The Folklore:
In ancient times there were 10 suns rising in the sky and they would scorch the crops and destroy all the food. A local hero Hou Yi was concerned about this problem so he climbed to the top of a mountain, used all of his "superhuman power" to draw a bow and he destroyed 9 of the suns with arrows. He made the 10th sun rise and set at specific times. Because of this, he was well respected by the people. One day on his way to meet friends, he met Empress Wangmu who gave him an elixir. He told Hou Yi that when one drank the elixir, they would ascend to heaven and turn into a celestial being. Hou Yi loved his wife, Cheng E, very much and could not stand the thought of leaving her so he gave the elixir to her to keep hidden. Peng Me acted like a friend of Hou Yi and when he heard about the elixir he broke into Cheng E's chamber to steal it. Not knowing what to do Cheng E drank the elixir and immediately her body ascended to heaven. Hou Yi was distressed when he returned home but he noticed that the moon looked very clear that night and on it was a shadow that looked like Cheng E. He tried to catch the moon but to no avail, so he decided to set food out in Cheng E's favorite place as a memorial to her. When the people heard that Cheng E turned into the moon they prayed prayers of peace and worshipped the moon.
Today:
Today people gather with family members and enjoy the full moon. It is seen as a "family day" now. One of the foods they eat on this day is moon cakes. They are round cakes that have different fillings. Here is a picture of some moon cakes.
that's such a sweet story!
ReplyDelete