Mid Autumn Festival

One of the biggest festivals in China is that of the Mid Autumn Festival which is a harvest festival that traditionally gives thanks to the moon.  Some have likened it to be the Chinese version of Thanksgiving.

The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close correlation with the changes in seasons, thus they offered a sacrifice to the moon.  Romantically speaking, the festival is to commemorate Chang E, who in order to protect her beloved husband’s elixir, ate it herself and flew to the moon.  There are numerous other legends surrounding Mid Autumn Festival - the most well-known ones include Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine, Wu Gang Chopping Laurel Tree, and Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising. ( China Travel Guide) Our family's celebration is modified a bit.  Instead of giving thanks to the moon itself, we thanked the Creator of it.  

When asked what they wanted to eat this year, the girls all wanted the traditional mooncakes

And Isaac....well, he wanted SNAILS!

We also had fried rice, steamed buns, and dumplings.

We read the book Thanking the Moon after dinner

 and when it began to get dark the kids enjoyed playing with some glow sticks.

This year we had beautiful, clear skies and were able to see the moon really well through the trees in our backyard.