Happy Moon Festival Day!
It is that time of the year again. Fireworks, lanterns, dancing dragons, and moon cakes are the essential components of this tradition Chinese holiday celebrating the legend of the beautiful goddess Chang’e. This joyous event lands on the 15th of every eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is between the end of September and the beginning of October. There are many forms of celebrations regarding the holiday, but for thousands of years, the Chinese believed that the full moon shown on this day signified reunion, thus, they usually celebrate the holiday with the gatherings of their entire family. Today, the celebration commonly consists of a reunion dinner, stacks of moon cakes, and floating sky lanterns.
[img]/images/user/1842_3920363002260747946.jpg[/img] [img]/images/user/1842_10586285096624585133.jpg[/img]
[img]/images/user/1842_2581721151562540389.jpg[/img]
The ancient Chinese told many stories associated with the Moon Festival. One popular legend told the story of the beautiful Chang’e and her lover Hou Yi. Once a upon a time, when ten suns burned furiously in the sky and caused a terrible drought on earth, the king of heaven sent Hou Yi to shot down all ten suns but one. And so, Hou Yi went down to earth to complete his mission. One day, when Hou Yi was wondering around earth, he came across a beautiful woman named Chang’e and they fell in love. A mortal life has a time limit, however, so Hou Yi decided to obtain the elixir of life and become immortal with Chang’e. After Hou Yi received the elixir of life from the Western Queen Mother, Chang’e and Hou Yi decided that they would drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. However, one day, a man named Feng Meng overheard their conversation and killed Hou Yi. When Feng Meng threatened Chang’e to give him the elixir, Chang’e immediately drank it and felt herself floating towards the moon. Thus, Chang’e became immortal and lived on the moon ever since. This common legend is often told by the elders to younger children during the holiday and became a tradition.
[img]/images/user/1842_2617381770271650179.jpg[/img]
The Moon Festival is about being together with our family and friends and celebrating the rare occasion with joy and happiness. As a Chinese myself, I am very fortunate to have all my family here with me today and to be able to afford the delicious, but very expensive, moon cakes. I can’t say the same for the many Chinese students that Givology are supporting, however. All of our Chinese students at Givology are living in extreme poverty, and can’t even afford to go to school, let alone affording moon cakes. On this special day, everyone deserves a chance to celebrate with their family, eat moon cakes, and fly paper lanterns, especially our Chinese students. They deserve to have a smile on their face, and you can make it happen! So, please, on this wonderful holiday, show some love to our Chinese students and donate!
[img]/images/user/1842_4959218400877068806.jpg[/img] [img]/images/user/1842_9983274956997726978.jpg[/img] [img]/images/user/1842_11633985289502386138.jpg[/img]
30 SEP 2012