Mid-Autumn Festival

The 15th day of the 8th lunar month

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox（秋分）. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".

This day was also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates（石榴）, melons, oranges and pomelos（柚子） might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro（芋头）and water caltrope（菱角）, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds（西瓜子）, lotus seeds（莲籽）, almonds（杏仁）, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard（猪油）. A golden yolk（蛋黄） from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary（闰月的） moon.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense（熏香）, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

Moon Cakes

There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake.

For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates（枣子）, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.

Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.



中秋节又称月夕、秋节、仲秋节、八月节、八月会、追月节、玩月节、拜月节、女儿节或团圆节，是流行于全国众多民族中的传统文化节日，时在农历八月十五；因其恰值三秋之半，故名。据说此夜月球距地球最近，月亮最大显圆最亮，所以从古至今都有饮宴赏月的习俗；回娘家的媳妇是日必返夫家，以寓圆满、吉庆之意。也有些地方将中秋节定在八月十六，如宁波、台州、舟山，这与方国珍占据温、台、明三州时，为防范元朝官兵和朱元田的袭击而改“正月十四为元宵、八月十六为中秋”有关。此外在香港，过了中秋兴犹未尽，还要在十六夜再狂欢一次.名为“追月”。

中秋起源

中秋节是远古天象崇拜——敬月习俗的遗痕。据《周礼·春官》记载，周代已有“中秋夜迎寒”、“中秋献良裘”、“秋分夕月（拜月）”的活动；汉代，又在中秋或立秋之日敬老、养老，赐以雄粗饼。晋时亦有中秋赏月之举，不过不太普遍；直到唐代将中秋与储娥奔月、吴刚伐桂、玉兔捣药、杨贵妃变月神、唐明皇游月宫等神话故事结合起，使之充满浪漫色彩，玩月之风方才大兴。

北宋，正式定八月十五为中秋节，并出现“小饼如嚼月，中有酥和饴”的节令食品。孟元老《东京梦华录》说：“中秋夜，贵家结饰台榭，民间争占酒楼玩月”；而且“弦重鼎沸，近内延居民，深夜逢闻笙芋之声，宛如云外。间里儿童，连宵婚戏；夜市骈阗，至于通晓。”吴自牧《梦梁录》说：“此际金凤荐爽，玉露生凉，丹桂香飘，银蟾光满。王孙公子，富家巨室，莫不登危楼，临轩玩月，或开广榭，玳筵罗列，琴瑟铿锵，酌酒高歌，以卜竟夕之欢。至如铺席之家，亦登小小月台，安排家宴，团围子女，以酬佳节。虽陋巷贫篓之人，解农市酒，勉强迎欢，不肯虚度。此夜天街卖买，直至五鼓，玩月游人，婆婆于市，至烧不绝。”更有意思的是，《新编醉翁谈录》记述拜月之俗：“倾城人家子女不以贫富能自行至十二三，皆以成人之眼眼饰之，登楼或中庭焚香拜月，各有所朝；男则愿早步蟾宫，高攀仙桂。…女则愿貌似嫦娥，圆如皓月。”

明清两朝的赏月活动，盛行不衰。“其祭果饼必圆”；各家都要设“月光位”，在月出方向“向月供而拜”。陆启泓《北京岁华记》载：“中秋夜，人家各置月宫符象，符上免如人立；陈瓜果于庭，饼面绘月宫蟾免；男女肃拜烧香，旦而焚之。”田汝成《西湖游览志余》云：“是夕，人家有赏月之宴，或携柏湖船，沿游彻晓。苏堤之上，联袂踏歌，无异白日”；“民间以月饼相邀，取团圆之义”。富察敦崇《燕京岁时记》称：“中秋月饼，以前门致美斋者为京都第一，他处不足食也。呈供月月饼到处皆有。大者尺余，上绘月宫蜡兔之形。”“每届中秋，府第朱门皆以月饼果品相馈赠。至十五月圆时，陈瓜果于庭以供月，并祀以毛豆、鸡冠花。是时也，皓魄当空，彩云初散，传杯洗盏，儿女喧哗，真所谓佳节也。唯供月时男子多不叩拜。”同时这五百多年中还推出“烧斗香”、“走月亮”、“放天灯”、“树中秋”、“点塔灯”、“舞火龙”、“曳石”、“卖兔儿爷”等节庆活动；其中的赏月，吃月饼、团圆饭等习俗，一直流传到今天。

