The Mid-Autumn festival (also called the Moon Festival), which occurs on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, is one of the long established and most important traditional Chinese festivals. At the Mid-Autumn festival, the family will gather in a circle around the table, chatting, laughing, sharing stories about this festival, admiring the bright moon above them, and having delicious mooncakes together.
The story of Chang’e(嫦娥) is often mentioned alongside the Mid-Autumn festival. As the legend goes, ten suns appeared in the sky a long time ago. They scorched the earth, the water dried up, crops couldn’t grow and people could barely survive. Then came a highly skilled archer named Houyi (后羿). He drew the bow and shut nine sun down, leaving only one sun in the sky. As the reward, the Queen Mother of the West (西王母) gave Houyi an elixir of immortality which is only enough for one person. Houyi didn’t want to leave his wife Chang’e behind, so he told Chang’e to keep the elixir safe. But one day, a student of Houyi named Feng Meng (逢蒙) broke into their home to try to steal the elixir of immortality while Houyi is away. Left with no other choice, Chang’e consumed the elixir. Her body instantly became weightless, and Chang’e floated up to the moon. There, she lives in the Palace of Moon (广寒宫) with the Jade rabbit forever.
Moon-gazing is certainly a must-do option in your Mid-Autumn festival celebration list. Traditionally, people believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even though the moon may seem far away, it shared a deep connection with us because of the moon’s deeper meaning — family reunion. The ancient China Tang dynasty poet Zhang JiuLing (张九龄) described the reunion in one of his poems named “Looking at the Moon and Longing for One Far Away” (望月怀远)”:Over the sea the moon grows bright; We gaze on it far, far apart.(海上生明月，天涯共此时)(translate by Xu Yuan Chong). No matter where one is located, whenever one looks up to that bright full moon, one will feel the warmth of home. Many Asian American communities shared and treasure this core value and honored it by celebrating the Mid-Moon festival.
Speaking of Mooncakes, they are another indispensable piece of The Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes are round pastry, which symbolizes the moon and the family unity. They have varied flavors, such as lotus seed paste, egg yolk, five-kernel and red bean paste. Sharing mooncakes with family has long been an iconic and traditional celebration for the Mid-Autumn.
Many Asian American communities across the United States have set up events to celebrate this traditional holiday. Asian Americans United’s (AAU), for instance, has run the Annual Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival in Philadelphia’s Chinatown for 31 years; San Francisco Chinatown Merchants Association (SFCMA) has held Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival since 1991;and the Manhattan Chinatown Mid-Autumn Community Festival called “A Shared Table Across A Thousand Miles” (月聚華埠 · 千里同席) that will be held at New York by Chinatown Partnership and AAAAH Culture for the first time. Behind all the breathtaking performance, delicious food and fun activity, is the deep culture, tradition and history.
The Mid-autumn festival, the time for moonlight, delicious pastry, and most important, the time of family reuniting.
Thanks to Jenny Yue for helping revise the article.
Picture resoure:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/sliced-mooncakes-on-wooden-tray-9593945/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/waning-gibbous-moon-in-winter-night-sky-30243836/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/mooncakes-on-ceramic-saucer-9863717/
