In the build-up to the Mid Autumn festival next week. Grade 12 students Stella and Karen share with us a story of the origins of the festival.
Join us for an evening of fun, food and celebration, next Wednesday 27 September, 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
by Stella Preece and Karen Tho (Gr 12)
Who doesn’t love festivals? We certainly do! One of our favorites just has to be the Mid Autumn Festival, with all the fun celebrations and foods! But where does this awesome holiday come from?
This widely celebrated festival originated in the Zhou Dynasty (1045 – 221 BC), and you won’t believe the cool reasoning behind it! The ancient Chinese Emperors believed by worshiping the moon around this time each year, it would would bring good harvest the following year. The worship became even more popular in the Tang Dynasty (618 and 907 BC), when rich merchants and officials would host big parties with lots of food and drink. The one thing that remained the same throughout the dynasties, they all worshiped the moon!
Despite its popularity, the moon worship did not become a festival until the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279 AD). The 15th day of the 8th month became known as the Mid Autumn Festival. Later on, the treat we all know and love came into the picture, moon cakes! This happened in the Yuan Dynasty (1279 to 1368 AD). It origins is actually pretty cool. It is said the rebels, who were fighting against the Mongols, passed messages to each other by hiding them inside the moon cakes! Pretty sneaky, huh?
The festival gained even more popularity during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It became as popular as the Chinese New Year celebrations. During this time, new fun activities were born! People would light lanterns and perform the awesome Fire Dragon dance!
Many legends were born throughout the years however, one remains the most well known, the legend of “Chang E Flying to the Moon”. The story goes, in ancient times ten suns existed, the extreme heat from the suns made people’s lives very difficult. Hou Yi, a hero with great strength, shot down 9 out of 10 of the suns. Hou Yi then married a beautiful and kind-hearted woman name Chang E. One day, Hou Yi came upon Wangmu, the queen of heaven, on his way to meet his friends. She gave him a magical potion that claimed it could turn him into a god if he drank it. But instead of drinking the potion himself, he brought it home for Chang E to for safe keeping. Peng Meng, one of Hou Yi’s many admirers, secretly saw the transaction and demanded Chang E to give him the potion. Hou Yi was out hunting and Chang E knew that she couldn’t win against Peng Meng, so she drank the potion and flew up to the sky. Her love for her husband drew her to the moon because it was the closest place to earth from heaven. When Hou Yi heard the news, he shouted Chang E’s name and was amazed to see a figure appear on the moon which looked like his wife. He offered her favorite food as a sacrifice at the altar and people followed suit after knowing that Chang E became a goddess. Since then, the custom of sacrificing to the moon has spread and many do it to pray for peace and luck.