Mid-Autumn Festival

Most cultures have a harvest festival. China is no exception. The Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 (Zhong Qiu Jie) is one of the three most important, traditional Chinese holidays. (The other two are Chinese New Year and Dragon Boat Festival.)

It takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth month (according to the lunar calendar). It is usually on or close to the time of the Harvest Moon, when the moon appears at its fullest during the autumn equinox.

It is also sometimes called the Mooncake Festival after the delicious treats eaten at this time of year. Traditionally, it is a time to meet with friends and family for a meal and watch the moon.

In ancient times, 10 suns scorched the earth until the fields could no longer produce crops and people were dying from the terrible drought. The hero Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and saved the land from destruction.

As reward for saving the people, Hou Yi was made king and was given an immortality potion. Unfortunately, Hou Yi later became an evil ruler whom everyone hated. Even his wife, Chang E, despised him. She knew that if he took the immortality elixir, the nation would be destroyed by his never-ending evil. So, to save her countrymen, Chang E drank the potion herself.

Her body became so light that she flew into the air and went to live on the moon where she became the Moon Goddess, accompanied by her jade rabbit.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, look for Chang E on the surface of the full moon.

If you'd like the entire background of the Mid-Autumn Festival in a convenient 2 page PDF format, click here.

This video begins with the Mid-Autumn Festival and goes on to describe other traditional Chinese holidays.

• Go outdoors at night and watch the moon.

• Visit with friends and family, especially over a good meal.

• Eat mooncakes.

• Make your own mooncakes.

• Read or write poetry about the moon.

• Learn a poem in Chinese.

• Make a craft.

• Learn about the science behind the annual harvest moon.

During the 14th century Yuan dynasty, China was ruled by the Mongols. Many Chinese people desired to revolt against the Mongols. So they came up with a clever plan to communicate their revolution -- secret messages about the time and place of the revolt were hidden inside mooncakes. When Chinese citizens sliced the mooncakes, they found the secret messages about the revolt and joined in the effort. The revolt (on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival) was successful in driving the Mongols out of China, thanks to the mooncake communication.

The filling of a moon cake is usually sweet, but can also be savory. Nuts, lotus paste, red bean paste, and dates are common fillings. A cooked egg yolk is often embedded in the very center. A few people still make homemade mooncakes using wooden molds. But most people buy the commercial varieties packaged in lovely tins and boxes.

Mooncakes are usually round like the moon and symbollize togetherness and harmony. (Less frequently you will find square shaped mooncakes.) Molds made of metal, wood or plastic are used to press beautiful designs into the mooncakes.