I don’t tell them that their ears will actually get cut off. I have two boys, one is 14, and one is 11. Do you tell your kids not to point at the moon?Ī. Even today I cannot point at the moon – I use my head to point. I remember when we were little my mom told me I could never use my finger to point at the moon because that shows disrespect. It’s all following the moon, and that’s how come we had the lunar calendar. China is such a huge agricultural type of country, and they do everything according to the moon – when to harvest and when to plant your seeds. I think the moon always means so much to the Chinese culture because we were rice farmers. Why is this holiday so important to you?Ī. I always tell them the story of how this lady (Chang’e) actually lives up on the moon now. I usually include all my coworkers who are not Chinese to promote our Chinese culture. So it’s really hard to celebrate, go out to eat or anything. Since it’s not a holiday here, we don’t get the day off, and kids are still busy at school. When I started working, my coworkers and I, we would always go out to lunch and buy moon cakes, and we would share.
When we were in college, I don’t think we did anything. How do you celebrate the festival now here in the States?Ī. The holiday gets bigger and bigger over there. In Taiwan, I think it was at least a half day off (of work or school). There were so many people out in the park appreciating the moon. We played in the park during the school night, which was really cool, and would be able to eat moon cakes, which are like a dessert, which is also really cool. When I was growing up, we would just always go out that night.
What was it like celebrating the festival in Taiwan when you were a kid?Ī. It’s one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. How do you explain the Mid-Autumn Festival to someone who has never heard of it before?Ī. The Irvine Chinese School’s Emily Chien explains the significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival and discusses her personal experiences. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the rebels attacked and overthrew the Mongols, thus establishing the Ming Dynasty.įIVE QUESTIONS WITH EMILY CHIEN, IRVINE CHINESE SCHOOL PTO PRESIDENT Inside each cake was a piece of paper that read: Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the eighth month. So, he obtained permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to Chinese residents before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Legend also has it that under Mongol rule in the 14th century, the Han Chinese were forbidden to gather in groups, making any plans for rebellion nearly impossible.Īn adviser to the Chinese rebel leader noted that the Mongols didn’t eat moon cakes. Chang’e, finding the pill, swallowed it without knowing what it was and flew to the moon. A strange man gave a pill of immortality to Hou Yi, who hid it. In other versions, Chang’e was a beautiful palace maid who was given to Hou Yi as a reward for saving the kingdom. Xi Wangmu warned that only half a dose was needed to become immortal.īut while Hou Yi was away, Chang’e found the elixir and, worried her husband would find out, took the entire dose. Hou Yi sought the elixir for Chang’e, who was distraught at losing her immortality. The emperor asked Hou Yi for help saving the earth, but when the legendary archer shot down nine of his sons, the Jade Emperor banished the couple to live as mortals on earth. Others say Hou Yi and Chang’e were immortals when the 10 sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into suns. Chang’e stole the potion and drank it so the people would not live with a cruel king forever. But he turned into a tyrannical ruler and demanded the elixir of immortality from Xi Wangmu. Some say Hou Yi was crowned king after he shot down the nine suns. Thus began the traditions of the Moon Festival. Others heard of the tragedy, and they too laid out sacrifices to the moon. When Hou Yi came home and learned what had happened, he laid out Chang’e’s favorite fruits and cakes in the yard as sacrifices to his wife. She began floating into the sky.īecause of her great love for her husband, Chang’e chose the moon as her new home because it was nearest place in heaven to earth.
While Hou Yi was out hunting on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, Peng Meng snuck into the house and demanded that Chang’e give him the elixir. But his apprentice Peng Meng saw the exchange. Hou Yi gave the potion to his wife Chang’e for safekeeping. Whoever drank it, she said, would transform into a deity and ascend immediately to heaven. One day, the Queen Mother of the West Xi Wangmu, a goddess, presented Hou Yi with an elixir of immortality. Word of his great deeds spread across the land.
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