Celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the major holidays in the Chinese lunar calendar.  This day is an official holiday.  It is said that this full moon is the biggest and brightest of the year.  The date also coincides with the end of the harvest.  As with most holidays in the Chinese calendar, there is a legend associated with this day, as well as a popular way to celebrate. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival story is one of my favorites, as it has a wonderful mix of a man, a woman, a magic potion, and a rabbit.  Hou-Yi was a great archer and architect.  He was the man who shot down nine suns and stopped the earth from burning up.  Hou-Yi also built a jade palace for the Goddess of the Western Heaven, and was rewarded with an elixir that would give him eternal life.  Before taking the pill, he was to fast and pray for one year.  Unfortunately, his beautiful and very curious wife Chang-Er found the pill and swallowed it.  She immediately flew up to the moon, and could not come down again.  Upon reaching the moon, she spat out the pill, which turned into the rabbit.  You can see the rabbit at the bottom of the moon, making potions for immortals.  The fifteenth day of the eight month is when Chang-Er is supposedly her most radiant and beautiful. 

Taiwanese children seem to love this story, and it was one of the favorite dramatics we did in the preschool classes I taught.  Children also love trying to find the rabbit in the moon! 

Mid-Autumn Festival is an important family holiday, and most people celebrate by gathering with family and good friends to barbecue outdoors and appreciate the moon.  If you have not been invited to a gathering, don’t be shy about asking your local friends what they are doing to celebrate the holiday, as they would likely be upset to hear you were alone on this holiday.  You can take along some food or beverage for the barbecue.  If you don’t have the opportunity to be with locals on this day, you can enjoy a walk through your neighborhood or through the parks to see people enjoying the evening.   

The eating of moon cakes dates back to the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 874-889).  Moon cakes are usually shaped like the full moon, and can be filled with fruit, egg yolks, nuts, and bean paste.  It is popular to give boxes of moon cakes to people close to you, or to your staff.  People seem to have a love-hate relationship with moon cakes, and it is easy to reach the point where you say, "No more!"  But, you have to eat one or two or it will seem that you missed the holiday. 

*One of the books in the series "Let's Play" that I wrote in cooperation with Carolyn Wong (granddaughter to artist Huang Yao) has beautiful images depicting the passing of Mid-Autumn Festival in China.  You can purchase this book at www.littlewonders.com.tw.  Mention parentpages.net and get a 10% discount on your book order.

"Qi xi" (Seventh evening) or "Qin Ren Jie" (Lover's Day) occurs on th seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the year.  This year, Chinese Valentines Day will be celebrated on Thursday August 20 of the Western Calendar.  Whilst it has its origins in folklore, it is celebrated in much the same way as Westerners celebrate Valentine's Day on February 14th each year.

There are many tales in Chinese folklore surrounding Qi xi.  One of the more popular ones describes the forbidden love between the daughter of a heavenly emperor and a cow-herder.  Very much in love, the princess ran away from the heavenly palace to live with the cow herder.  They lived together happily on earth, raising two children and leading a simple life.  The emperor soon found them, and separated them.  The heavenly empress used her hair-pin to draw a line across the sky, making it impossible for the cow herder and his wife to get back together.

This line eventually turned into a heavenly river.  Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, magpies would fly together and make a bridge so the cow herder and the princess could step across them and meet again.  This is why magpies are bald – being stepped on at the same time each year made them lose their head feathers.

Chinese girls will pray to the princess on this day, in the hope they can be gifted with spinning skills, and also win the hearts of their loved ones.  So, this day is also known as "qi ciao" or "begging for skills".

This folktale of forbidden love is also represented in the summer sky.  It is said that the stars Altair (of the constellation Aquila) and Vega (of the constellation Lyra) will cross each other in the summer night sky.  Altair (the young man) is accompanied by two small stars (the two children).  Vega (the princess) travels alone.  The stars are separated by a river in the sky ; The Milky Way.

It has long been tradition to go out with your loved one on the evening of Chinese Valentine's Day.  In recent years, the day has been celebrated in similar ways to Western Valentine's Day – giving gifts or going out for dinner.  Throughout Taiwan, special Valentine's Day menus are offered, usually at a premium with some small gift or gimmick in the package.

There will be a three-day event in the Danshui area, including a fireworks display on Aug 22.