【Learn Chinese】The Middle-Autumn Festival Stories

Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhongqiu Jie (中秋节, zhōngqiūjié) in Chinese, is also called the Mooncake Festival or the Moon Festival.
As the second most important festival in China after Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn is an official public holiday. In 2024, the festival falls on September 17th.
In China, Mid-Autumn Festival is a reunion time for families, a little like Thanksgiving. Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, worshiping the moon, lighting paper lanterns, eating moon cakes, etc.
It is also celebrated by many other countries, such as America (mainly in the Asian American community), Singapore, and Malaysia. The date is the same as in China, but there is no public holiday.

Mid-Autumn Festival Stories
There are many legends about Mid-Autumn Festival. The most popular stories are about Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the popular legend of Chang'e (嫦娥), the goddess of the moon, and Hou Yi, the husband of Chang'e. He was rewarded with an elixir of immortality by the Queen Mother when he shot down nine of the ten suns and saved people from their smoldering heat. In Chinese folklore, he did not drink it straight away because he did not want to gain immortality without his wife. So, he asked Chang'e to keep it safe for him.
Unexpectedly one mid-autumn day, while Houyi was out hunting, an evil person tried to force Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e swallowed the elixir however and flew higher and higher. She then chose the moon as her immortal abode, to be close to her beloved husband and look down on him on Earth. Hou Yi was very sad and made sacrifices to Chang'e with incense, cakes, and fruits.
Legend has it that there is a rabbit companion with Chang'e on the moon, white as jade, so it is called 'jade rabbit'. As time passed, the jade rabbit became synonymous with the moon in Chinese culture.
The custom of worshiping the moon on Mid-Autumn day has been passed down from generation to generation.

Mid-Autumn Festival Greetings
The most popular greeting is "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival", in Chinese 中秋节快乐 (zhōngqiūjié kuàilè).
Other popular sayings are usually related to the moon or reunion. For example:
'Wishing us a long life to share the graceful moonlight, though hundreds of miles apart.' 但愿人长久，千里共婵娟 (dàn yuàn rén chángjiǔ, qiānlǐ gòng chánjuān)
'Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! May the round moon bring you a happy family and a successful future.' 祝福中秋佳节快乐，月圆人圆事事圆满. (zhùfú Zhōngqiū jiā jié kuàilè, yuè yuán rén yuán shìshì yuánmǎn)