Mooncake festival

Thursday, May 17 2012

Wednesday, 07 October 2009 13:38

THE MOONCAKE festival (also known as Mid-Autumn Festival or Zhongqiu Festival) is a popular harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty.

Held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, it is a date that parallels the autumn and spring Equinoxes of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. This celebration sees many accompanying myths and legends that manifest themselves as part of festival’s rituals, food, art and tradition.

One of the most famous legends of the day would be surrounding the "lady living in the moon". Children are often told the story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. “This story dates back to ancient times, to a day when 10 suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon festival” (The Moon Festival) Read here for more myths and stories of the day.

The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake. Mooncakes are typically round, symbolising the full round moon of the mid-autumn festival. Some are made with four egg yolks, representing the four phases of the moon, and are sweet, filled with sweet bean or lotus seed paste. Read here and here for more on the mooncake and here on how to make them.

Another interesting ritual would be the carrying of brightly-lit lanterns on the night of the festival. The myth is explained below:

“The Jade Emperor You Di was infuriated that a town killed his goose. He ordered the town to be destroyed by fire as punishment. However, a fairy advised the townspeople to light up the town with their lanterns. When the Emperor saw the light in the town, he was fooled into thinking that the town had been destroyed. To commemorate this event, children and adults carry colorful lanterns during the festival”. (Myth and Legends of The Moon Festival)

Read here for other rituals practised during the festival.

The celebrations in Penang are no different, with Chinese families often converging together for a meal, with the kids lugging their multi-coloured, multi-shaped lanterns all around their homes. The mooncake is sold weeks in advance and would normally be a feature in most houses including the non-Chinese. This year, the Penang state government, as part of its ongoing "Esplanade in Action" series, held the Lantern Festival, organising stage performances such as songs, a lantern dance, a fan dance, a dragon dance, dramas and sketches. View slideshow below.

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