MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL

• Falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar– when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire

year, the Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. – exact middle of Autumn

• Western Calendar: – sometime between mid September and mid October.

Myth of the Mid-Autumn Festival

•Hou Yi rescued the earth and managed in shooting down nine out of the ten suns•Hou Yi was given a Pill of Immortality that his wife Chang-O ate instead and floated to the moon•She met a friendly hare on the moon, known as the Jade Rabbit and they built a palace and stayed there forever

Mooncake Festival• Chang-O and the Jade Hare’s legendary importance is

stamped on every mooncake, box and poster• Mongolian people ruled China in the Yuan Dynasty• Plans of attack from the Sung Dynasty, to plot against the

Mongolians were hidden inside mooncakes• Each year families gather to celebrate and commemorate

the Mid-Autumn culture by sharing mooncake