Mid-Autumn Festival

Like US Wal-Marts, the center aisles feature seasonal items. On our previous trip to Wal-Mart, my friend pointed out the huge bins of mooncakes—which were being sold for the anticipated Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are to the Mid-Autumn Festival as fruitcake is to Christmas. Almost no one makes mooncakes at home because it takes a lot of time and they readily available at bakeries and in stores.

Most Americans are aware of the celebration typically referred to as Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival in China. However, not everyone is familiar with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which takes place in early September—this year on the 8th—when the moon is said to be at its fullest and roundest. This is a time when families gather together and eat mooncakes. The festival dates back thousands of years and probably began as a harvest festival but later became associated with a story about a beautiful lady. Chinese folktales relate that the Earth at one time had 10 suns revolving around it. One day, all 10 suns converge and begin to burn the Earth. An expert archer, Houyi, shoots down nine of the suns to save the Earth. He steals an elixir of immortality from a goddess, but his wife drinks it and floats up to the moon. On her way, she catches a rabbit for company, but is forever separated from her husband. Legend has it that if you look up at the moon on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can see a rabbit mixing an elixir. The full moon is a symbol of reunion, so families like to gather to look at the full moon and eat mooncakes.