The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, also known simply as the Moon Festival, is a significant holiday in Chinese culture. In 2024, the festival will fall on September 17th. The holiday is held on a day with a full moon, often one of the largest and brightest of the year, emphasizing its connection to the moon. To better understand this holiday, let’s explore the legend behind its origin.
The legendary tale of the Moon Festival centers around a beautiful and kind woman named Chang’e and her husband, Hou Yi, a skilled archer. According to the tale, the couple lived in ancient times when there were ten suns in the sky. The intense heat from these suns caused immense suffering, scorching the earth and destroying crops. One day, Hou Yi took it upon himself to save the people of Earth. Using his remarkable archery skills, he shot down nine of the ten suns, becoming a national hero. As a reward for his bravery, the Queen Mother of the West gave Hou Yi an elixir of immortality. However, the elixir contained only enough for one person. Not wanting to live without each other, Hou Yi and Chang’e chose not to drink it. Instead, Hou Yi entrusted the elixir to Chang’e to keep them safe.
As time passed, Hou Yi became recognized as a master archer, and many came to learn from him. However, one of his students, Pang Meng, desired the elixir for himself. One night, Pang Meng broke into Hou Yi’s home to steal it. With no other way to fight off Pang Meng, Chang’e took the elixir herself. As she became immortal, she flew higher and higher into the sky. Unwilling to be far from her husband, she stopped on the moon, ultimately becoming the moon goddess. When Hou Yi discovered what had happened, he looked up at the sky in anguish and noticed the moon seemed to shine brighter that night. To show his love and longing for Chang’e, he began to make offerings to the moon by displaying fruits and cakes that she had enjoyed.
Today, during the Moon Festival, people in China honor the moon by eating fruits and mooncakes, remembering the tale of Chang’e, the moon goddess. The festival also emphasizes the importance of family reunions and expressing happiness for their families.
Works Cited
Tang, Cindy. “Top 3 Mid-Autumn Festival Stories and Legends: Chang’e, Hou Yi, Jade Rabbit.” China Highlights, 31 Aug. 2022, https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/mid-autumn-festival-story.htm. ChinaHighlights. Mid Autumn Festival Story and How Chinese Celebrate It. 5 Sept. 2019, https://youtu.be/EMMU1YJadzE?si=vz_vr6m7sNgVQf0r.
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