She then chooses the moon as her immortal abode, to be close to her beloved husband. She digests the elixir only in order to prevent it from falling in the hands of an evil person. She is described as a model of feminine beauty and elegance. Later versions of the story, still told today, present a more flattering image of the goddess. She then escaped to the moon, where she was condemned to a lonely existence. Metropolitan Museum of ArtĬhang’e is said to have stolen the elixir of immortality from her husband, Yi, the great archer and hero of Chinese mythology. Offerings are made to the moon goddess Chang'e during the Mid-Autumn Festival. These are created by commercial ice cream companies in order to tap into the lucrative mooncake market and cater to contemporary tastes. It is even possible to find ice cream mooncakes. The yellow egg yolk adds another layer of symbolism, as it resembles the round moon in the sky.Īdditionally, there are contemporary flavors such as chocolate, coffee or green tea.
There are many regional variations, some of which contain a preserved egg yolk in the middle. Usually, mooncakes come with traditional fillings, such as red bean or white lotus seed paste.
#Midautumn fesitval full#
The roundness of the full moon, in turn, symbolizes wholeness by extension, it conveys a sense of spiritual contentment, coming together and reunion. The round shape of the mooncake is meant to evoke an image of the full moon. The gifting and eating of mooncakes is arguably the most emblematic feature of the festival. Kong Ding Chek/E+ via Getty Images Mooncakes: Tradition and innovation The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time of gathering for families celebrating the holiday. Other festivity highlights include public lantern displays, dance parties, traditional performances and worship of the moon goddess and other deities.īecause of the central theme of family reunion, sometimes the festival evokes comparison to Thanksgiving in the U.S. This is a time for family and friends to gather, watch the full moon and eat mooncakes and other delicacies.
These traditional delicacies are readied in anticipation of the festival, observed on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
There is even the option these days of buying these desserts from online retailers such as Amazon. The same is true of Chinese stores around the world. With the arrival of September and hints of cooler temperatures also comes one of most important traditional festivals in the Chinese calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Zhongqiu jie (中秋節), also known as the Moon Festival.Īt this time of the year, the Chinese store down the road from our home in Gainesville, Florida, is stocked with mooncakes, known in Chinese as yuebing (月餅).
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