The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture It is one of the most important holidays for Chinese people. The ancient legend associated with Mid-Autumn Festival is about the goddess Chang'e and her husband, Houyi.
Chang'e and her husband Houyi were immortals living in heaven. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch. Having failed to order his sons to stop ruining the world, the Jade Emperor summoned Houyi for help. Houyi, using his legendary archery skills, shot down nine of the sons but spared one son to be the sun. The Jade Emperor was not pleased with Houyi's solution to save the earth: nine of his sons were dead. As punishment, the Jade Emperor banished Houyi and Chang'e to live as mere mortals on earth.
Seeing that Chang'e felt highly miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to journey on a long, perilous quest to find the pill of immortality so that the couple could be immortals again. At the end of his quest, he met the Queen Mother of the West, who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half the pill to become immortal.
Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. But while Hou Yi was away hunting, his wicked apprentice, Feng Meng, came to his home to steal the elixir. Chang’e, determined to keep it out of Feng’s hands, drank the potion and ascended to the heavens, where she took the moon as her home.
For Chinese families, Mid- Autumn Festival is a family reunion and celebrations day. They gather together for a big dinner, gifting and eating moon cakes, lighting the lanterns, and moon watching in the evening.
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festivals fall from the 10th to the 12th of September. It would mean a three-day holiday for the Chinese people. This year in San Francisco, the event is a two-day celebration on August 27 & 28 and runs from 11 am - 5 pm on both days. All these activities occur along Grant Avenue in the heart of Chinatown. The Chinese community of San Francisco keeps the traditions. Each year, a grandeur parade kicks off down Grant Avenue. It starts at California Street and ends near Washington Street. You will see traditional Chinese practices like; Dragon dancing, martial artists, acrobats, Chinese people wearing their traditional costumes, street dancers, and marchers.
