Chinese Moon Festival comes and goes

The Chinese Moon Festival, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, celebrates familial unity and, in days gone by, the bounty of a plentiful harvest.

This year, the Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival, fell upon Tuesday, Sept. 28. That evening, Chinese families all over the world enjoyed the traditional mooncake snack, basked in the splendor of the full "Harvest Moon" and possibly passed on age-old legends connected to this special holiday.

Yet despite honoring the holiday by eating mooncakes, many Chinese Blazers remain unaware of the Chinese Moon Festival's roots and significance. In an informal survey of 50 Chinese Blazers, a surprising 40 percent did not know the holiday's significance or any legends regarding it, satisfied instead with munching mooncakes as simply a matter of course.

Cultural aspects of the holiday are largely ignored by some in favor of the more material aspects of the holiday. "Nothing matters in life except food. Culture changes, you know?" says freshman Ly Li, cheerfully eating her lunch.

Only 26 percent of those surveyed were aware that the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates strong family bonds and a good harvest, and only 20 percent were aware of the mooncake's role in the overthrow of the Mongols by the Chinese during the early 14th century. (See below for more)

On the other hand, 48 percent were at least aware in whole or in part of the legends concerning the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, who floated up to the moon after she accidentally swallowed the entire Pill of Immortality.

Such legends are an integral part of the Chinese culture and connect Chinese people with a common background. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, legends – the folklore of a culture – are an "imaginative expression by a people of its desires, attitudes and cultural values."

Admittedly, not everyone can be expected to know about the legends or the significance of the festival. However, 40 percent caught culturally unaware is a significant portion of any group.

Pasty Pastry

The most obvious aspect of the holiday is the traditional mooncake, consisting of a baked outer shell filled with some form of paste made from ground red beans, mung beans (a green-colored bean similar in taste to the red beans), lotus seeds or other such delightful edibles.

Some varieties of mooncakes also include a preserved egg yolk center as a symbolic representation of the moon. Bakeries may also offer a four-egg version representing the phases of the moon.

However, the egg-yolk center truly is an acquired taste. "I personally don't prefer those," junior Will Tao says, laughing. "They just seem so…nasty."

Although the round shape of the moon cake is intended to mimic the full moon, it also represents family ties, a fact that about half of Chinese Blazers fail to realize.

The reasons for this cultural loss are likely varied and complicated, but some have conjectured the causes. According to sophomore Alice Fan, the integration into English culture is likely a key culprit. "I think it's the family. If the family is into preserving culture, their children should know about it, but some families are too ‘Americanized' and don't care anymore."

Junior Stanley He attributes the loss to the fading awareness of agriculture, saying that "[the Chinese Moon Festival] is important in the country but not as important to city folk. People just remember to eat the cake… they've forgotten what it really means."

More Moon Festival stories

Chang'e, the moon goddess
According to legend, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor – the ruler of the heavens – once turned themselves into ten suns, causing the Earth to scorch and the oceans to dry. In order to solve this problem, the immortal archer Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns, leaving one to provide the earth with light.

The Jade Emperor was unhappy with this solution, however, as nine of his sons now lay dead. As punishment, Hou Yi and his wife Cheng'e were forced to live mortal lives.

Hou Yi, seeing his wife's distress, undertook a long journey and eventually procured the Pill of Immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, who warned that half a pill each would suffice.

Returning home, Hou Yi stored away the case before leaving for a while. Chang'e, who was curious, discovered the pill as her husband returned home and, in her hurry to hide the pill, swallowed it.

Becoming light as a feather, Chang'e floated to the moon, where she remains to this day. Legend has it that on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, she is most beautiful and most visible.

Of course, as with any myth, there are multiple versions of this tale. In one version, Hou Yi is mortal and is rewarded with the pill for solving the problem of the ten suns.

In addition, this is not the only tale connected to Cheng'e. One such legend involves Cheng'e poisoning a corrupt emperor.

Mooncake messages
Popular legend has it that during the Mongol overthrow of the 1300s, messages concealed in the center of mooncakes were used to coordinate the revolt; the Mongols did not eat this particular pastry.

Some versions of the story have it that citizens were distributed the mooncake messages and were told not to open the cakes until the Chinese Moon Festival, while other versions say that the messages were only smuggled to key Chinese patriots. Still others insist that mooncakes containing messages within were marked with red dots.

Whatever the many variations, this story is so prevalent that some even say the true meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival is to commemorate the Chinese victory over the Mongols.