中秋食俗

古时汉族的中秋宴俗，以宫廷最为精雅。如明代宫廷时兴吃螃蟹。螃蟹用蒲包蒸熟后，众人围坐品尝，佐以酒醋。食毕饮苏叶汤，并用之洗手。宴桌区周，摆满鲜花、大石榴以及其他时鲜，演出中秋的神话戏曲。清宫多在某一院内向东放一架屏风，屏风两侧搁置鸡冠花、毛豆技、芋头、花生、萝卜、鲜藕。屏风前设一张八仙桌，上置一个特大的月饼，四周缀满糕点和瓜果。祭月完毕，按皇家人口将月饼切作若干块，每人象征性地尝一口，名曰“吃团圆饼”。清宫月饼之大，令人难以想象。像末代皇帝溥仪赏给总管内务大臣绍英的一个月饼，便是“径约二尺许，重约二十斤”。

我国有二十多个少数民族也过中秋节，但节俗各异。壮族习惯于在河中的竹排房上用米饼拜月，少女在水面放花灯，以测一生的幸福，并演唱优美的《请月姑》民歌。朝鲜族则用木杆和松枝高搭“望月架”，先请老人上架探月，然后点燃望月架，敲长鼓，吹洞萧，一起合跳〈农家乐舞》。仡佬族在节前的“虎日”，全寨合宰一头公牛，将牛心留到中秋夜祭祖灵，迎新谷，他们称为“八月节”。侗族则在这时让青年人郊游、欢会，称为“赶坪节”。第一天是芦笙会，第二天对歌。小伙子都要化妆，向心上人表达情意。傣族是对空鸣放火枪，然后围坐饮酒，品尝狗肉汤锅、猪肉干巴、腌蛋和干黄鳝，谈笑望月。黎族称中秋节为“八月会”或“调声节”。届时各集镇举行歌舞聚会，每村由一“调声头”（即领队）率领男女青年参加。人员江齐后，大家互赠月饼、香糕、甜粑、花巾、彩扇和背心，成群结队，川流不息。入夜便聚集在火旁，烤食野味，痛饮米酒，开展盛大的调声对歌演唱，未婚青年趁机挑寻未来的伴侣。

中秋与月饼

中秋吃月饼。最先见于苏东坡的“小饼如嚼月，中有酥与饴"之句。唐和五代时赏月的食品只见有“玩月羹”等，未见有月饼。月饼作为一种食品的名称并同中秋赏月联系在一起，始见于南宋的《武林旧事》。明代以来，有关中秋赏月吃月饼的记述就更多了。《宛署杂记》说，每到中秋，百姓们都制作面饼互相赠送，：大小不等，呼为“月饼”。市场店铺里卖的月饼，多用果类作馅子，巧名异状，有的月饼一个要值数百钱。《熙朝乐事》里也说，八月十五日称为中秋，民间以月饼作为礼品互相赠送，取团圆之义。这一天晚上，家家举行赏月助家宴，或者带上装月饼的食盒和酒壶到湖边去通宵游赏。在西湖苏堤上，人们成群结队，载歌载舞。同白天没有两样。从这些记载中，可以看到杭州百姓中秋夜赏月的盛况。

长期以来我国人民对制作月饼积累了丰富的经验，月饼的种类也越来越多，工艺越来越讲究。咸、甜、荤、素各俱异味；光面、花边，各有特色。明末彭蕴章在《幽州土风俗》中写道：“月宫饼，制就银蟾紫府影，一双瞻兔满人间。悔煞嫩娥窃药年。奔入广寒归不得，空劳至杵驻丹颜。”这说明心灵手巧的厨师已经把嫦娥奔月的优美传说，作为食品艺术图案形象再现于月饼之上。清代富察敦崇《燕京岁时记>也有“至供月饼，到处皆有，大者尺余，上绘月宫蟾婚兔之形”的记述。足见古代月饼从内容到形式已是百花齐放了。



