The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals in the Chinese lunar calendar, falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month (which usually falls between mid-September to mid-October). As a festival with origins dating back to about 2,000 years ago, it started off predominantly as a harvest festival to celebrate abundance after a bountiful harvest. Till today, fruits are often found on the table with the almost obligatory mooncakes during the celebrations.

Traditional mooncake fillings are made with lotus seed paste, red bean paste and taro paste, with the thin outer crust baked to a golden brown. Yolks from salted duck eggs are also often included as a symbol of the full moon. Today, one can find many alternative variants of mooncakes. In Singapore, especially popular are “snow skin” mooncakes and ice-cream mooncakes – favourites amongst the sweet-toothed. Adding to the sweet aroma would be a pot of hot Chinese tea, the perfect complement to the Mid-Autumn feast.

To understand why the moon features so heavily in the festivities, one just needs to gaze up to the skies during the Mid-Autumn Festival. With the moon at its roundest and brightest, the festival became associated with completeness and family reunion. As families gather together to partake in a sumptuous meal and various activities including lighting lanterns, the incessant chatter and soft moonlight bathes the festival in an atmosphere of kinship and family warmth. Children would gather around the senior folk in hopes of winning prizes for answering riddles correctly and be entertained by stories passed down from generation to generation.
 

Stories under the Full Moon

Of the many legends surrounding the moon, the most popular and widely known is that of Chang-e’s ascend to the moon. Versions of the legend vary but according to one version, it is said that a long time ago, ten suns burned intensely in the sky, causing rivers to run dry and the earth to crack under the scorching heat. Skilled archer Hou Yi took up the task to shoot down nine suns, restoring life to the dying land and subsequently became king.

Hou Yi fell in love with and married the beautiful Chang-e. But alas, mortal life was impermanent and greed got the better of Hou Yi who became a tyrant. Eventually, Hou Yi decided to seek immortality by ordering the making of an elixir that can prolong his life. Chang-e was heartbroken by the change in her husband. In a selfless act to save her country folks, she stole the elixir and swallowed it to prevent her husband from attaining immortality. This infuriated King Hou Yi who tried to stop Chang-e but only to find her ascending to the moon. Chang-e thus gained immortality and from then on, lived on the moon with only a white rabbit for company.

Other legends include that of how the Chinese overthrew their Mongolian oppressors around the 13th century by hiding and passing along their rebellion plans in mooncakes; and that of the Old Man on the Moon – the Divine Match-maker. The Chinese believed that marriages were made in Heaven but arranged on the moon. During the ancient times, unmarried young couples would light candles and burn joss sticks under the Mid-Autumn moon to pray for a happy marriage. Today, many Chinese still consider the eighth lunar month as an auspicious time for weddings. For more legends surrounding the Mid-Autumn festival, join in the festivities and you might just hear a new tale or two!