mid Autumn...

seems to be the season for festivities in many cultures....today happens to be the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and is the equivalent of the Indian festival of lights, Devali. i imagine lanterns (paper or plastic) being lit and carried about by children or are hung up in the gardens. i could still recall the excitement of holding a lantern attached to a stick and going about the neighbourhood with the other children...the adults staying indoors (or in the garden), sipping tea and enjoying what is known as moon cakes....lovely gorgeous baked pastry made from lotus seed paste with salted egg yolk(s) within, representing the moon in its full, as it is on this day.

mid Autumn festival is a time for family gatherings as much as for being with friends. the significance of the moon is much appreciated in the Chinese culture and is often referenced in poems. in fact, many important dates occur during days when the moon is at its fullest, e.g. Lunar New Year.

there are many legends that account for the celebration of this day:
one recounts that during the occupation of the Mongols in the 14th Century AD (Yuan dynasty), the Chinese secretly organised a rebellion to regain their land. an attack strategy was outlined and brought into a particular walled city held by the enemy by means of hiding the strategy in little moon cakes, carried in by a Taoist monk (who was actually a senior office member of the preceding Sung dynasty, in disguise) and distributed them to the people within. when mid Autumn arrived, the hidden messages were discovered when people opened and ate their cakes. the advise from the messages enabled the successful coordination of the uprising both from within and outside on the night of the full moon. the cakes thus became a symbol of this historical event.

another, tells of a tyrannical but skilful archer, General Hou, who was rewarded the herb of immortality for shooting down nine of the ten suns that suddenly appeared around the earth and over scorched the people living on it. fearing his tyrannical presence and eventual rule, his beautiful wife, Lady Chang Er, stole this herb and ate it. but as soon as she did, she became lighter and lighter, and floated up to the moon where she eventually stayed. even though he must have been very upset over what had happened, General Hou loved his wife dearly and couldn't bear to shoot down the last sun (or moon). despite the different versions of this and other legends, the lady on the moon is often portrayed on the boxes that hold the special cakes which are eaten during this festival.

mid Autumn as it is celebrated in the Chinese tradition, is a non-event here in Germany. i wonder if kids in Asia still go about waving their lanterns or making them themselves.....i sure hope so...even if it is dangerous playing with fire! incidentally, my little fish lantern that Joan sent me a year ago still hangs on the Eucalyptus tree in my room....it would be nice to light it up with a candle and bring it outside...but it is drizzling...and the moon is not in my view tonight.

posted by ~overacuppa~ on Thursday, 11 September, 2003 at 23:34 hrs