词典资料

中秋节是东亚的民间的一个传统节日，为每年农历的八月十五日。中秋节不单单是华人的节日，受中华文化的影响，中秋节也是日本、韩国的传统节日。

按照中国的农历，农历八月为秋季的第二个月，古时称为仲秋，因此民间称为中秋，又称秋夕、八月节、八月半、月夕、月节，又因为这一天月亮满圆，象征团圆，又称为团圆节。起源

中秋一词，最早见于《周礼》，《礼记·月令》上说：“仲秋之月养衰老，行糜粥饮食。”但并没有说明是八月的哪一天。

唐朝以后，中秋节才成为固定的节日。传说唐玄宗梦游月宫，得到了霓裳羽衣曲，民间才开始盛行过中秋节的习俗。一般认为，中秋节开始盛行于宋朝，到了明清时期，中秋节已经成为中国的一大传统节日了。

中秋节的传说，嫦娥奔月的故事最著名。 相传在远古时代，天空有十个太阳。力大无穷的英雄后羿射下了九个太阳。第十个太阳则要按时起落，造福人民。后来，后羿又娶了嫦娥。

有一天，后羿得到一包不死药，只要吃了不死药，就能成仙升天。后羿回家后就把不死药交给了嫦娥。

不料，后羿的徒弟蓬蒙想偷吃不死药，他趁后羿出门的时候偷偷闯进嫦娥的房间，逼她交出不死药。嫦娥不肯，就把不死药全部吞下，然后立刻往月宫(月亮)飞奔而去。节日习俗

• 赏月。
• 吃月饼。
• 赏桂花，食用桂花制作的各种食品，以糕点、糖果最为多见。
• 在香港，除了月饼以外，杨桃、芋头仔都是常见的食品。由于菱角现在比较难买，已经比较少见。
• 祭月即拜祭太阴娘娘。
• 台湾自1990年代起，中秋节流行起吃烤肉的习俗。
• 此外，亦有些地方的习俗会向长者或后辈送赠猪仔饼或长寿面。
• 向亲朋戚友送礼亦是韩国人过中秋节的习俗。所以他们亦叫中秋节做“韩国人的感恩节”。

韩国的中秋节

韩国人的假期表上把“秋夕”的英文写成为 Thanksgiving Day，因为秋夕在韩国是一个大节日，会一连放三天假。过去交通未发达之时，民众都会利用这段日子回乡探亲。时至今日，每逢秋夕之前一个月，韩国各大公司都会大减价，以吸引民众购物互相赠送。

日本的中秋节

日本的传统的中秋节也叫芋明月，也叫栗明月。现代日本人，已经不过中秋节了。那天人们可以不工作，在家里呆着喝啤酒，不看月亮，看电视节目。由于传统文化的衰退，年轻人都不知道节日的来源和意义，听到什么节日，只知道那天不用上班。

中秋诗词

有许多古代诗人写下了咏诵中秋节的诗词。

宋朝人苏轼所写的词——水调歌头·明月几时有 最为人熟知：

明月几时有？把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间！ 转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。




The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: 中秋節; Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; pinyin: Zhōngqiūjié; Vietnamese Tết Trung Thu 節中秋; Korean: Ch'usǒk or Chuseok 추석/秋夕; also known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, or the August Moon Festival) is a popular Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty.

The Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian Calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. (The name August Moon, commonly used for the mid-autumn festival, comes from the fact that it occurs in the 8th month of the lunar calendar—the festival does not occur during the month of August on the Gregorian Calendar). At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, marking an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest, and reminding many of the lore of Chang E ({{zh-cp|c=嫦娥|p=Cháng'é. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Brightly lit lanterns are often carried around by children. Together with the celebration, there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers, and fire dragon dances. Shops selling mooncakes, before the festival, often display pictures of Chang Er, floating to the moon.





[url=][/url]Origin

The custom of worshipping the moon (called xi yue in Chinese) for both the Han and minority nationalities, can be traced as far back as the ancient Xia, and Shang Dynasties (2000 BCE-1066 BCE). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 BCE-221 BCE), the people celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship the moon.

The practice became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) that people enjoyed and worshipped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people started making round moon cakes, as gifts to their relatives in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. At night, they came out to watch the full moon to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644), and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has become unprecedentedly popular.

