October 1, 2020 marked a very exciting celebration for the people in China. The Mid-Autumn Festival which occurs  on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar was held. It is celebrated for  three days, and  is the second most significant traditional Chinese festival after Lunar New Year.This is the time for families to come together and feast to give thanks for the harvest of crops.The spirit of this festival is captured in a poem from the Song dynasty which expresses the beautiful thoughts of the Chinese people, “May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together, even if we are hundreds of miles apart.”

This festival is commemorated on the night when the moon is the fullest and brightest. Ancient legend tells us that this day is to honor a beautiful lady and her hero.  The story tells of HouYi, an expert archer, and his wife Chang’e. Legend tells that there were 10 suns in the sky, and they were burning the earth and causing widespread death. Hou Yi was able to shoot 9 of the suns down, and as a reward the Queen Mother gave him an elixir that would make him immortal. He refused to drink the elixir as he wanted to always be with his wife. He gave the potion to his wife for safekeeping. A  man from the village came to his home, and tried to take the elixir. Knowing she could not defend herself, Chang’e drank the elixir. This made her fly higher and higher until she reached the moon, and she became immortal. Hou Yi was so sad that he put a table under the moon, prepared some food, and hoped his wife would return. 

This explains why people during this festival offer lots of food to worship the moon.  People also look up at the moon on this night to see if they can find the shape of the beautiful woman. Lanterns of all sizes and shapes serve as beacons to light the way to good luck and prosperity. Mooncakes are the traditional food eaten during the festival. In English this festival is referred to as the Moon or the Harvest Moon Festival because it is associated with a full moon, as well as the traditions of moon worship.