Mid-Autumn Festival 2017

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Traditionally, this is the time for Chinese people worldwide to give thanks to the harvest and hope for community as well as prosperity. Under the bright moon, friends and family feast upon traditional round mooncakes and symbolically arranged nine-jointed lotus roots and watermelon, chatting away and lighting lanterns. 

Stretching back thousands of years, this tradition is rooted in the folklore of Hou Yi and Chang’e. Many, many ages ago, people everywhere were suffering from the heat of 10 suns. Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and was rewarded with an elixir of immortality from the Jade Emperor. When a friend tried to take the elixir, Hou Yi’s wife, Chang’e, tried to prevent this and ended up drinking the elixir herself. She then floated up to the moon. When Chang’e coughed up the elixir, it turned into a rabbit. 

Legend says the loving couple are reunited once a month on the 15th when the moon burns brightly enough for them to spot each other. Venture outside to celebrate “the fifteenth of the eighth (lunar) month” and try to trace the shadow of Chang’e and her rabbit!

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