Chinese Life and Culture: Autumn Moon Festival

September 23, 6:59 PMLiving Abroad ExaminerSidra Morris

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Mooncakes are the favorite treat of the Moon Festival (Photo by Junelee)

Like what Christmas and Thanksgiving are for Americans, Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year are for the Chinese. These favorite holidays are spent with family, rich with traditions, legends, songs, and food. Sometimes referred to as Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese Moon Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 9th lunar month, when the moon is supposed to be at it's brightest and fullest. This year, 2009, the big celebration is next weekend, October 3rd.

The festival is to celebrate the end of the harvest and the welcomed cooler weather. The legend that accompanies this holiday is that of a beautiful woman, Chang'e, who took an immortal pill and was exiled to the moon; forever separating her from her mortal husband, Houyi the archer, who loved her so much that he couldn't bring himself to shoot down the moon. This adds a romantic undertone to this holiday, as lovers now gaze at the moon and eat mooncakes during this holiday.

Mooncakes are the favorite treat during the Moon Festival, and are dense pastries which have egg yolks in the center to represent the full moon, usually surrounded by a sweet bean or lotus seed paste. The traditional story that surrounds these cakes is that during the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368), a secret plot to overtake the Mongolian rulers of China emerged. The creators of the rebellion cooked special cakes to celebrate the coming Moon Festival, but the cakes contained special instructions for the overthrow of the government. It was successful and the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644) emerged. 

A favorite tradition for families is to eat pomelos and use the peeling as a small hat to wear during the festivities. Other traditions include burning incense to the deities, one of whom is the moon goddess, Chang'e, and planting a Mid-Autumn tree to commemorate the holiday. And what would a holiday be without songs and poems? Well, as families gather together under the full moon, with the smell of BBQ filling the air, songing and story-telling are interweaved with the conversation and merry-making, while children run around with small pomelo hats and shoot off fireworks. A fantastic holiday to spend with a traditional Chinese family, if you are lucky enough for an invite.