Mid-Autumn Festival’s Story

The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important festival celebrated in most East Asian countries, such as China, Korea and Vietnam. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night. Corresponding to 2017, it’s today, October 4th.

There are many different tales about the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the most famous one of them is a love story.

Once upon a time, there were ten suns raised together into the skies. Their light was so strong that they scorched the earth, burning all the harvest and making people starve. So the archer Houyi shot down nine of them, sparing just one sun. It was enough for people to live happily and Houyi got the elixir of immortality for that.

However, Houyi did not consume the elixir straight away, on the contrary, he hid it at home, as he did not want to gain immortality without his wife Chang’e. Later while Houyi went out hunting, a thief broke into his house and tried to steal the elixir; Chang’e understood that couldn’t fight him, so at the crucial moment she drunk the elixir.

Then Chang’e flew upwards in the heavens, choosing the moon as residence, because it was the closest one to the people.

Houyi discovered what had happened and felt very sad, so he put the cakes which Chang’e liked most on the incense burner table in their garden and stared at the moon for very long time, viewing his wife so far away. In order to honor this couple, people started to watch the moon and eat moon cakes on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, thus forming tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chinese people often celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with family members gathering together, looking at the moon and eating moon cakes, because this festival especially means family reunion.

D’Andrea&Partners wishes you a Happy Mid-Autumn festival!