Mid-Autumn Festival is right around the corner and I couldn’t be more excited about it! Growing up Chinese-American, my knowledge of Chinese holidays is rather limited. However, Mid-Autumn Festival, known as 中秋节 (zhong qiu jie) in Chinese, is one that my family tries to celebrate every year.
Like many Asian holidays, the date of Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the lunar calendar. It falls consistently on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month—this year, it will be celebrated on October 1st. This is considered the true middle of autumn, and is the time of year when the moon is believed to be the fullest. (Funnily enough, this festival is also called Moon Festival. Go figure.)
So, how is Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated?
Think Asian Thanksgiving. Relatives travel from all over to gather around the table and share a meal, though specific celebrations vary across geographical regions. Many places will light paper lanterns and have colorful parades. Some villages in Hong Kong have a tradition of fire dragon dancing through narrow alleys. Also much like Thanksgiving, the Mid-Autumn Festival has foods and delicacies dedicated specifically to its celebration. Mooncakes are as important to this holiday as a turkey is to Thanksgiving, and they happen to be my personal favorite dessert. Every year around this time, my family makes a trip (or several) to Costco to pick up a few tins of these sweet mini-cakes.
Mooncakes typically consist of a thin layer surrounding a dense filling, which can be made of anything from lotus seed paste to red bean paste to various fruits and veggie flavors. Traditional mooncakes have imprints on the top, usually the Chinese symbols for longevity or harmony. The most common kind of mooncake is made from lotus seed paste and lard, sometimes containing a salted egg yolk inside, which is why a single mooncake can be upwards of 1,000 calories! Honestly, if this holiday occurred more than once a year, my diet would be in deep trouble.
Mooncakes are by far the most popular delicacy eaten during this festival, but they are certainly not the only ones. Other traditional foods include pumpkin (to bring good health), taro (to bring good luck), and duck (a Chinese staple).
Folklore of the Mid-Autumn Festival
Alas, in true Asian holiday style, there are multiple myths surrounding the origins of Mid-Autumn Festival. One of the most beloved and tragic stories tells of a woman named Chang’e and how she became the moon goddess. Even this single story has many variations, but the one below is probably the kindest toward Chang’e.
Back in the earliest days of the earth, there were ten suns, providing constant daylight and scorching heat that made it impossible to farm. A skilled archer named Hou Yi decided that enough was enough, and he shot down nine of the ten suns. For his act of courage, he was given an elixir of immortality.
Unfortunately, he was only given enough elixir for one person. He didn’t want to drink it and leave his wife, Chang’e, so he decided to hide the elixir. However, a greedy apprentice of his wanted the elixir for himself. Chang’e wanted to protect the elixir from the apprentice and ended up drinking it herself. This made her so light that she floated to the sky and became the moon goddess.
Hou Yi missed his wife desperately, so every year he prepared a feast and set it out when the moon was fullest, hoping that she would one day return to earth and share a meal with him. Thus, the tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival was born.
Mid-Autumn Festival is an incredible holiday, rich in history and traditions. Though I’ve never celebrated it in China, I’m glad that even in the U.S., I can appreciate its values and—most importantly—its delicious food. So you can guess what I’ll be doing on October 1st. (The answer is eating lots and lots of mooncakes. Bring on the food coma!)
