Written by: Waseem Abbas
Posted on: September 21, 2021 | 
| 中文
Moon Goodes
Also known as the ‘Mooncake Day’, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is a the second most important traditional festival celebrated in China, after the New Year celebrations. It is also celebrated in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and other East Asian countries with little alterations. It started more than 3000 years ago, when the Chinese emperor used to worship the moon for a bountiful harvest.
There are many variations on the origins of Mid-Autumn festival in China. The most popular tale states that during the mythical era of Emperor Yao, there were ten suns shining on the earth, one by one. On one day, all the ten suns decided to appear above the earth simultaneously, thus bringing drought and destruction to the populace. God instructed his best archer, Hou Yi, to rescue the population by ensuring that the suns appear one at a time. However, Hou Yi shot down all nine suns instead.
Hou Yi and Chang'e
God exiled Hou Yi and his beautiful wife, Chang’e, to the earth from heaven, and the people on earth made Hou Yi their king for shooting down the extra suns. Hou Yi became an oppressive ruler, carried away by the power he had acquired. To prevent a rebellion by the people against his unpopular rule and become like a God, he secured an elixir of immortality from the Queen mother of the West. In order to prevent him from his diabolical plans, his wife, Chang’e, drank all the elixir herself. The extra dose of elixir took Chang’e up in the sky along with her rabbit, and she settled in the moon and became a Moon Goodes.
Another version of the story says that Peng Meng, Hou Yi’s student, tried to snatch the elixir from Chang’e to become immortal, but Chang’e drank it instead. Hou Yi started burning incense and distributing food in memory of his wife, and people followed his tradition.
As Chang’e had drunk the elixir on 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, people started to commemorate it as a Chang’e day, a day to pray for bountiful harvest. The way in which the festival is celebrated has evolved over time, as additions from different ages and regions have conflated with the traditional folklore.
Some of the important celebrations of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival are:
“The crusty small cake is sweet and round as the full moon”, exclaimed the Taoist poet Su Tung-p’o (1036-1101). The tradition of sharing mooncakes started during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), but its popularity peaked during the Song dynasty (906-1279).
Mooncakes, traditionally made of lotus seed and salted duck egg yolk, are an indispensable part of the Mid-Autumn festivities. Families eat a variety of cakes together, give them to relatives and neighbors. There are many kinds of mooncakes, traditional as well as recent versions, with each region making its own variety.
Mooncakes and Tea
Mooncakes have political as well as cultural significance in the Chinese tradition.
In Chinese culture, the round shape symbolizes completeness, perfection, and reunion. During the Festival, the oldest member of the family cuts the circular mooncake into pieces and distributes it among the family members, signifying unity and reunion.
Mooncakes
Chinese folklore says that the mooncakes helped in liberating China from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century, as the rebels organized an uprising by secretly sharing their plan with each other wrapped in mooncakes.
The full moon in Chinese folklore symbolizes family reunion. Even those who are living in the far-flung areas try to reach home on this occasion. The occasion serves as a reminder on the importance of family, the clan and the generational ties.
Chinese traditional food
The traditional Chinese food is served on this occasion, which consists of mooncakes, roasted pork, deep fried chicken, water melon seeds, yam, and Chinese tea. If any family member is unable to attend the family gathering for some reason, an empty chair is placed at the dinner table to symbolize his/her absence. Afterwards, prayers are offered to God for the family’s strong ties and harmony. After the meal, families go outside to view the moon.
Reciting poems and singing songs on the occasion of Mid-Autumn festival under the luminous moonlight is a vital part of the Mid-Autumn festival celebrations since the Tang and Song dynasties (960-1269). Sitting under the luminous moon, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of Chinese lunar calendar, families yearn for their loved ones. The full moon serves as a metaphor for full family presence, as the family members begin to depart after the festival, like the moon, which wanes after the 15th day of the lunar calendar.
A poet from the Tang Dynasty, Zbang Jiuling, wrote:
As the bright moon shines over the sea From far away you share this moment with me. For parted lovers, lonely nights are the worst to be. All night long I think of no one but thee. (Translated by Ying Sun).
One important aspect of the celebrations is the decoration of streets, buildings and roofs of houses with lanterns, which symbolize prosperity and good fortune.
A child carrying lanterns on the streets
The eight month is usually harvest time in China, when families gather and pray to the moon for a good harvest next year. This is one of the oldest traditions in the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, which started more than 3000 years ago.
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