Mid-Autumn Festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Mooncake Festival) Jump to: navigation, search For other harvest festivals that may be known as Mid-Autumn Festival, see Mid-Autumn Festival (disambiguation). For the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival known as Yuan Xiao (), Chap Goh Mei (), Yuen Siu (), Shang Yuan (), and Tt Nguyn Tiu", see Lantern Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival decorations in Beijing Official name Zhngqi Ji (, ) Moon Festival Mooncake Festival Lantern Festival Peh Goeh Cheh () Cultural, Religious Celebrates the end of the fall harvest 15th day of the 8th lunar month September 30 September 19 consumption of mooncakes, worship of deities (Chang'e) Tt Trung Thu, Chuseok

Also called

Observed by Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese Type Significance Date 2012 date 2013 date Observances Related to

Mid-Autumn Festival

Mooncakes, often eaten during the festival Chinese name Traditional Chinese Simplified Chinese

[show]Transcriptions
Min name Chinese

[show]Transcriptions
Vietnamese name Quc ng Ch nm Tt Trung Thu

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in Victoria Park, Hong Kong

Mid-Autumn Festival at the Botanical Garden, Montreal The Mid-Autumn Festival (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people.[1] A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou Dynasty from 3,000 years ago.[1] The celebration became popular during the early Tang Dynasty.[1] The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar, close to the autumnal equinox.[1] The Government of the People's Republic of China listed the festival as an "intangible cultural heritage" in 2006, and it was made a Chinese public holiday in 2008.[1] It is also a public holiday in Taiwan.

Contents

1 Traditions 2 Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival o 2.1 Houyi and Chang'e o 2.2 The Hare or The Jade Rabbit o 2.3 Overthrow of Mongol rule 3 Taiwanese version 4 Vietnamese version 5 Japanese version 6 Korean version 7 Dates 8 See also 9 References

Traditions

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Spring Festival and Winter Solstice.[1] Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

Eating mooncakes.[1][2] Matchmaking. In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. "One by one, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd. The young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance of romance."[1] Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns.[1] Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e Fire Dragon Dances.[1] Moon rabbit is a traditional icon.[1]

Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Houyi and Chang'e
Main articles: Houyi and Chang'e Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival is strongly associated with the legend of Houyi, his student Feng Meng, and Chang'e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality. Tradition places these two figures from Chinese mythology at around 2200 BCE, during the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huangdi. Unlike many lunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang'e simply lives on the moon but is not the moon herself. There are many variants and adaptations of the legend of Chang'e that frequently contradict each other. However, most versions of the legend involve some variation of the following elements: Houyi, the Archer, an emperor, either benevolent or malevolent, and an elixir of life. One version of the legend states that Houyi was an immortal and Chang'e was a beautiful young girl, working in the palace of the Jade Emperor (the Emperor of Heaven, pinyin:Yd) as an attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (the Jade Emperor's wife). Houyi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Houyi and his wife, Chang'e, were subsequently banished from heaven. They were forced to live on Earth. Houyi had to hunt to survive and became a skilled and famous archer. At that time, there were ten suns, in the form of three-legged birds, residing in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea. Each day one of the sun birds would have to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the 'mother' of the suns. One day, all ten of the suns circled together, causing the Earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to use his archery skill to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life. Emperor Yao advised Houyi not to swallow the pill immediately but instead to prepare himself by praying and fasting for a year before taking it.[3] Houyi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter. One day, Houyi was summoned away again by Emperor Yao. During her husband's absence, Chang'e, noticed a white beam of light beckoning from the rafters, and discovered the pill. Chang'e swallowed it and immediately found that she could fly. Houyi returned home, realizing what had

