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1996 Moon Festival
Mid-Autumn is celebrated every year on the 15th day of the eighth moon. Being the second-most important period of the lunar calendar, this is when the year's most important crops are harvested.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the [COLOR="Navy"]Moon Festival[/COLOR], is a special time for women. This is because the moon is considered to be the symbol of yin-the feminine principle. Traditionally, on the night of the festival, only women take part in the rituals. After bathing themselves in water perfumed with blossoms, they would dress themselves neatly and simply. An altar would be placed near a window where the moon could be seen.
Incense and candles, bowls of fruits, lichee, peanuts, and buffalo nuts are placed on the table, along with plates of steamed taro, lotus roots, mooncakes, and vases with chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemum is a flower long-linked to the moon because of its distinct round shape.
At the arrival of the moon, candles and incense are lit and women pray and bow before the altar. Then, stories of the moon are told to the children.
It is said that the moon is a silvery chamber, inhabited by a three-legged toad. The toad is actually the moon goddess, Chang O, in disguise. According to legend, she had fled to the moon after swallowing an elixir of life, meant for her tyrannical husband, Hou Yi. Chang O's only companion is a rabbit, which is constantly pounding the elixir of immortality in a large mortar.
It is also believed that the moon is inhabited by a wood cutter who spends eternity cutting down the cassia tree, the giver of life. As fast as he could cut off one limb, another would grow in its place. This image of the cassia tree illustrates the mortal life on earth where the limbs are constantly cut away by death while new buds appear.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated not only in China but by Chinese communities throughout the world. However, rituals can no longer be followed thoroughly in these days of hustle and bustle. Instead, the moon festival has become a day of rest, relaxation, and cutting mooncakes.
Mooncakes used to be made by village women who competed to be named the best mooncake maker. The secret of making great cakes would be passed down from mother to daughter. These days, over a million mooncakes are purchased by celebrants at Chinatown bakeries.
Mooncakes also played an important role in Chinese history. There was a plot to overthrow the foreign Mongols rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). Messages with when to take action against Kublai Khan's descendants were secretly hidden in the mooncakes. Under the guise of celebrating a special holiday, these mooncakes were then sent to friends and relatives at festival time in 1353. At the right moment, the hated rulers were overthrown and the Ming Dynasty was born.
Consisting of a round cake, one-and-a-half inches high and three-and-a-quarter inches in diameter, the mooncake is filled with one of five basic types of fillings: black bean (dou sah), lotus seed (lin yung), fruits with meats and nuts (gum tu), yellow bean (dou yung), and winter melon (doon yung). The filling is then combined with either single or double egg yolks, coconut, pickled meats, ham, as well as nuts. The mooncake is still a delicious treat for all celebrants. |
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