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.