The Mid-Autumn Festival
This October, many different East and Southeast Asian countries celebrated the auspicious mid-autumn festival. This festival, occasionally referred to as the Moon Festival, falls on the 15th day of the Lunar Calendar, when the moon is at its fullest. This festival is an important aspect of Chinese culture, and variations of the holiday are celebrated throughout East Asia.
Traditional activities to celebrate this festival include hanging paper lanterns, visiting family, and eating fresh mooncakes and juicy pomelos to pay respect to the bright harvest moon. Mooncakes are intricately designed pastries, traditionally made of lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk.
History
The origins of the Chinese Harvest Moon Festival can be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty as emperors would worship and bring sacrifices to the moon goddess in hopes of a bountiful crop. The holiday became a festival in the Song Dynasty, and eventually an official public holiday in 2008. Within that time, the holiday has spread beyond China, and various countries celebrate it, albeit with different customs.
The history of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival also includes a legend that is strongly associated with the celebration. As the legend goes, a heroic archer named Hou Yi shot down 9 of the 10 suns that were scorching the Earth with their immense heat. For this noble act, Hou Yi was given an elixir from the Goddess of Heaven that would allow him to float to Heaven and become a God. Due to unfortunate circumstances, however, his wife Chang’e had to drink the elixir to protect it from an evil man, and she herself ended up floating to the moon. She became the moon goddess, but her beloved husband was left alone. Every year on the fullest moon, it is said that the heartbroken Hou Yi would leave out his wife’s favorite foods in hopes that she would appear to him.
Today
In modern times, variations of this festival can be seen throughout different countries. While all celebrations are fundamentally about moon appreciation, each region has a different myth associated with the origin. The Mid-Autumn festival remains a time for eating specialty food, enjoying the company of loved ones, and showing gratitude. In South Korea, the celebration of Chuseok brings families together to share blessings and gratitude. In Vietnam, beautiful lanterns line the street markets, and there is an air of playfulness to be found. In China, the moon festival is considered the second-largest celebration after the Chinese New Year. This holiday is full of festive energy, and even as traditions change, the importance of this celebration has not.
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