September 14, 2008

Moon Festival


Tonight is the Moon Festival/Mooncake Festival/Lantern Festival (Why so many names?!).

Locally, this festival is often celebrated by eating mooncakes, and playing with lanterns (though I see much less of the latter nowadays).

There are a few stories behind this festival (which you can read about here), but here's the one I think of most:

According to a widespread folk tale (not necessarily supported by historical records), the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the 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 the 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: "Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the 8th 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 Zhu.
Source: Wikipedia

Do you celebrate the Moon Festival where you live?

Personally, I don't quite fancy mooncakes (with egg yolk). :\