20201003 Mooncake Festival

 Saturday, 03 October

#Today I wanna write about the Mooncake festival or the mid-autumn festival base on the Chinese lunar calendar.

https://images.app.goo.gl/cUvziP8YayUSsnYo8

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; Traditional Chinese: 中秋節; Vietnamese: Tết Trung Thu; Korean: 추석; Japanese: 月見), also known as Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated by many different East and Southeast Asian people. It is the second-most important holiday after the Chinese New Year with a history dating back 3,000 years when China's emperors worshipped the moon for bountiful harvests. The celebration is called Chuseok (autumn eve) in Korea and Tsukimi (moon-viewing) in Japan.

The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.

Lanterns of all size and shapes, are carried and displayed – as beacons to light our way to prosperity and good luck. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during the festival.

Names for the Mid-Autumn Festival:

• Zhōngqiū Jié (Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; Traditional Chinese: 中秋節), is the official name in Mandarin.
• Jūng-chāu Jit (Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; Traditional Chinese: 中秋節), the official name in Cantonese.
• Mid-Autumn Festival: official name in English
• Chuseok (추석/秋夕; Autumn Eve), Korea festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese and other East Asian lunisolar calendars.
• Tsukimi (月見; Moon-Viewing), a Japanese variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
• Tết Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Tet), the official name in Vietnamese.
• Moon Festival or Harvest Moon Festival, because of the celebration's association with the full moon on this night, as well as the traditions of moon worship and moon viewing.
• Lantern Festival, a term sometimes used in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, which is not to be confused with the Lantern Festival in China that occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
• Tiong-chhiu-cheh, Peh-goe̍h-cheh (中秋節, 八月節), the official name in Taiwanese/Hokkien.
• Reunion Festival, in earlier times, a woman in China took this occasion to visit her parents before returning to celebrate with her husband and his parents.
• Children's Festival, in Vietnam, because of the emphasis on the celebration of children.
• Sampeah Preach Khae (សែនព្រះខែ), the official name in Cambodian meaning Prayers to the moon, the festival is called Water and Moon Festival or Bon Om Touk. 

The festival celebrates three fundamental concepts that are closely connected:

• Gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. It is said the moon is the brightest and roundest on this day which means family reunion. Consequently, this is the main reason why the festival is thought to be important.
• Thanksgiving, to give thanks for the harvest, or harmonious unions
• Praying (asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good future

Traditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these concepts, although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion. It's about well being together.

The Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). For the Baiyue peoples, the harvest time commemorated the dragon who brought rain for the crops. The celebration as a festival only started to gain popularity during the early Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). One legend explains that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang started to hold formal celebrations in his palace after having explored the Moon-Palace. The term mid-autumn (中秋) first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE). As for the royal court, it was dedicated to the goddess Taiyinxingjun (太陰星君 Tàiyīn xīng jūn). This is still true for Taoism and Chinese folk religion. 

Empress Dowager Cixi (late 19th century) enjoyed celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival so much that she would spend the period between the thirteenth and seventeenth day of the eighth month staging elaborate rituals.

Chang'e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality

Houyi helplessly looking at his wife Chang'e flying off to the moon after she drank the elixir.

An important part of the festival celebration is moon worship. The ancient Chinese believed in rejuvenation being associated with the moon and water, and connected this concept to the menstruation of women, calling it "monthly water". The Zhuang people, for example, have an ancient fable saying the sun and moon are a couple and the stars are their children, and when the moon is pregnant, it becomes round and then becomes crescent after giving birth to a child. These beliefs made it popular among women to worship and give offerings to the moon this evening. In some areas of China, there are still customs in which "men do not worship the moon and the women do not offer sacrifices to the kitchen gods."

In China, the Mid-Autumn festival symbolizes the family reunion and on this day, all families will appreciate the moon in the evening, because it is the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar when the moon is at its fullest. There is a beautiful myth about the Mid-Autumn festival, that is Chang'e flying to the moon.

Offerings are also made to a more well-known lunar deity, Chang'e, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Chang'e explain the origin of moon worship during this day. One version of the story is as follows, as described in Lihui Yang's Handbook of Chinese Mythology:

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang'e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang'e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

“When people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang ‘e, now the goddess of the moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time."

