In 2011, the Moon Festival will be celebrated on 12 September

The Chinese Moon Festival, or Zhongqiu Jie, which translates literally to Mid-Autumn Festival, is an annual event steeped in Chinese culture and traditions. The festival is also known in other cultures as the Lantern Festival or Moon Cake Festival but it is one of the most important traditional events for Chinese people after the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese Moon Festival occurs on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. For western folks using the Georgian calendar, the festival occurs in mid or late September, with the festival in 2011 falling on the 12th of September. The date is parallel to the autumn and spring Equinoxes when the moon is at its fullest and roundest.

The Chinese Moon Festival is full of stories of legend that tell the tale of Chang E, who flew to the moon and has remained there since, changing lives. It is said you can see her dancing on the moon during the time of the festival. The legends date back over 3,000 years to when moon worship was common during the Shang Dynasty. In other cultures, there are references and legends about the man on the moon and the Moon Festival is an equivalent to such legends except the moon’s resident is a woman. Throughout history, there have been many legends, variations, and adaptations of the holiday to the point of confusion. However, most consider Chang E to be a mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality. Another aspect of the tradition involves a Jade Rabbit that pounds herbal medicine with Chang E for the gods. Some believe the Jade Rabbit is a shape that Chang E transforms herself into and when one looks at the dark areas at the top of the moon it resembles the shape of the rabbit, with ears that point to the upper right and two circular areas that make up the head and the body.

How People Celebrate

The festival is a holiday in China and several other countries. Farmers traditionally use the holiday as a celebration of the end of the summer harvesting season. Chinese families will use the occasion to organize family reunions. When the full moon has risen the family members will gather to watch the moon, recite moon poems, and eat moon cakes. The festival is especially perfect should the night be quiet, the sky clear, and a light breeze blowing.

Many in love view the Chinese Moon Festival as an especially romantic evening and will spend it casually watching the moon. Even couples who cannot be together in the same physical place consider it to be a wonderful experience, knowing that both parts of the couple are gazing at the same moon at the same time. Due to its romantic notions, the Chinese Moon Festival has inspired many poems and Chinese people believe that the festival will bring much happiness to couples and families.

Other celebratory customs include carrying brightly lit lanterns, bringing incense to pay respect to deities including Chang E, planting trees, collecting and distributing dandelion leaves, and performing Fire Dragon dances. Eating red foods during the Mid-Autumn festival is said to bring good luck. Salmon, lobsters, apples, pomegranates, cooked soy beans and roasted peanuts are just some of the foods typically enjoyed during the festival.

About Moon Cakes

Legends around the Moon and Moon Festival abound. One that I like tells of the origin of Moon Cakes.  During the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1280 to 1368 AD), the Mongolians conquered the majority Han Chinese and ruled China. A rebel Han leader called Liu Fu Tong wanted to overthrow the Mongolians and return China to Chinese rule.  He gave gifts to honour the Mongolian emperor.  The gifts, you guessed it, were round moon cakes.  Inside Liu’s moon cakes were secret messages with the details of the planned rebellion to take place at mid-Autumn.  The rebellion was successful, of course, and the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan. The tradition continues today, minus the secret messages.

There are many types of moon cakes but the most traditional are made with lotus seed paste. Other moon cakes can be made with traditional ingredients such as red bean paste or black bean paste but today you can find moon cakes with nuts, fruits, icecream, Chinese sausage and ham and even ingredients for western cakes. For Cantonese style moon cakes, the inner part of a moon cake is very salty and considered to be an acquired taste. The yolk is present to represent the moon. Other versions of the moon cake may contain four egg yolks which represent the four phases of the moon.  They are typically about the size of the palm of your hand and can be very filling and are very high in calories. They are cut in quarter sections diagonally and are meant to be shared with family. In the past, it may have taken up to four weeks to make a moon cake but today, many prefer to buy them instead.

Gift Traditions

Before the Moon Festival, it is customary to give gifts to relatives, including at least one box of moon cakes per family. The moon cakes with the most yolks are considered to be the better, more expensive, and most presentable gifts in the south east, Cantonese-speaking areas. For other parts of China there are hundreds of varieties with prices ranging from a few yuan to a few thousand yuan per box with other delicacies like wine, wine glasses and watches thrown in. Other gifts include food items such as meat and seasonal fruit. It is also acceptable to give elder relatives money if you are particularly close to them. Children typically receive paper moon lanterns. Greeting cards are also popular things to purchase for family members and friends.

The Festival Traditions

In the days leading up to the Moon Festival, there are specific traditions followed by celebrants.

• On the 14^th day of lunar August (the day before the Moon Festival), the moon has almost reached it fullest shape and people will begin to walk about the streets carrying lanterns. This evening is also referred to as the Moon Welcoming.

• On the 15^th of the lunar August (the day of the festival), families gather for dinner. People typically either stay at home to watch the moon or continue to walk in the streets with a lantern.

• On the 16^th of the lunar August (the day after the festival), people will return to the street to admire the moon once again. The tradition is referred to as “moon chasing”.

Moon Festival in Australia

There are many countries that celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival around the world. Australia is one that embraces the tradition and every year over 600,000 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese descendants celebrate the day. Moon cakes are sold at prominent places as well as Asian grocery stores. In Chinatowns, there are many celebrations in the weekends leading up to the Festival that include fireworks, dragon and lion dancing, and traditional drumming. Local businesses often work with Asian populated areas to sponsor celebrations that feature street markets, craft tables, and stages for traditional entertainment. In addition to the plentiful public celebrations, people also celebrate at home with smaller groups of family and friends where lanterns accompany tables and chairs in backyards and moon cakes and fruits are served under the light of the moon. Children can often be seen carrying and running with paper lanterns.

Doing Business with China or Chinese People

If you are already building relationships or doing business in China or with Chinese people anywhere, don't forget to acknowledge the Moon Festival Your staff and business contacts and their families will appreciate your wishes. You can even give a traditional Moon Festival gift to honour the traditions, such as Moon Cakes. Some of our clients hold Moon Festival receptions for their clients and staff.

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