Mr. Chian Shin Yi’s ClassMr. Chian Shin Yi’s Class

Yu Cheng Elementary SchoolYu Cheng Elementary SchoolTaipei, TaiwanTaipei, Taiwan

The Moon The Moon FestivalFestival

The Origin of Moon Festival(1)

At that time, there were ten suns in the sky.

They baked the ground and dried up the sea. The people could not

live any longer in such weather. Hou-Yi was

shocked by this incident.

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http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/jw!ZeCC5O6WE

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• He climbed to the top of Kun-Lun Mountain and shot down nine of the suns. Amazing! Hou-Yi rescued those poor people from the most difficult days. Later, he married a pretty girl, Chang-Eh.

• One day, Hou-Yi visited his friend on Kun-Lun Mountain.

• While there, Hou-Yi met Princess Wang-Mu and asked for the medicine of eternal life.

• Wang-Mu promised to give it to him and reminded him, “You will go into the heavens after taking the medicine and then be apart from your sweet wife forever.”

•Unfortunately, one bad guy, Poung-Mon, heard about the news and he compelled Chang-Eh to give him the medicine by force.

http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AB%A6%E5%A8%A5

•Poor Chang-Eh. She knew that there was nothing she could do except swallow it.

Suddenly, she flew toward the heavens.

http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/4/11/28/n730890.htm

•Chang-Eh missed her husband so much that she chose to fly to the Moon which is close to the Earth. She became a fairy.•When Hou-Yi came home, their maidservants cried and described all the details of what had happened. He was very disappointed that he lost his sweetheart!

• He called his lovely wife’s name day and night. One night he noticed with astonishment how shining and round the moon was and saw a moving shadow that looked like Chang-Eh.

• Hou-Yi commanded all the servants to put incense, fruit and candies out to worship Chang-Eh who was in the Moon Palace.

People heard that Chang-Eh had become a fairy. They wished to obtain

peace and happiness from her. Since that day, the

custom of people worshiping Chang-Eh in the

Moon Palace has spread and become the Moon

Festival .

The Legend of the Moon Festival

According to the legend, there were three supernatural beings who became poor and old men. They asked a fox, a mokey and a bunny for food. The fox and monkey shared their food with those three men. But the bunny couldn’t do anything except make his sacrifices.

http://www.ntpu.edu.tw/admin/a8/org/a8-6/files/www/moon/103.htm

• He begged them to please eat himself.

He jumped into the fire. The three supernatural beings were deeply affected by the bunny’s sacrifices. They called the bunny “Jade Rabbit” and took it to accompany Chang- Eh in the moon palace.

The Origin of the Moon Festival(2)For over one thousand years, Chinese people have eaten moon cakes at the Moon Festival. During the Yuan dynasty, the Chinese people were taken charge of by the Mongol people. Unfortunately, the Mongols ruled the Chinese people very strictly.

http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/moon/html/eat.htm

For instance, the Mongols charged a very heavy tax. They did not treat Chinese people in the right way. They were not fair or loyal to them. For example, if a mongol hit a Chinese person the Mongol would pay the Chinese only a cow. In contrast, if the Chinese hit the Mongol, then the Chinese would be killed.

http://www.mdnkids.com.tw/mooncake/moon1.htm

During this period, the Chinese people were waiting for the proper occasion to chase the Mongol people out of China. Once the Chinese army prepared to take over the government during the full moon in August. Yuan-Chang was the leader; he had an assistant, Bou-Wen.

http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/moon/htl/eat.htm

He told Bou-Wen to give everybody the following message : A terrible disaster will happen at the end of this year. He asked people to buy and eat moon cakes to avoid disaster. Meanwhile, Bou-Wen put a piece of paper into each moon cake. On it was written, “kill the Mongols then receive and welcome our army.”

http://www.mdnkids.com.tw/moo

cake/moon2.htm

The people did as they were asked. Finally, the Chinese army chased the Mongols out of China and established a new government, the Ming Dynasty.

• http://www.mdnkids.com.tw/mooncake/moon3.htm

More Chinese traditional customs related to the Moon Festival

Pomelos (citrus fruit) mean blessing in Chinese and a abundant harvest during the Moon Festival.

http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/File:Pomelo_Open_02.jpg

http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/moon/moon.htm#

During the Moon Festival unmarried girls will steal melons, fruits and vegetables from farms. If they steal leafy vegetables, they will have good fortune. If they steal green onions, they will soon meet their true love.

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• (A) from http://www.agrext.coa.gov.tw/blog/7184/album/247/1235547217687.JPG

• (B) from http://m001.supergood.com.tw/supergood/front/bin/asoptlist.phtml?Acg=75&Type=0

When they get married, the farmer is invited to the wedding banquet to say thank you for his help.

The moon cake is also called reunion cake because of its round shape. In Chinese characters, the round shape means “ get together with all your family.” The moon is round and full in the sky on the Moon Festival Day. We usually barbeque, eat moon cakes and pomelos (citrus fruit), and make Chinese tea at the Moon Festival. http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1007/3/4/0/100734034.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=100734034

There are many pretty and lovely fairy tales in Chinese history. No matter whether it is true or not, those stories and traditions are still shared among our Chinese people. Moreover the Moon Festival has become very important part of Chinese culture.

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