The moon is thought to be at its brightest and fullest at this time of the year. Thus the term Moon Festival. The holiday is a time of thanksgiving to the Earth God for a plentiful harvest. It is also a time of family togetherness, with relatives gathering to enjoy a feast and to admire the moon.
As with all Chinese festivals, there are scores of legends concerning the Mid-Autumn Festival. Not surprisingly the moon puts in an appearance in most of them.
The cover this month depicts one such legend: Chang-O's Flight to the Moon.
Chang-O was once a beautiful earthling, the wife of a powerful king of the Hsia dynasty (1225-1818 B.C.). Dissatisfied with mere power and wealth, her husband longed for eternal youth as well. The royal chemists were put to work and eventually prepared a pill that assured youth and immortality.
Chang-O, though an exemplary wife in every other respect, had the common feminine failing of vanity. She stole the drug and quickly swallowed it. As she did so, she found herself soaring up to the moon.
Her youth and beauty are eternally preserved, but as punishment for the theft, she is doomed to remain on the moon forever. Chang-O's silhouette can still be seen on the golden surface of the moon on the night of the Moon Festival.
As elsewhere, the moon also symbolizes romance.
The universal matchmaker of Chinese legend is Yueh Lao, the Old Man Under the Moon. His job is to tie destined couples together with invisible red thread. The couples Yueh Lao joins inevitably will meet and marry. His working hours are those of every moonlit night. Some young men and women prowl the countryside when the moon is out in the hope of meeting Yueh Lao and discovering their marital fate. With the moon brightest at Moon Festival time the chances of catching Yueh Lao at his job are at a maximum.
The Moon Festival has its own special food—the moon cake. Made of flaky pastry filled with sweet bean paste, sesame seeds, lotus seeds, or jubejubes, they are baked a round golden yellow to resemble the shape and color of the moon.
There is a legend about the moon cake, too. In the Yuan dynasty (1280-1358), Chinese patriots were plotting to overthrow the ruling Mongols. Secret messages were concealed in moon cakes and passed among the patriots under the guise of festival gifts. Since then, the moon cake has become a tradition, and they are exchanged and consumed by the millions at Mid-Autumn Festival time.