Moon Festival
Moon Festival
Sept. 28 th is the Chinese's Moon Festival. Well know for its famous dessert the Moon cake. (Well at least most people know of the dessert. If not give me a call i'll point u to some. ) It was odd that when my roommate asked me about the moon festival i had no idea what the real story behind it, so a basic internet search turned up the following story that explains the background of the Moon festival:
The Chinese Moon Festival, or sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival, takes place on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty 618 A.D. and celebrates the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, the harvest moon.
As with many Chinese celebrations, there are ancient legends to explain the holiday. The Chinese were, and still are, an agricultural society. In ancient times, they planted and harvested by the lunar calendar, using the moon as an important time reference and guide.
One of the legends about the Moon Festival is about a builder or architect named Hou Yih. Hou Yih built a beautiful jade palace for the Goddess of the Western Heaven or sometimes called the Royal Mother. The Goddess was so happy that she gave Hou Yih a special pill that contained the magic elixir of immortality. But with it came the condition and warning that he may not use the pill until he had accomplished certain things.
Hou Yih had a beautiful wife named Chang-O. Chang-O was as curious as she was beautiful. One day she found the pill and without telling her husband, she swallowed it.
The Goddess of the Western Heaven was very angry and as a punishment, Chang-O was banished to the moon where, according to the legend, Chang-O can be seen at her most beautiful on the night of the bright harvest moon.
The Moon Festival is a big holiday with family reunions, moon gazing activities, and feasting on "moon cakes" which are round pastries filled with red bean paste, fruit or jam. Dragon and lion dances, whose origins also date back to ancient China, are wonderful dances done during festivals, especially exciting are the dragon and lion dances.
While the Chinese legend included the story that once there were 10 suns. Because that was just way too hot and way to bright, the emperor of the time asked Hou-Yih to get rid of the suns. Hou-Yih a great hero, shot down 9 of the suns. Of course this angered the Jade Emperor, whom condemned Hou-Yih and his Wife to never return heavenly courts. Chang-o (as stated above, most i learned it as, Chung-Er) Blamed Hou-Yih, and stole some pill that made her float towards the sky, towards the heavenly court. The Jaded Emperor got angry again, and banished Chang-O to the moon, in the form of a Rabbit. Thus the whole rabbit and moon festival thing. The moon is said to have a palace with Chang-O and another guy who is banished there. It seems that the Moon is a prison from the Heavenly court...
Though legends aside, The Moon festival is basically the Thanksgiving of the Chinese people. Families would gather, and feast. The consumer industries would also milk this holiday season as Xmas/Thanksgiving are in the states. The food industry really enjoys this time, desserts of all sort all high in sales, people would visit each other, and gift basket of desserts, that make great visiting gifts, go for bank.
Moon Cakes
Moon cakes also have a nice and interesting legend behind it. Not really sure how accurate this story is but it relates to the moon festival and the Fall of the Yuan Dynasty. A scholar/Taoist/Wiseman/Prophet named Liu Bo-An ( my spelling of it ), during the later days of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu was a aid to the later Ming Emperor, Chiu Yuan Cheung. Whom is credited for leading the revolution against the Mongolians. Liu supposedly came up with the plan that alerted everyone to the revolution. IN light of the moon festival, Liu’s people encouraged all Manchurians (not Mongolians of the Yuan dynasty), to celebrate the Chinese holiday of the moon festival by eating Moon cakes. When everyone bought the moon cakes, they noticed a small note with in the red bean paste that said, “Revolution on 8/15”, which is the lunar calendar date for the Moon Festival. How true this is beyond me. But Liu is credit for being a scholar and Taoist alchemist. And many stories centers around him involving little things like this to the building and the placement of Beijing City.
Moon cakes come in a few basic forms and shapes. The most common are the Cantonese type, which is baked with a brown to dark brown exterior, usually quite think. There are Beijing types with are flatter, similar to pancakes. A Taiwanese types using taro or potatoes and a white skin type, which has layers of soft and flaky crust. Moon cakes are usually filled with a variety of fillings, mostly leaning to the sweet side. Common fillings are, red beans, lotus seeds, Green beans, Egg Yolks, Egg whites, Cinnamon and whole bunch of seeds that I can’t name. Modern day Asia has been creating all sort of new moon cake like desserts. Newer flavors and western influence are all making an appearance in the moon cakes and the festival. Stuff like Japanese influence of Tea moon cakes, to chocolate of even ice cream moon cakes are all hitting the market. None the less moon cakes range in price due to the fame of the company making it. Some famous Moon cake houses are well know and are VERY busy starting early in the year. Reservations are made in advance to order boxes of moon cakes. Companies would order them for employees, or give them out as gifts. Box of moon cakes would be exchanged like xmas fruit cakes, but better tasting.
Of course realistically this is supposedly the day that the moon is at its brightest and fullest in the year, which might relate to something agricultural. But if u r not too bored next Tuesday, go to ur local Ranch 99 and drops some bills on a moon cake or two and feast as if it is thanksgiving.
