Moon Cake Festival

In September of 2010, when Brandee and Sean first moved to China to work at the hospital, they were soon introduced to a holiday known as the Moon-Cake Festival. 

What is the Moon Cake Festival?

The Moon Cake Festival, also called the Mid-Autumn Festival, is one of the most important traditional holidays in China. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (usually in September or early October), when the moon is said to be at its brightest and fullest. Families gather to enjoy mooncakes, light lanterns, and spend time together under the moonlight. Many will share or tell the “Legend of Chang’e” during the festival.

Significance in China

• It is a harvest festival, originally tied to giving thanks for the season’s abundance.
  
  
• The full moon symbolizes reunion and completeness—which is why family gatherings are central.
  
  
• It is also a time for wishing good fortune and long life to loved ones, even if they are far away.
  
  

The Legend of Chang’e

One of the most famous legends associated with the festival is the story of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess.

• Long ago, ten suns rose in the sky, scorching the earth. A hero, Hou Yi, shot down nine of them, saving humanity.
  
  
• As a reward, he was given the elixir of immortality.
  
  
• Out of love, he did not drink it—wishing to stay with his wife, Chang’e.
  
  
• One day, Hou Yi’s apprentice tried to steal the elixir. To prevent this, Chang’e drank it herself and floated to the moon, where she lives to this day.
  
  
• Hou Yi, heartbroken, would lay out offerings to the moon, longing for his wife.
  
  

This tale ties the festival to themes of love, sacrifice, and longing across distance.

The Moon-Cake Festival reminds us that family is like the moon—sometimes distant, sometimes hidden by clouds, but always whole and shining above us. Even if loved ones are separated by distance or circumstance, the same moonlight touches us all, binding us together in its quiet glow.

It’s a poetic reminder that what unites families is not just physical closeness, but the unseen threads of love, memory, and shared traditions—much like the moon’s light connecting people across the earth.

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