Virtual anchor, real stories. The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month every year celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most important festival in China only after Chinese New Year.
The moon is an eternal theme of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The origin of this celebration can be traced back to a fairytale: “Chang’e Flies to the Moon.”
Legend has it that Chang’e drank the elixir of life and flew towards the sky. She then became an immortal at the Moon Palace, accompanied only by a Jade Rabbit. The local people worshiped her as the goddess of the moon, praying for happiness, love and reunion.
It has long been a custom for Chinese families to reunite on mid-autumn night when the moon is at its fullest and brightest. Big families of several generations will sit around round tables, where delicious dishes and exquisite moon cakes are laid out. When the moon climbs its way up the sky, families will appreciate the full moon, bathed in the silver and luminous glow of the moon.
“As the bright moon shines over the sea, from far away you share this moment with me.”
The Mid-Autumn Festival has become an embodiment of Chinese people’s yearning for family reunions, peace and harmony.
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