嫦娥奔月　
                        Chang E’s Flight to the Moon

According to Chinese belief, there was a time when ten suns shone in the sky, leaving the earth scorched. Because of the heat, crops dried up before they could be harvested and people were dying from hunger and thirst. The Emperor Yao asked the mighty archer Hou Yin for help. Climbing up the Kun Lun mountain, Hou Yi shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving just the one that still lights up our skies. This was how he saved mankind.

Hou Yi had a beautiful wife named Chang’e whom he loved with all his heart. He wanted their happiness to last forever, so he left again for Kun Lun mountain, to ask the Queen Mother of the West, Xi Wangmu, for the elixir of life. Xi Wangmu was happy to oblige with the warning that if the couple share the drink, they would live happily forever on earth, but that if only of the pair should drink it, that person would join the ranks of the immortal in heaven.

Hou Yi and Chang’e decided to share the drink in mid-autumn, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, when the light of the full moon shone on earth. On that day, though, an envious man who wanted the elixir for himself decided to interfere with their plans, killing Hou Yi and threatening Chang’e. Without hesitating, Chang’e drank the liquid and began her ascent to the world of the immortals.

But Chang’e missed her husband so much that she decided to live on the moon, since it was the heavenly object that was closest to earth. She lives there still, and if you look really hard, in the life of mis-autumn’s full moon, you might just see her. Look even more closely and you might also find Jade the rabbit, who helps Chang’e prepare elixirs for the immortals.

Mooncakes are an important part of the Moon Festival. The mid-autumn festival, or the moon festival, has been celebrated in China for thousands of years. The moon waxes and wanes, and the world is in a constant state of flux. This festival is a potent symbol of togetherness for the Chinese family. The whole clan gets together for a meal and reaffirm their family ties. Those who are far away look at the same full moon and still feel a sense of belonging — they are, after all, looking at the same moon that their loved ones are gazing at.

Food goes hand in hand with Chinese festivals, and mid-autumn festival is no different. Traditionally, mooncake is served. A hardboiled egg yolk was originally placed in the middle of the mooncake, a salty-sweet reminder of the full moon. And the lady that adorns the boxes these mooncakes come in is almost always the Chinese goddess of the moon, Chang’e.