The Mid-Autumn Festival is a significant traditional Chinese festival with ancient origins and is closely related to the moon. Here are some legends and origins associated with the festival:
The Mid-Autumn Festival can be traced back to ancient moon-worshipping customs. In ancient agricultural societies, people highly valued natural phenomena, as the waxing and waning of the moon were closely related to the timing of crop harvests. Especially in autumn, as the harvest season neared its end, people would hold rituals to worship the moon during the full moon, praying for a good harvest and peace. This custom already existed in the Zhou Dynasty, and by the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival had evolved into a formal holiday, set on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon is believed to be at its fullest.
The most widely known story of the Mid-Autumn Festival is the legend of Chang'e flying to the moon. According to the tale, in ancient times, a hero named Houyi shot down nine of the ten suns in the sky, saving the people from disaster. His wife, Chang'e, accidentally consumed an elixir of immortality and ascended to the moon, becoming a moon goddess. People later commemorated Chang'e by praying to the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Another famous Mid-Autumn legend is that of "Wu Gang Chopping the Laurel Tree." Wu Gang, a celestial being, was punished for violating heavenly rules and sentenced to the moon, where he was tasked with chopping down a laurel tree that could never be felled. This story adds a layer of mystery to the moon, with the laurel tree and Wu Gang becoming part of Mid-Autumn folklore.
There is also the story of the "Jade Rabbit Making Medicine." It is said that the Jade Rabbit lives on the moon, where it pounds medicinal herbs to create the elixir of immortality for Chang'e. This image of the Jade Rabbit often accompanies the story of Chang'e and has become a symbolic figure of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with various customs, such as moon gazing, eating mooncakes, and worshipping the moon. Eating mooncakes symbolizes reunion and completeness. On this day, families gather to appreciate the moon, enjoy mooncakes, and express their wishes for togetherness and a happy life.
Today, the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only celebrated in China, and it has become a symbolic holiday centered around the theme of "reunion" in Chinese culture.