The Mooncake or the Mid- Autumn Festival will be on Sept 27, 2015. That is a Sunday!
Filipino- Chinese celebrate this occasion by giving mooncakes to one another and by playing a DICE Game.
In many schools, the teachers will share the Legend of the Moon Festival. I will give you a quick summary.... Para if someone asks, you know di ba!
There are many versions of this story but this is the one I remember
Once upon a time in the ancient China, there were 10 suns. The 10 suns caused so much heat that the people and their crops suffered.
Then a hero named Hou Yi shot 9 out of the 10 suns.
The queen of heaven Wang Mu gave Hou Yi an elixir that will make him immortal.
Instead of drinking the elixir, Hou Yi presented the elixir to his kind-hearted wife, Chang E for safe keeping.
One day while Hou Yi was out hunting Chang E was left alone in the house. A man named Peng Meng barged in and demanded that Chang E hand over the elixir to him. Refusing to give the potion but knowing she couldn't win against Peng Meng, Chang E drank the elixir of immortality. The moment she drank it, she flew to the sky and towards the moon.
When Hou Yi came home, he learned of what happened to his wife. He was full of anguish and cried out her name. In the throws of anger and tears, he looked up to the sky and suddenly a figure of Chang E appeared on the surface of the moon.
From that day on, he started offering her favorite food to the moon, hoping that even from a far he can still show her his love. When people saw this, they followed what he did. The tradition continues until now.
Charrr! Story of love and sacrifice!!!!
Anyway, I'm planning to throw a weekend party for the Moon Cake Festival. I'm hoping my parents and friends can fly to Manila. I plan to have my own simplified version of the dice game, which will include shots and lipsticks on the face! Last year, we played it without alcohol, na-borlogs ako!
I'm also giving away moon cakes ofcourse!
Happy Monday,
L
PS> Iba ang mooncakes sa space cakes. Even technically pareho sila sa space.
Yan pala ang story? hahaha!!!
ReplyDeleteAng naalala ko naman is parang the mooncake was made to send messages to soldiers! Hahahaha...
Labo noh?
That's another story too. To revolt against the huns
DeleteThanks for sharing the story. This explains why there's usually a beautiful lady standing against the moon on mooncake packages, ngayon ko lang narinig ito and mas familiar yung na mention ni Didi about sending messages. But honestly, it just rings a bell, I don't really remember na. Kinda makes me regret not paying much attention during Chinese classes.
ReplyDeleteFamiliar din ako sa war story. Pero ang Hirap i kwento na walang Mali kasi May historical reference e hahah
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