Mid-Autumn Festival
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival (sometimes referred to as the Moon or Mooncake Festival) is not a Christian event, it is significant to us because it is a major event celebrated by many Chinese in Singapore. We hope that this article helps you to better understand the background of the event.
Origin of the Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) originated in China and is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month and may have started as a harvest festival. This was the time of year when the hard work in the fields have ended and it was time to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labour with families and friends.
On this day, the moon is round. To the people, this signifies completeness and wholeness.
Families therefore took this opportunity to come together to celebrate the abundance of their harvest. Travellers would return to their home towns and generations of each family would reunite. Courting couples often declare their love for each other under the cool, moonlit Autumn night.
The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E (or Chang O) and the Jade Rabbit. The eating of mooncakes was also a later introduction.
Legend of Chang-E
According to this legend, the sky was originally lit by ten suns. The heat from the suns scorched the earth and killed the crops. To save the world a famous archer, Hou Yi, shot down nine of the suns with his bow and arrows.
From here the tale varies, but essentially, Hou Yi got hold of an elixir of life but his wife, Chang-E drank it up instead. This caused her to drift weightlessly until she eventually settled on the moon!
Legend of the Jade Rabbit
In this lesser known legend, a rabbit threw itself into a fire to offer its flesh to some beggars. Touched by the rabbit's sacrifice, the beggars (who were in fact fairies), placed him in a palace on the moon where he lived on as the "Jade Rabbit".
Legend of the Mooncakes
Some believe that the custom of eating mooncakes
began in the late Yuan dynasty. According to one (of several) story, the Han people
of that
time suffered under the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty. Revolutionaries, led by
Chu Yuan-Chang, needed to find a way of uniting the people to revolt without the
knowledge of the Mongol rulers.
Chu and the Han revolutionaries spread a message under the noses of the Mongol rulers by hiding messages inside the "mooncakes" which were distributed to the Han people.
As the revolt occurred in the eighth month, the eating of mooncakes became part of the Mid-Autumn celebrations.
The Festival Today
The Mid-Autumn Festival is not as widely or elaborately celebrated as the Lunar New Year in Singapore. The most prominent activities involve the eating of mooncakes and the lighting of lanterns by children. While there are people who would engage in some form of worship, the majority do not.
The Church of the Ascension celebrated the occasion with residents of Potong Pasir at the Resident's Committee Premises in 2002. The event was well attended by people from different races, age and background - promoting friendship and togetherness in our community. >>>
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