Handbook of Chinese Mythology also describes an alternate common version of the myth:

After the hero Houyi shot down nine of the ten suns, he was pronounced king by the thankful people. However, he soon became a conceited and tyrannical ruler. In order to live long without death, he asked for the elixir from Xiwangmu. But his wife, Chang'e, stole it on the fifteenth of August because she did not want the cruel king to live long and hurt more people. She took the magic potion to prevent her husband from becoming immortal. Houyi was so angry when discovered that Chang'e took the elixir, he shot at his wife as she flew toward the moon, though he missed. Chang'e fled to the moon and became the spirit of the moon. Houyi died soon because he was overcome with great anger. Thereafter, people offer a sacrifice to Chang'e on every fifteenth day of the eighth month to commemorate Chang'e's action.

The festival was a time to enjoy the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food offerings made in honor of the moon. Today, it is still an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the moon, a symbol of harmony and unity. During a year of a solar eclipse, it is typical for governmental offices, banks, and schools to close extra days in order to enjoy the extended celestial celebration an eclipse brings. The festival is celebrated with many cultural or regional customs, among them:

• Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e.
• Performance of dragon and lion dances, which is mainly practiced in southern China.

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns in Chinatown, Singapore

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns at a shop in Hong Kong

A notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floating sky lanterns. Another tradition involving lanterns is to write riddles on them and have other people try to guess the answers (Simplified Chinese: 灯谜; Traditional Chinese: 燈謎; pinyin: dēng mí; lit.: 'lantern riddles').

It is difficult to discern the original purpose of lanterns in connection to the festival, but it is certain that lanterns were not used in conjunction with moon-worship prior to the Tang dynasty. Traditionally, the lantern has been used to symbolize fertility and functioned mainly as a toy and decoration. But today the lantern has come to symbolize the festival itself. In the old days, lanterns were made in the image of natural things, myths, and local cultures. Over time, a greater variety of lanterns could be found as local cultures became influenced by their neighbors.

As China gradually evolved from an agrarian society to a mixed agrarian-commercial one, traditions from other festivals began to be transmitted into the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as the putting of lanterns on rivers to guide the spirits of the drowned as practiced during the Ghost Festival, which is observed a month before. Hong Kong fishermen during the Qing dynasty, for example, would put up lanterns on their boats for the Ghost Festival and keep the lanterns up until Mid-Autumn Festival.

In Vietnam, children participate in parades in the dark under the full moon with lanterns of various forms, shapes, and colors. Traditionally, lanterns signified the wish for the sun's light and warmth to return after winter. In addition to carrying lanterns, the children also don masks. Elaborate masks were made of papier-mache, though it is more common to find masks made of plastic nowadays. Handcrafted shadow lanterns were an important part of Mid-Autumn displays since the 12th-century Ly Dynasty, often of historical figures from Vietnamese history. Handcrafted lantern-making declined in modern times due to the availability of mass-produced plastic lanterns, which often depict internationally recognized characters such as Pokemon's Pikachu, Disney characters, Spongebob Squarepants, and Hello Kitty. 

According to Lemei, "The round moon cakes are symbols of the great family reunion just like the round." Moon cakes are becoming more and more popular, and the variety of flavors has turned them into gifts for friends and relatives.

Typical lotus bean-filled mooncakes eaten during the festival

Animal-shaped mooncakes in Vietnam

Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. Thus, the sharing and eating of round mooncakes among family members during the week of the festival signify the completeness and unity of families. In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion. In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.. 

Although typical mooncakes can be around a few centimeters in diameter, imperial chefs have made some as large as 8 meters in diameter, with its surface pressed with designs of Chang'e, cassia trees, or the Moon-Palace. One tradition is to pile 13 mooncakes on top of each other to mimic a pagoda, the number 13 being chosen to represent the 13 months in a full Chinese lunisolar year. The spectacle of making very large mooncakes continues in modern China.

According to Chinese folklore, a Turpan businessman offered cakes to Emperor Taizong of Tang in his victory against the Xiongnu on the fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunisolar month. Taizong took the round cakes and pointed to the moon with a smile, saying, "I'd like to invite the toad to enjoy the hú (胡) cake." After sharing the cakes with his ministers, the custom of eating these hú cakes spread throughout the country. Eventually, these became known as mooncakes. Although the legend explains the beginnings of mooncake-giving, its popularity and ties to the festival began during the Song dynasty (906–1279 CE).