[url=][/url]Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival

[url=][/url]Hou Yi and Chang Er

While Westerners may talk about the "man in the moon", the Chinese talk about the "woman on the moon". The story of Chang E, and her flight to the moon, is familiar to every Chinese, and a favourite subject of poets. Unlike many lunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang Er only lives on the moon. Tradition places Hou Yi and Chang Er around 2170 BC, in the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huang Di.

There are so many variations of the Chang Er legend that one can become overwhelmed and utterly confused. However, most legends about Chang Er in Chinese mythology involve some variation of the following elements: Hou Yi, the Archer; Chang Er, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality; an emperor, either benevolent or malevolent; an elixir of life; and the Moon:

[url=][/url]Hou Yi, the archer

There are at least four variations to this story where Hou Yi was an archer.

Version 1: Hou Yi was himself an immortal, while Chang Er was a beautiful young girl, working in the Jade Emperor's (Emperor of Heaven) Palace as the attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (wife of the Jade Emperor), before her marriage. One day, Yi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Yi and his wife, Chang Er, were subsequently banished from heaven, and forced to live by hunting on earth. He became a famous archer.

Now at this time, there were 10 suns that took turns to circle the earth — one every 10 days. One day, all 10 of the suns circled together, causing the earth to scorch. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Yi to kill all but one of the suns. Upon the completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Yi with a pill, the elixir of life, and advised him: "Make no haste to swallow this pill, but first prepare yourself with prayer and fasting for a year". Yi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter, while he began healing his spirit. In the midst of this, Yi was summoned again by the emperor. While he was gone, Chang Er noticed a white beam of light beckoning from the rafter and discovered the pill, which she swallowed. Immediately, she found that she could fly. Just at that moment, Yi returned home, and realizing what had happened, began to reprimand her. Chang Er flew out the window into the sky.

With bow in hand, Yi sped after her, and the pursuit continued halfway across the heavens. Finally, Yi had to return to the earth because of the force of the wind. Chang Er reached the moon, and breathless, she coughed. Part of the pill fell out from her mouth. Now, the hare was already on the moon, and Chang Er commanded the animal to make a pill from it, so that she could return to earth to her husband.

As of today, the hare is still pounding. As for Yi, he built himself a palace in the sun as "Yang" (the male principle), while Chang Er is "Yin" (the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full and beautiful on that night. [1]

This description appears in written form in two Western Han dynasty (206 BCE-24 CE) collections; Shanhaijing (Classic of the Mountains and Seas, a book of travels and tales), and Huainanzi (scientific, historical and philosophical articles, named for the Prince of Huai). [2]

Version 2: Another version, very similar to the above story, had it that the Emperor of Heaven, moved by the people’s suffering caused by the 10 scorching suns, sent the archer, Prince Hou Yi, from heaven to help Emperor Yao bring order. Hou Yi, with his wife, Chang Er, descended to earth, carrying a red bow and white arrows given him by the Emperor of Heaven.

Version 3: The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each taking turn to illuminate the earth. One day, however, all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. Hou Yi, a strong and tyrannical archer, saved the earth by shooting down nine of the suns. He eventually became King, but grew to become a despot.

One day, Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However, his beautiful wife, Chang Er, drank it in order to save the people from the her husband’s tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating, and flew to the moon. Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he did not shoot down the moon.

Version 4: Another version, however, had it that Chang Er and Hou Yi were immortals living in heaven. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch. Having failed to order his sons to stop ruining the earth, the Jade Emperor summoned Yi for help. Yi, using his legendary archery skills, shot down nine of the sons, but spared one son to be the sun. The Jade Emperor was obviously displeased with Yi’s solution to save the earth. As punishment, he banished Yi and Chang Er to live as mere mortals on earth.

Seeing that Chang Er felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Yi decided to journey on a long, perilous quest to find the pill of immortality so that the couple could be immortals again. At the end of his quest, he met the Queen Mother of the West, who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half the pill to become immortal.

Yi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang Er not to open the case, and then left home for a while. Like Pandora in Greek mythology, Chang Er became curious. She opened up the case and found the pill, just as Yi was returning home. Nervous that Yi would catch her, discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill, and started to float into the sky because of the overdose. Although Yi wanted to shoot her in order to prevent her from floating further, he could not bear to aim the arrow at her. Chang Er kept on floating until she landed on the moon.

