The Moon goddess Chang’e plays a big role in the Mid-Autumn Festival

THE Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar (Oct 3). This special day is not only celebrated by Chinese the world over, but also by ­Vietnamese, Japanese and Koreans with almost similar legends behind it.

The Vietnamese mid-autumn ­festival is called Tet Trung Thu while the Japanese and Koreans call the festival Tsukimi and Chuseok respectively.

In Malaysia, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival. Yes, this is the time of the year when we use it as an excuse to indulge in the traditional delicacy called mooncakes and play with lanterns in all shapes and sizes to celebrate the occasion with our families and friends under the light of the full Moon.

Mooncakes

Like so many festivals here, it all begins with a fable. The legend of Chang’e, the Moon goddess, has some six versions though each ends quite similar to the others with Chang’e living on the Moon with a hare as her companion.

One of the versions has Chang’e banished from heaven to Earth when she angered the Jade Emperor. There she married Houyi, a skilled archer who became king when he shot down nine of 10 suns which mysteriously rose into the sky one day.

But Houyi soon turned into a tyrant and desperate to prolong his life, he ordered an elixir of life be created for him. In order to save the people from more of her husband’s tyranny, Chang’e swallowed the elixir, a pill, and jumped out of the window.

Instead of falling, she floated to the Moon and has lived there ever since ­together with a rabbit which is constantly pounding the elixir of ­immortality in a large mortar.

Lanterns

According to Chinese beliefs, the Moon is at its brightest and ­roundest on the night of the Mid-Autumn ­Festival. This full Moon is also called the harvest moon as it comes at the end of harvest time.

It also signifies the time for people and families to come together in ­celebration and memory of Chang’e. The roundness of the mooncake, like the round full Moon, also symbolises the completeness of the family circle and thus call for a family reunion and a strengthening of family ties.

Besides the legend of Chang’e, another notable folk tale is about 14th century Chinese rebel leader ­General Zhu Yuan Zhang who planned to ­overthrow the Yuan dynasty started by the Mongols.

He ordered messages of the ­impending uprising hidden in ­mooncakes and distributed among the people. On the night of the festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government.

Eating the mooncakes is to ­commemorate the overthrow of the Mongol dynasty by the Hans and the start of the Ming dynasty under ­emperor Zhu.

So, whether it is an ode to the moon goddess or to a clever general, the Mid-Autumn Festival continues to be celebrated to this day. This year, the festival falls on Oct 3.

Some customs dictate that families must gather to eat ­mooncakes and pomelos and drink ­Chinese tea under the light of the full Moon; others advocate the planting of mid-Autumn trees.

It has also become a ­tradition among some that married daughters present boxes of mooncake to their mothers as a sign of filial piety.

So, while children enjoy the night carrying brightly lit lanterns or ­playing with candles, and adults gather together to eat mooncakes and other delicacies and catch up on news, the traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival are passed down from one generation to the next as have been done through the centuries.