In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates Family reunion

Published : September 17,2024

By Staff reporter

Across China millions of people have been travelling from places of work and study to go and celebrate with their families during the Mid-Autumn holidays. It is also a period of celebrating harvest. Mid-autumn festival is also known as the Mooncake festival as family members and friends bake and share mooncakes filled with egg York, meat, sweet beans or lotus seed paste.  The festival happens when there is a full moon and the nights look brighter. The happiness and joy enjoyed by families under such beautifully and naturally lit nights is beyond imagination.

It is believed that the festival dates back over 3,000 years and celebrated by other cultures on the Asian continent.  Lanterns of all sizes and shapes are lit and displayed to symbolize people’s path to prosperity and good fortune. In Chinese mythology, the Mid-autumn festival is based on the legend of Chang’e, the moon goddess of immortality.  The festival is also a moment for thanks giving especially for a good harvest and families and friends gift each other with mooncakes. The festival is held with special prayers for different reasons including good life, longevity, and good fortune; pray to have babies or spouses and many others.  Mothers with children in distant places will pray for them to be safe and prosperous.

There is an ancient fable among the Zhuang people, saying that, “the Sun and Moon are a couple and the stars are their children, and when the Moon is pregnant, it becomes round, and then becomes crescent after giving birth to a child. These beliefs made it popular among women to worship and give offerings to the Moon on this evening.”

The myths associated with Chang’e explain the origin of Moon worship during this day. One version of the story is described in a Handbook of Chinese Mythology by  Lihui Yang as follows:  

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang’e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang’e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang’e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi’s house and forced Chang’e to give the elixir to him. Chang’e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang’e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang’e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

“When people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang’e, now the goddess of the Moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the Moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time.”

Most important about the Mid-Autumn festival I see the family reunion as a symbol celebrating the unity of the family, the warmth and happiness of being together and the love for one another.   When there is unity in the family, then the value is extended to all the Chinese people and the country. One can therefore say that Chinese culture plays a big role in uniting families and the country at large. 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all friends.