Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally a time for families to gather and reconnect over a reunion dinner.Īfter dinner, families will typically go “moon-gazing” to admire the full yellow harvest moon as it orbits at its closest point to the earth – a magical sight at this time of year. The famous Song Dynasty poet Su Shi wrote “May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together, even if we are hundreds of miles apart” and this spirit of family reunion persists to this day. The giving and receiving of mooncakes is also very significant in Hong Kong culture, with every high-end hotel in the city offering their own lavishly packaged version of this traditional classic with which to wow your friends, family and business associates. It often feels like a real shame to cut into the embossed pastry, so elaborate are the designs. These rich cakes are designed to be eaten in small slices with a cup of hot tea. While you can find a vast array of themed mooncakes with an endless selection of different fillings, the traditional variety consists of a beautifully designed pastry, filled with lotus seed paste and a rich salted duck egg.
Of course, like most other Chinese festivals, food takes centre stage at Mid-Autumn, with mooncakes being a particularly popular way to mark the occasion. The displaying of intricate lanterns continues to this day, with Hong Kong Island’s Victoria Park displaying and selling them in their hundreds.Īnother top spot for lantern lovers is the display in front of the former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui, where the Hong Kong skyline provides the perfect backdrop to this colourful and festive display. Said to allow the goddess to more easily see her followers on Earth. LanternsĪnother significant part of the tributes to Chang’E are the colourful lanterns that light the night sky over Mid-Autumn Festival. This is why the revered rabbit now lives on the moon alongside Chang’E, working forever more as a custodian of heavenly medicine. So impressed were the immortals by the rabbit’s sacrifice, that they decided to send her to the moon to live forever. However, the rabbit, who had no food to give, instead offered herself up as a meal, jumping straight into the immortals’ campfire. Both the fox and the monkey immediately offered the poor strangers some food. The immortals, disguised as destitute peasants, went into the forest where they came across a fox, a monkey and a rabbit.Īppearing quite starving, the immortals begged for some sustenance from the three. The legend goes that three immortals were sent to earth by the Jade Emperor to identify a suitable animal custodian for the precious elixir of life. Yi gave tribute to his lost love by leaving offerings of food and drink each night – traditions that continue to this day, along with burning incense and performing lion dances in her honour.Īnother famous Mid-Autumn tale centres around the tale of the Jade Rabbit. Fearing it was about to fall into the wrong hands, she drank it herself and escaped to the moon, where she could watch over her beloved husband for eternity. In his absence, a thief threatened to steal the elixir from Chang’E. Rewarded for his skill with the elixir of life, Yi entrusted the potion to his loyal wife, Chang’E and went out hunting. Eventually, Yi deftly shot down nine, leaving just one sun. The story has it that there were once ten suns in the sky, scorching the crops and causing great famine. While some believe that the festival pays tribute to a mythical dragon that brought much-needed rain to farmers’ crops, a more common version of the Mid-Autumn tale focuses on Chang’E, goddess of the moon and her husband, Yi the Archer. The Legend Behind the Mid-Autum FestivalĪn ancient Chinese traditional custom that goes back nearly three thousand years, the Festival was most likely established as a communal celebration for the annual harvest, but also has some interesting folklore behind it. When is Mid-Autumn Festival?Īlways coinciding with the full moon on the 15 th day of the eighth lunar month, China’s equivalent to the annual harvest festival is celebrated each year in strict accordance with the lunar calendar.Ģ020’s Mid-Autumn Festival will take place on Thursday 1 st October. In this guide, we’ll take a look at the origins of the festival and why it continues to be important to this day. You may have heard of Mid-Autumn Festival, but what exactly is it and how is it celebrated in Hong Kong?
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How To Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival In Hong Kong September 25, 2020
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