with the thickness of a half centimeter.
To make the bean paste, soak the 3 cups of red bean in a bowl of warm water for 5 hours.
Then, remove the beans, and place them in a pot of water, to boil for an hour, or until the skins are ready to fall off.
Remove the skin, and return the skinless beans to the pot, and add the 2 cups of sugar, and then the 30 grams of oil left over. Make sure that there is enough water to only cover the mixture in a thin layer.
Keep boiling until the beans become pasty, and you can remove them from the water.
So after the mixture is pasty, you can bring out the small disks of dough that you rolled out. Scoop some bean paste into the center, and it's up to you to decide what else you would like in there ;) 
Bring the sides of the dough up, and wrap the bean paste securely. Make sure that you didn't overfill it!
Place the ball into your mold, and press down gently, or if you don't have a mold, just press the ball into a small disk with a cm thick side ^_^ 
Repeat until all your dough is finished.
Place the disks onto a baking sheet, and spritz some water on top of each one.
Place the sheet into the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. 
While waiting, whisk up one egg.
After that, take the moon cakes out, and brush the surface, not sides, with the whisked egg. 
Return to the oven for 15 more minutes.
After that, enjoy!!! XD