happened he began to reprimand his wife. Chang'e escaped by flying out the window into the sky.[3] Houyi pursued her halfway across the heavens but was forced to return to Earth because of strong winds. Chang'e reached the moon, where she coughed up part of the pill.[3] Chang'e commanded the hare that lived on the moon to make another pill. Chang'e would then be able to return to Earth and her husband.[citation needed] The legend states that the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. Houyi built himself a palace in the sun, representing "Yang" (the male principle), in contrast to Chang'e's home on the moon which represents "[Yin and Yang]" (the female principle). Once a year, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Houyi visits his wife. That is the reason why the moon is very full and beautiful on that night.[3] This description appears in written form in two Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) collections; Shan Hai Jing, the Classic of the Mountains and Seas and Huainanzi, a philosophical classic.[4] Another version of the legend, similar to the one above, differs in saying that Chang'e swallowed the pill of immortality because Peng, one of Houyi's many apprentice archers, tried to force her to give the pill to him. Knowing that she could not fight off Peng, Chang'e had no choice but to swallow the pill herself.[citation needed] Other versions say that Houyi and Chang'e were still immortals living in heaven at the time that Houyi killed nine of the suns. The sun birds were the sons of the Jade Emperor, who punished Houyi and Chang'e by forcing them to live on Earth as mortals. Seeing that Chang'e felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to find the pill that would restore it. At the end of his quest, he met the Queen Mother of the West, who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half a pill to regain immortality. Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang'e not to open the case, and then left home for a while. Like Pandora in Greek mythology, Chang'e became curious. She opened up the case and found the pill, just as Houyi was returning home. Nervous that Houyi would catch her, discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill, and started to float into the sky because of the overdose. Some versions of the legend do not refer to Houyi or Chang'e as having previously been immortals and initially present them as mortals instead.[citation needed] There are also versions of the story in which Houyi was made king as a reward for killing nine of the suns and saving the people. However, King Houyi became a despot who either stole a pill of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West or learned that he could make such a pill by grinding up the body of a different adolescent boy every night for a hundred nights. Chang'e stole the pill and swallowed it herself, either to stop more boys being killed or to prevent her husband's tyrannical rule from lasting forever.[citation needed]

The Hare or The Jade Rabbit

According to tradition, the Jade Rabbit pounds medicine, together with the lady, Chang'e, for the gods. Others say that the Jade Rabbit is a shape, assumed by Chang'e herself. The dark

areas to the top of the full moon may be construed as the figure of a rabbit. The animal's ears point to the upper right, while at the left are two large circular areas, representing its head and body.[5]

Overthrow of Mongol rule

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 (12801368) in the 14th century.[6] As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion.[6] Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen () 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 month" (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ).[6] On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (13681644), under Zhu. Henceforth, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

Taiwanese version
Since the middle of the 1980s, Taiwanese started the trend of barbecuing with friends and family at the Mid-Autumn Festival. This trend traces from different statements, some say that it started because of the boost of commercial companies, others say that it is because people usually get hungry when they are watching the moon, so outdoors barbecue has become widespread among people. However, the take-off of the Taiwanese economy and the influence of western life styles was also a reason which made people change their traditional customs. Mooncakes are typically round but smaller, with less elaborate fillings. More recently, some versions of the cake from Hong Kong seem to be gaining popularity.

Vietnamese version

Vietnamese children celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with traditional 5-pointed starshaped lantern The Mid-Autumn festival is named "Tt Trung Thu" in Vietnamese. [7]

The Vietnamese version of the holiday recounts the legend of Cui, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree. Soon after desecrating the tree, she sat on one of the tree branches and the sacred tree began to grow and continued until it finally reached the moon, leaving Cui's wife stranded there. Every year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cui's wife the way back to Earth.[8] In Vietnam, Mooncakes are typically square rather than round, though round ones do exist. Besides the indigenous tale of the banyan tree, other legends are widely told including the story of the Moon Lady, and the story of the carp who wanted to become a dragon.[8] One important event before and during the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival are lion dances. Dances are performed by both non-professional children's groups and trained professional groups. Lion dance groups perform on the streets, going to houses asking for permission to perform for them. If the host consents, the "lion" will come in and start dancing as a blessing of luck and fortune for the home. In return, the host gives luck money to show their gratitude.

Japanese version
See Tsukimi.

