Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Traditional Chinese: 中秋節, Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; pinyin: Zhōngqiūjié; Korean: Ch'usǒk or Chuseok 추석/秋夕; Vietnamese Tết Trung Thu; also known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, or the August Moon Festival. In Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, it may be referred to as the Lantern Festival, similar in name to a different festival which falls on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year) is a popular Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty.

The Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian Calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, marking an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. It is also common to have barbecues outside under the moon, and to put pomelo rinds on one's head. Brightly lit lanterns are often carried around by children. Together with the celebration, there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting sweet-olive trees, lighting lanterns on towers, and fire dragon dances. Shops selling mooncakes, before the festival, often display pictures of Chang'e, floating to the moon.

Legend
Legend says that during King Yao's rule, ten suns appeared in the sky. Because the heat from these suns endangered crops, wildlife and the very existence of people, King Yao asked a famous archer to shoot down nine of the ten suns.

After shooting the extra suns down, archer Houyi asked for the hand of the Emperor's beautiful daughter, Chang E, as a reward.

Houyi took good care of Chang E but she remained indifferent to him, always considering herself the most beautiful woman in the world.

Meanwhile, the king was worried the extra suns would appear again and cause a new disaster so he gave Houyi a pill that was said to ensure immortality. But Chang E learned of this pill and decided she could make better use of it herself.

So she swallowed the pill and immediately started floating into the air. She soon reached the moon, where she remains, transformed into a toad as punishment.

Leaving poor Houyi to see only the shadow of his vain wife and only when the moon is full.

Tradition The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is an occasion for family reunion. It is marked with moon gazing, fireworks displays and eating moon cakes.

In remembrance of Chang E who was exiled to the moon for eternity, Chinese eat moon cakes -- special sweet cakes made in the shape of the moon.

Lanterns Paper lanterns are a prominent feature of the celebrations, being hung around the area where the feasting takes place. The larger lanterns are very elaborate being decorated with pictures of various deities and characters associated with the moon whilst children carry smaller lanterns suspended from sticks during the celebrations.

MoonCakes
Probably the most recognizable feature of the festival is the boxes of moon cakes on sale in the months prior to the festival. They are in boxes of four and may be round or square in shape and are usually stamped with a deity associated with the festival. The cakes are made from a flaky pastry in which many varieties of fillings can be found. The most usual was sugared beans, ground sesame or lotus and the yoke of a preserved duck egg; but there are many other fillings and nowadays it is even possible to buy moon cakes filled with ice cream.