Moon Festival part I

Past few days in China was a big holiday: the Moon Festival or also called the Mid-Autumn festival. People don’t work, they have dinner with their families, eat moon cakes(round cakes made with an egg in the middle, the cake itself is yummy but the egg not so much), go to the temple to pray and most importantly watch the moon.There are several stories behind the Moon Festival and I will write some of them here:)First story is about three fairy people transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit”.The Second story is about an archer’s wife. The time of this story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, making the earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to use his archery skills to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life. Emperor Yao advised Houyi not to swallow the pill immediately but instead to prepare himself by praying and fasting for a year before taking it. Houyi took the pill home and hid it under the pillow. One day, Houyi wasn’t home and his wife, Chang'e, noticed a white beam of light from under the pillow, and discovered the pill. Chang'e swallowed it and immediately found that she could fly. Houyi returned home and Chang’e got scared and coughed half of the pill. Houyi pursued her halfway across the heavens but was forced to return to Earth because of strong winds. Chang'e reached the moon and commanded the hare/rabbit that lived on the moon to make another pill. Chang'e would then be able to return to Earth and her husband.The legend states that the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. Houyi built himself a palace in the sun, representing "Yang” (the male principle), in contrast to Chang'e's home on the moon which represents "Yin”(the female principle). Once a year, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Houyi visits his wife. That is the reason why the moon is very full and beautiful on that night.During the Festival there are posters of the Moon Lady all over the place.And there is a folk story linked to the Moon Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the rebellion against the Mongol rulers in the 14th century. As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion. Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, some Chinese leaders came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. They got permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to the Chinese people. However, inside each cake was inserted a piece of paper with the message: "Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the 8th month".Keep tuned for part II about Moon Festival dinner…