Korean version
See Chuseok

Dates
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. In 2012 the MidAutumn Festival fell on September 30. It will occur on these days in coming years:[9]

2013: September 19 2014: September 8 2015: September 27 2016: September 15 2017: October 4 2018: September 24 2019: September 13 2020: October 1

CERITA Setiap tahun pada tanggal 15 bulan 8 penanggalan Imlek, orang-orang Tionghoa di seluruh pelosok dunia merayakan Festival Kue Bulan (Moon Cake Festival). Festival ini merupakan perayaan yang paling populer di kalangan masyarakat Tionghoa di berbagai penjuru dunia, dan kepopulerannya semakin meningkat dari tahun ke tahun. Karena selain merupakan legenda, kue bulan juga sangat digemari. Namun tahukah kita bahwa perayaan ini telah dimulai sejak lebih dari 2.200 tahun yang lalu ??? Asal mula Hari Raya Zhong Qiu {Hok Kian : Tiong Ciu}, disebut juga sebagai Perayaan Pertengahan Musim Gugur, adalah karena dirayakan pada pertengahan musim gugur, di mana pada waktu ini para petani baru ada suasana hati yang lega dan santai, untuk merayakan hasil panen yang berlimpah. Perayaan Tiong Ciu sudah mulai dilakukan pada tahun ke-2 masa Kaisar Qin Shi Huang [Dinasti Qin = 221 206 SM], penanggalan Imlek bulan 8 tanggal 15. Pada hari tersebut Kaisar Qin Shi Huang berkumpul bersama dengan penduduk desa di Wu Kao Shan. Pada malam harinya semua orang menikmati pemandangan indahnya bulan di langit yang terang dengan sangat gembira, sambil bernyanyi-nyanyi dan sambil minum arak. Pada masa Dinasti Tang [618-907 M], Hari Raya Tiong Ciu ditetapkan sebagai malam bulan purnama. Pada waktu itu ada syair yang berbunyi: 1 tahun ada 12 X bulan purnama, tapi yang paling bulat dan yang paling indah dilihat, yaitu bulan purnama di Hari Raya Tiong Ciu. Pada masa Dinasti Song [960-1279 M], Perayaan Kue Bulan baru mulai terkenal di kalangan rakyat banyak. Setiap penanggalan Imlek tanggal 15 bulan 8, semua orang menikmati indahnya pemandangan bulan purnama sambil makan kue-kue. Orang zaman dulu membagi Hari Raya Zhong Qiu menjadi 3 bagian: 1. Imlek tanggal 14 bulan 8 : disebut Ying Yue Hui, pesta menyambut kedatangan bulan purnama. 2. Imlek tanggal 15 bulan 8 : disebut Shang Yue Hui, pesta menikmati pemandangan bulan purnama. 3. Imlek tanggal 16 bulan 8 : disebut Zui Yue Hui, pesta mengejar bulan purnama. Namun pada masa Dinasti Yuan (1271-1368 M), Festival Zhong Qiu baru memiliki makna cinta Negara. Ada sebuah buku yang berjudul Lang Ji Cong Tan, ada mencatat peristiwa sebagai berikut: Pada masa akhir Dinasti Yuan, ada seorang tua dari Dinasti Song, pada beberapa hari sebelum Hari Raya Zhong Qiu, menyebarkan desas-desus kemana-mana: Makanlah kue bulan pada Hari Raya Zhong Qiu, dengan demikian dapat terhindar dari wabah menular! Oleh karena ini, orang yang membeli dan memakan kue bulan sangat banyak. Maka, orangorang yang setia kepada Negara Song bertekad untuk menggulingkan Dinasti Yuan (orang Mongol) dan memulihkan kekuasaan Dinasti Song. Kemudian mereka secara khusus membuat sangat banyak kue bulan, di mana di dalam kue tersebut diselipkan secarik kertas yang bertuliskan: Bulan Purnama Bunuh Orang Mongolia!

4 (empat) bulan kemudian, Dinasti Yuan berhasil digulingkan oleh Zhu Yuan Zhang yang kemudian naik tahta menjadi Kaisar dan bergelar Ming Tai Zhu. Kemudian Ming Tai Zhu menjadikan kue bulan sebagai Peringatan Mendirikan Negara [Dinasti Ming = 1368 1644 M], dan menjadikan Hari Raya Zhong Qiu sebagai Hari Raya memulihkan kekuasaan Negara. Pertengahan Musim Gugur merupakan musim untuk berkumpul kembali bersama keluarga, disebut juga Bulan Yang Bulat Sempurna (Yue Yuan), keluargapun berkumpul bersama (Ren Yuan). Festival Kue Bulan, tak terduga ternyata memiliki demikian banyak cerita. Orang zaman dulu melihat bulan yang terang di atas langit, bulat bundar dan berwarna kuning, merasa sangat indah, lalu membuat sebagai kue untuk dimakan, di luar dugaan menimbulkan banyak kisah yang menarik.