Another popular legend concerns the Han Chinese's uprising against the ruling Mongols at the end of the Yuan dynasty (1280–1368 CE), in which the Han Chinese used traditional mooncakes to conceal the message that they were to rebel on Mid-Autumn Day. Because of strict controls upon Han Chinese families imposed by the Mongols in which only 1 out of every 10 households was allowed to own a knife guarded by a Mongolian guard, this coordinated message was important to gather as many available weapons as possible.

Imperial dishes served on this occasion included nine-jointed lotus roots which symbolize peace, and watermelons cut in the shape of lotus petals which symbolize reunion. Teacups were placed on stone tables in the garden, where the family would pour tea and chat, waiting for the moment when the full moon's reflection appeared in the center of their cups. Owing to the timing of the plant's blossoms, cassia wine is the traditional choice for the "reunion wine" drunk on the occasion. Also, people will celebrate by eating cassia cakes and candy. In some places, people will celebrate by drinking osmanthus wine and eating osmanthus mooncakes.

Food offerings made to deities are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard, including apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges, and pomelos. One of the first decorations purchased for the celebration table is a clay statue of the Jade Rabbit. In Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit was an animal that lived on the moon and accompanied Chang'e. Offerings of soybeans and cockscomb flowers were made to the Jade Rabbit.

Nowadays, in southern China, people will also eat some seasonal fruit that may differ in a different district but carrying the same meaning of blessing.

In Vietnam, cakes and fruits are not only consumed but elaborately prepared as food displays. For example, glutinous rice flour and rice paste are molded into familiar animals. Pomelo sections can be fashioned into unicorns, rabbits, or dogs. Villagers of Xuân La, just north of Hanoi, produce tò he, figurines made from rice paste and colored with natural food dyes. Into the early decades of the twentieth century of Vietnam, daughters of wealthy families would prepare elaborate centerpieces filled with treats for their younger siblings. Well-dressed visitors could visit to observe the daughter's handiwork as an indication of her capabilities as a wife in the future. Eventually, the practice of arranging centerpieces became a tradition not just limited to wealthy families.

The Mid-Autumn moon has traditionally been a choice occasion to celebrate marriages. Girls would pray to moon deity Chang'e to help fulfill their romantic wishes.

In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. For example, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd, and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance at romance. In Daguang, in southwest Guizhou Province, young men and women of the Dong people would make an appointment at a certain place. The young women would arrive early to overhear remarks made about them by the young men. The young men would praise their lovers in front of their fellows, in which finally the listening women would walk out of the thicket. Pairs of lovers would go off to a quiet place to open their hearts to each other.

Into the early decades of twentieth-century Vietnam, young men and women used the festival as a chance to meet future life companions. Groups would assemble in a courtyard and exchange verses of the song while gazing at the moon. Those who performed poorly were sidelined until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects. 

During the 1920s and 1930s, ethnographer Chao Wei-pang conducted research on traditional games among men, women, and children on or around the Mid-Autumn day in the Guangdong Province. These games relate to flights of the soul, spirit possession, or fortunetelling.

• One type of activity, "Ascent to Heaven" (Chinese: 上天堂 shàng tiāntáng) involves a young lady selected from a circle of women to "ascend" into the celestial realm. While being enveloped in the smoke of burning incense, she describes the beautiful sights and sounds she encounters.
• Another activity, "Descent into the Garden" (Chinese: 落花园 luò huāyuán), played among younger girls, detailed each girl's visit to the heavenly gardens. According to legend, a flowering tree represented her, and the number and color of the flowers indicated the sex and number of children she would have in her lifetime.
• Men played a game called "Descent of the Eight Immortals " (jiangbaxian), where one of the Eight Immortals took possession of a player, who would then assume the role of a scholar or warrior.
• Children would play a game called "Encircling the Toad" (guanxiamo), where the group would form a circle around a child chosen to be a Toad King and chanted a song that transformed the child into a toad. He would jump around like a toad until the water was sprinkled on his head, in which he would then stop.

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival)

#enoughfortoday #qmo