Hi everyone! Happy Moon Festival!
Moon Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated in many Asian countries. It's based off of the Lunar Calendar 8/15 each year and used to be a ceremonial activity to worship the moon god and to celebrate the joy of harvest. As time progress, people use this day to express their thoughts for their family and hometown; full moon on this day became a symbol of reunion.
There are also many legends about the Moon Festival, and the most well-known one is the story of Chang Eh going to the moon. Besides from having family gatherings on this day to celebrate, there's also the tradition to eat moon cakes. Let's learn about this holiday~
The Story of Chang'e going to the moon
Chang'e is the wife of the famous hero Houyi. One day, Houyi obtained the elixir of life from the heaven queen. It is said that after taking this elixir, one can become an immortal immediately, but Houyi wanted to stay mortal, so he gave the elixir to Chang'e for safekeeping. Hou Yi is famous for his exquisite archery, so many people from near and far came to learn from him. Of course, these people also learned that Hou Yi had an elixir that can allow one to become immortal. Many were tempted by this knowledge and wanted to obtain the elixir. Therefore, they waited until Hou Yi was not home to steal the elixir. In order to protect this elixir, Chang'e took it herself, and instantly Chang'e flew into the sky and fled to the moon. Chang'e became a fairy and was unable to return to the mortal world. Hou Yi was very sad when he learned about this. In order to prevent Chang'e from feeling lonely, Hou Yi set up a table on August 15th every year when the moon is full to drink with Chang'e on the moon. In order to commemorate Chang'e, the people also followed Hou Yi's practice. Over time, it has become a tradition to reunite with the family to eat and drink on this day.
The origin of moon cakes
Moon cakes are named because they are round in shape, like the full moon of Mid-Autumn Festival. There are also many theories about the origin of moon cakes: Legend has it that during the Yuan Dynasty, because the Han people wanted to rebel against the tyranny of the Mongols, Zhu Yuanzhang, the leader of the rebel army at that time, and the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, decided that it would be on August 15th that they go into war. In order to avoid the leakage of the news, they used the method of donating cakes to pass the message (they hid the message in the cakes). Just like that, they successfully overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
The types of moon cakes have changed with the tastes of the general public. There are now a variety of flavors to choose from. The traditional ones are normally sweet (red bean/lotus seed pastes) with a salty egg yolk in the center. As delicious as they can be, do note the fact that they are quite high in calories. Therefore, try not to eat too much at once.
Once again, would like to wish everyone a Happy Moon Festival!
Blessings and good health to everyone!
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中秋節特別篇 中秋節（農曆8月15日）最早為祭拜月神的祭典活動，是古人以此來感謝神明保佑，也慶祝豐收喜悅。經歷長久的演變，後人用此節日來寄託對家人和故鄉的思念，因為此時的月亮又大又圓，有象徵團圓的含意。關於中秋節的傳說也很多，最廣為人知的應該就是嫦娥奔月的故事了。而中秋節的傳統除了團聚之外，還會一起吃月餅和吃柚子。月餅又是怎麼出現的呢？就來我們一起來了解一下吧！ 嫦娥奔月 嫦娥是有名的大英雄后羿的妻子。有日后羿從王母娘娘那裏獲得了長生不老藥，據說此藥吃了之後可以立刻成仙，但是后羿不捨得與凡間的牽掛，就將長生不老藥交給嫦娥保管。后羿以其精湛的弓術聞名，所以很多人找后羿拜師學藝。這些人當然也得知了后羿有長生不老藥的消息，能成為長生不老的仙人是多麼大的誘惑啊！當然就起了歹心，趁后羿出門時要搶奪長生不老藥。嫦娥為了保護此藥，將藥服下，瞬間嫦娥就飛上了天空，逃到了月亮上。吃下了藥後的嫦娥成為了仙女，無法回到凡間。后羿得知此事之後非常傷心，為了讓嫦娥不要感覺寂寞，就在每年的八月十五設桌擺酒與月亮上的嫦娥對飲。民眾為了紀念嫦娥，也效法了后羿的作法。久而久之，在這一日與家人團聚一起吃飯喝酒也成為了一個傳統。 月餅的由來 月餅因為形狀是圓形，如同中秋的滿月一般而得名。關於月餅的由來也有非常多種說法：傳說在元朝的時候，由於漢人要反抗蒙古人的暴政，因此當時的反抗軍領等人朱元璋，也是後來明朝的開國皇帝，決定要在八月十五日這一天揭竿起義，為了避免消息走漏，便以贈餅的辦法把字條夾在月餅中傳遞消息，成功推翻了元朝。自此之後中秋節吃月餅的習俗便在民間流傳開了。 月餅的種類隨著大眾的口味的變化，開始有非常多樣的選擇，但是餅要好吃，製作時放的油和糖的份量都不會少，大家在過節的同時也要注意不要吃太多囉～希望大家都有個平安快樂的中秋節～
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