While she became lonely on the moon without her husband, she did have company. A jade rabbit, who manufactured elixirs, also lived on the moon.

[url=][/url]Hou Yi, the builder

Hou Yi, a famous builder who built a beautiful jade palace for the Goddess of the Western Heaven (also called the Royal Mother). In appreciation, she gave Yi a special pill that contained the magic elixir of immortality. But with it, came the condition and warning that he may not use the pill until he had accomplished certain self-purification.

His wife, Chang Er, was a beautiful but inquisitive woman. One day, she discovered the pill, and without telling her husband, swallowed it. The Goddess was very angry, and as a punishment, banished Chang Er to the moon where, according to the legend, she can be seen at her most beautiful, on the night of the bright harvest moon.

[url=][/url]Hou Yi and the sorcerer-chieftain

Chang Er was a village girl who married Hou Yi. Pang Meng, the sorcerer-chieftain, seeing his position threatened, tricked Yi into believing that Chang Er had been unfaithful. Still deeply in love with his wife, Yi fed her the elixir of immortality, and banishes her to the moon. He realized his error, and died gazing at her image in the sky. [3]

[url=][/url]Chang Er and the cruel emperor

Many years after she was already the moon goddess, Chang Er looked down upon Earth, and saw that a terribly cruel and tyrannical emperor sat on the throne. To help the people, she allowed herself to be reborn into the mortal world. The other members of her mortal family were either killed or enslaved by the emperor, but Chang Er managed to escape to the countryside.

Meanwhile, the emperor was aging, and obsessed with discovering the elixir of life. He had people all over the land brought to him, and demanded of them to find the elixir of life; nobody knew, of course, but the emperor would not accept ignorance for an answer, and executed all those who could not give him a satisfactory reply.

In the countryside, Chang Er met the Goddess of Compassion, Guan Yin, who proceeded to give Chang Er, a small elixir. Chang Er brought the elixir to the emperor, but the suspicious emperor, worrying that it was poison, demanded that Chang Er tasted it first. She did, and showing no ill-effects, the emperor then took the elixir, but promptly died. Chang Er also left the mortal world as the effects of the elixir had only been delayed in her case. Instead of dying, however, she ascended to the moon to retake her place as the moon goddess.

[url=][/url]The Hare - Jade Rabbit

According to tradition, the Jade Rabbit pounds medicine, together with the lady, Chang Er, for the gods. Others say that the Jade Rabbit is a shape, assumed by Chang Er herself. You may find that the dark areas to the top of the full moon may be construed as the figure of a rabbit. The animal's ears point to the upper right, while at the left are two large circular areas, representing its head and body. [4]

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men, and begged for food from a fox, a monkey, and a hare. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the hare, empty-handed, jumped into a blazing fire to offer his own flesh instead. The sages were very thankful for the meat and ate it but the sages were so touched by the hare's sacrifice and act of kindness that they let him live in the Moon Palace, where he became the "Jade Rabbit".

[url=][/url]Overthrow of Mongol rule

The Mid-Autumn Festival also commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the early 14th century. As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion. Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen (劉伯溫) of Zhejiang Province, advisor to a Chinese rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He sought permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to the Chinese residents in the city to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. Inside each cake, however, was inserted a piece of paper with the message: "Rise against the Tartars on the 15th day of the Eighth Moon" (八月十五殺韃子). On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), under the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang. Henceforth, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

[url=][/url]Vietnamese version

The Vietnamese version of this holiday is said to have originated in the 8th century, during the reign of Emperor Minh-Hoang. Legend had it that the Emperor took his Empress, Duong Quy Pho, to a lake where he read a poem that he had composed to her by the light of the moon.

A more popular version of the holiday recounts the legend of Thằng Cuội, whose banyan tree was uprooted after his wife accidentally urinated on it and took him with it to the moon. Every year, on the mid-autumn festival, children light lanterns to show Cuội the way to get back to Earth.

[url=][/url]Dates

The moon festival will occur on these days in coming years:

• 2006: 6 October
• 2007: 25 September
• 2008: 14 September
• 2009: 3 September
• 2010: 22 September
• 2011: 12 September
• 2012: 30 September
• 2013: 19 September
• 2014: 8 September
• 2015: 27 September