The Chinese Moon Festival is a favorite holiday among the Chinese. It is the opportune time to give thanks for the year's blessings and to re-kindle ties with family.

The Chinese Moon Festival is celebrated every 15th night of the 8th in the Chinese lunar calendar. In this year's Western calendar (2008), it is celebrated on September 14. The Chinese believe that this is the night when the full moon is at its fullest and brightest. For the Chinese, the moon symbolizes prosperity and longevity. Its round shape also symbolizes the complete family circle.

Chinese Moon Festival Food

Mooncakes are distributed to business networks and relatives a week or two before the Chinese Moon Festival to re-affirm ties. Traditional recipes use fruit, seed, bean paste and meat as filling. Egg yolks are also baked in the center for extra luck, as the yolks look like the moon. These days, even the mooncake is undergoing makeovers to keep up with the taste of the younger generation. Some mooncake recipes use ice cream or chocolate as filling, and their crusts can also be flaky. Even though bakeries start selling mooncakes early, these are always out of stock as the festival draws near.

The Moon Festival dinner is typically banquet-style. Dishes totaling 5, 7 or 9 are considered lucky. Other foods typically eaten during the festival are taro, pomelo and snails.

After dinner, ancestors are honored by burning incense, lighting candles and bowing at the family altar.

The Moon Festival table is then set up. Here are the items commonly placed on the table and what they symbolize:

Gourds - long lasting togetherness
Apples - peace
Pomegranates - plenty of children
Round shaped fruits - ex. Asian pears, persimmons, grapes, peaches, melons
Soybean plants - representing the cassia tree
Peanuts - long life
Coconuts - healthy face and figure
Watermelon seeds - plenty of children
Tea service

Trekking the Outdoors on Chinese Moon Festival

Nowadays, there are plenty of Chinese Moon Festival events that families can attend. Still, the idea is for families to go out to admire the beauty of the moon. Children are given lanterns to light the path. Lanterns are usually shaped like animals, but the modern lanterns now come in other shapes like airplanes, rockets and cars.

Family is encouraged to send prayers of thanks for all blessings. They are also encouraged to put forth their wishes for the lady on the moon. It is said that when the moon is at its fullest, the Lady of the Moon grants wishes.
Mooncake is shared. One mooncake is not eaten whole in one sitting. Rather, it is sliced into quarters and shared with family.
Lovers also take this occasion to share mooncake and wine.
For lovers and family who are far apart, they can gaze at the moon and remember the loved one who is also gazing up at the moon. They feel some bonding doing something together, despite the distance.

Telling Legends about the Moon

While gazing at the moon, legends about the moon are retold for the young people. Here are some of the more popular legends.

The Archer and the Lady of the Moon. In the olden days, it was said that 10 suns arose and dried up the earth. Hou Yi the archer shot down 9 of the suns and saved the earth. The Jade Emperor was pleased and awarded him with the Elixir of Life. Hou Yi's wife, Chang'E, takes the elixir. She floats up to the moon. Hou Yi chases her through the heavens, but does not succeed in getting her back. The gods allow them to meet there once a month, when the moon is full.
The Jade Rabbit accompanies Chang'E on the moon. The rabbit is commonly shown using a pestle and mortar, continually concocting the Elixir of Life.
Wu Gang the Woodcutter. Wu Gang selfishly sought out immortality. This angered the gods that they sentenced Wu Gang to cut the Tree of Immortality on the moon. Unfortunately, every time Wu Gang succeeds in cutting down the tree, the magical tree grows right back.
Moon Minister of Marriage. It is said that the old Minister matches future couples by connecting baby girls and baby boys with an enchanted red thread.

Bringing Out the Chinese Moon Poetry

Part of the Chinese Moon Festival's popularity can be attributed to the beautiful moon poetry written by ancient poets. The festival is the perfect time to bring out the poetry to be appreciated by the family.

A famous poem about the moon written in the ancient times is "Missing Home in the Silent Night" One translation goes: "The moonlight is shining through the window It makes me wonder if it is the frost on the ground, Looking up to see the moon ... Looking down I miss so much about my hometown. As the family, good food, moonlight, legend and poetry combine for this magical night, it is no wonder that the Chinese Moon Festival will always remain a favorite holiday among the Chinese.

Ray Ritchey is the owner of the site ChildBook which for over 10 years has been helping Children in the United States learn more about Chinese Culture and Language. They do this by selling Chinese Children's books, Music, and Video's in both Chinese and English. ChildBook was started in 1998 due to the frustration of the owners in finding good Chinese Language Learning material to bring their daughter up bilingually. Please free to visit our site for moon festival, DVDs, Poems to help your child learn Chinese Language easy and fun way.

Sources:

Childbook - http://www.childbook.com/Chinese-Moon-Festival-Books-and-Stories-s/138.htm The Good Luck Life.

Rosemary Gong. Chinatravel.com "For Mid-autumn festival, bakers replace traditional fillings with trendier fare." By Maureen Fan. Washington post - 9/25/2007