The Story of Moon Festival

 

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery.

His wife was Chang'e.

 

One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. 

Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality.

 

Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir.

 

However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret.

 

So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him.

 

Chang'e refused to do so.

 

Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky.

 

Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence.

 

When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife.

 

People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang'e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

 

“when people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang'e, now the goddess of the Moon, for luck and safety.

 

The custom of praying to the Moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time."