In Hong Kong and China, the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is celebrated. It’s a family time to admire the full moon and eat mooncakes. This festival symbolizes reunion and shared happiness.
One of the most important festivals after the New Year is the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. It takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, so on a different date each year in our calendar.
It’s a family celebration: people gather in the evening to admire the full moon, a symbol of reunion and harmony, and share mooncakes, often filled with lotus paste, salted eggs, or red beans.
Children enjoy carrying colorful lanterns, and the legend of Chang’e, the goddess who lives in the moon, is recounted. In Chinese culture, the moon is associated with nostalgia and reunions: when we look up, we think of loved ones, even if they are far away.
Today, this holiday is still celebrated throughout East Asia, and even in Chinese communities around the world. It remains a special time to wish health, prosperity, and happiness to family and friends.
The Mid-Autumn Festival and the Legend of Chang’e
This holiday is also linked to a famous legend: the story of Chang’e. Her husband, the hero Hou Yi, had received an elixir of immortality. But to prevent a thief from stealing it, Chang’e drank it and flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since, accompanied by a jade rabbit. During the night of the Festival, families look up at the moon, not only to celebrate reunion and happiness, but also to remember this story that is part of the Chinese collective imagination.
中秋節與嫦娥傳說
在香港和中國大陸，人們會慶祝中秋節，也稱為月亮節。這是一個全家一起賞月、吃月餅的節日。這個節日象徵著團圓和共享幸福。
中秋節
在中國，中秋節是農曆八月十五日，每年的日期都不一樣，是除夕夜之後最重要的節日之一。
這是一個家庭慶祝活動：人們晚上聚在一起，欣賞象徵團圓和諧的圓月，並分享月餅，月餅通常由蓮蓉、鹹蛋或紅豆餡。
孩子們喜歡提著五彩繽紛的燈籠，人們也喜歡講述嫦娥奔月的傳說。在中國文化中，月亮象徵著懷舊和團聚：當我們抬頭仰望月亮時，我們會想起遠方的親人。
如今，這個節日在東亞乃至世界各地的華人社區依然盛行。它仍然是一個向家人和朋友祝福健康、富足和幸福的特殊時刻。
中秋節與嫦娥奔月的傳說
這個節日也與一個著名的傳說息息相關：嫦娥奔月的故事。她的丈夫，英雄後羿，得到了一顆長生不老藥。但為了防止小偷偷走，嫦娥服下仙丹，飛向了月亮，從此便與一隻玉兔相伴，在那裡生活至今。中秋之夜，家家戶戶仰望月亮，不僅是為了慶祝團圓和幸福，也是為了紀念這個中國
人集體想像中的故事。