Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. The Mid-Autumn Festival every year is on August 15th of the lunar calendar, while the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021 is on September 21st (Tuesday) of the solar calendar.
Although Mid-Autumn Festival is not a public holiday in Malaysia, Malaysian Chinese always eat moon cakes, enjoy the moon and parade with lanterns.
Every year when Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, time-honoured merchants all over Malaysia launch various moon cakes. All major shopping malls have moon cake counters, and moon cake advertisements in newspapers and TV are always overwhelming, creating a festive atmosphere for celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival.
The legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival include the Goddess Chang’e flying to the moon, WU GANG chopping cassia tree and Zhu Yuanzhang Moon Cake Uprising, among which the Goddess Chang’e flying to the moon is the best known.
Legend 1: The Goddess Chang’e flying to the moon
Chang ‘e is Hou Yi’s wife, with extraordinary beauty. After Houyi shot down nine suns, the Queen Mother of the West rewarded the elixir, but Houyi was unwilling to eat it and gave it to Chang ‘e for safekeeping. Chang ‘e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dressing table, only to be seen by the villain Peng Meng. He forced Chang ‘e to hand over the elixir, and Chang ‘e swallowed the elixir in a hurry and flew to the sky. It was August 15th, and the moon was big and bright. Chang ‘e stopped at the moon closest to the earth because she didn’t give up, and lived in Guanghan Palace for a long time. Houyi was heartbroken when she came home, so she gave a banquet every August 15th to reunite with Chang ‘e in front of the moon.
Legend 2: Wugang Chopping Cassia Tree
According to legend, WU GANG was a woodcutter in the mortal world, so he asked a fairy for advice, but he refused to concentrate on his studies all the time, thus angering the Heavenly Emperor and punishing him to stay in the Moon Palace to cut cassia tree so that he could become an immortal if he succeeded. In the middle of this month, the cassia tree is as high as 500 feet and has magical self-healing ability. Every time WU GANG takes a short rest, the cassia tree will heal automatically. Day after day, WU GANG’s wish for chopping the cassia tree has not been fulfilled, so has to stay in the Moon Palace and cut it down endlessly.
Legend 3: Yutu pouches medicine
According to legend, there is a white jade rabbit in the Moon Palace. It holds a jade pestle, kneels down and pouches medicine to make toad pills. Taking these pills can make you immortal. Over time, Jade Rabbit became synonymous with the moon. When ancient literati wrote poems and lyrics, they often used Jade Rabbit as a symbol of the moon.
