Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in Chinese culture, having its history dating to 3000 years ago. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar. The Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and largest size that night.

There are multiple legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the most popular of them being the story of Hou Yi and Chang’e. The legend says that there once were 10 fiery suns raging in the sky, burning down all the plants and humans. Seeing his people suffering, Hou Yi used his bow to kill 9 of the suns. As a reward, he was given the elixir of immortality, which granted him the ability to live forever. Since he wanted to spend more time with his wife Chang’e, Hou Yi asked her to keep it safe for him. The people asked him to be their master, and he agreed to teach most of them. But one particular greedy disciple Pang Meng wanted the elixir for himself, so one day he pretended to be ill. After Hou Yi left to hunt, Pang Meng went to his house and forced Chang’e to give him the elixir. Since she couldn’t defeat him, Chang’e drank the elixir and was lifted up into the heavens, becoming the moon goddess. After returning, Hou Yi was heartbroken and offered Chang’e some fruit and cakes that she loved to eat. Since then, people have always offered the Moon Goddess fruits and moon cakes to worship the moon.

There are multiple ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most representative way is to eat moon cakes, which often have red bean, egg yolk, five kernel, or lotus seed. Other ways include making colorful lanterns,  enjoying fire dragon dances, and worshiping the moon. These ways of celebration are believed to bring good luck.

In conclusion, the Mid-Autumn festival is a very important and popular festival that you don’t want to miss. It is a time for family reunion and giving gifts that both children and adults enjoy.