07/09/2020
As some of you may already know, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in many East Asian communities - what used to be a harvest celebration, now is a public holiday that is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. During this festival, also called Moon Festival or Harvest Moon Festival, families reunite and gather to barbecue in the moonlight and eat mooncakes. But what does the full moon have to do with it and who is the fairy Chang’e? How did it all begin? Let’s dig deeper into the origins of this festival and customs associated with it.
Origins
Moon Festival has a history of over 3,000 years - the Chinese derived it from the annual custom of moon worshiping by most emperors. After that it was appropriated by the masses and became more and more popular in the course of time.
The term mid-autumn first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE). In the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE), while rich merchants and officials from the upper class followed the emperors’ tradition of appreciating the moon during hosted parties, the common citizens were simply focused on prayers to the moon for a good harvest. The Mid-Autumn Festival as we know it today, was established in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). From then on, the custom of sacrificing to the moon is not losing on popularity.
Legend
There are quite a few legends associated with the Moon Festival, the most popular is the one associated with well-known lunar deity, Chang’e. The myth is explaining the origin of moon worship - through many versions, that is the one described in Lihui Yang’s Handbook of Chinese Mythology:
“In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang'e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the lunar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang'e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.”
Food
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival was around long before mooncakes (they appeared in the Yuan Dynasty - 1279-1368), eating them seems to be the most representative tradition. What are they? A rich pastry made from wheat flour, typically with sweet stuffing: sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste. Each year people rush to shops and queue for hours to buy ones with their favourite flavor. What always stays the same is the shape: round, as a symbol of the full moon and family gathering.
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 中秋快乐!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival
https://www.chinahighlights.com
