Mid-Autumn Festival

History

Continue... HISTORY

CELEBRATION

• The most eaten desert during the moon festival are moon cakes..
• Moon cakes are usually eaten in small wedges, and shared by family members, generally with Chinese tea.
• The most popular for are:
• Pumpkin- To bring good health

continue...CELEBRATION

• River Snails - Brighten your eyes
• Taro - Bring good luck and wealth. The tradition began during the Qing dynasty.
• Wine Fermented with Osmanthus Flowers — Happy life. Drinking the wine signifies family reunions and a happy life.
• Osmanthus flowers duck is a must-eat food for people in East China’s Jiangsu Province. This is the most famous dish of Nanjing, and has a history of over 2,500 years.
• LATERNS: Laterns are lighted up during the night 'cause they're so beautiful. Mid autumn festival lanterns are not as colorful as the Lantern festival, nor is it a big part of the mid autumn festival. Kids just really like to make Lantern and fly them.

Chang'e & Hou Yi

• Chang'e Flying to The Moon Long long ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. They burnt all the plants on the earth. People were dying. One day, a hero whose name was Hou Yi used his bow and arrows to shoot down nine of them. All the people on the earth were saved. One day, the queen of heaven gave Hou Yi a bottle elixir that could make Hou Yi become an immortal, but the elixir was only efficacious for one person. Hou Yi did want to become an immortal, but he wanted to stay with his beautiful wife Chang'e more, so he didn't drink the elixir and asked his wife Chang'e to keep it for him. Hou Yi was becoming more and more famous after he shot down the nine suns and more and more men wanted Hou Yi to be their master. Most of them were accepted by Hou Yi. Not every student of Hou Yi had good morality. Feng Meng, one of his students, wanted to seize his elixir. One day, Hou Yi went hunting with his students, but Feng Meng pretended to be ill and stay at home. When making sure Hou Yi had gone he went to Hou Yi's house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir. Chang'e knew she couldn't defeat Feng Meng so she drank the elixir immediately. The elixir made her become an immortal and fly higher and higher. Finally, she stopped on the moon. From then on, people often pray to Chang'e for fortune and safety. During the Mid-Autumn Festival they offer lots of foods to Chang'e.

COMPARISON:Thanksgiving & Mid-Autumn

• Both a national holidays
• Families come together to celebrate
• Both holidays include having fun and spending time with friends and families
• Mostly held outdoors...like a picnic.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!