Mid-Autumn Festival: The Legend

Happy Mid-Autumn Day! I have spent two of these holidays in China, and so far as I can tell, its a day celebrated by eating gobs of mooncakes and taking the day off class. Today, the family spent an amazing day at the lake, and as we were traveling home I realized that I didn't actually know WHAT we were celebrating....almost like Boxer Day. So I paid a visit to my friend Google...

According to a famous Chinese legend, there were ten suns hanging on the sky. The suns scorched the earth so much that people could not farm. There was nothing to eat. A young man named "Hou Yi" was strong and powerful. He was a very good shooter. He wanted to help people and save their lives. So he shot down nine of the suns with his magic bow and arrow.From then on, people could live in peace and happiness. Hou Yi became famous and honorable for what he did. He married a beautiful girl, whose name is Chang O. Hou Yi was a good husband. He loved his wife very much. He wanted to live with his wife forever. So, he hoped to find the herb of immortality.One day, Hou Yi went to visit the Western Goddess. He told her what he wanted. The Western Goddess was very touched by Hou Yi. She decided to give him the herb of immortality. However, the herb was only good to make one person immortal. Hou Yi never wanted to leave his wife. So he could not decide who should take the herb, his wife or himself. Either way, one of them would have to leave the other one behind.

Therefore, Hou Yi told his wife, Chang O, to put the herb away for the time being. Chang O put this magic herb in a secret place. However, a man called Bu Mo heard and saw everything. He wanted to have the herb of immortality himself. So, three days later, after Hou Yi left for hunting, Bu Mo came to visit Chang O and ask her about the immortal herb. Chang O became suspicious about Bu Mo's ntention. She put the herb into her mouth trying to protect it. But she swallowed it by mistake.After a while, she felt her body become lighter and lighter and start to float up higher and higher all the way to the sky. She could not stop herself, because she did not want to leave her husband. However, Chang O landed on the moon and became an immortal godness.Hou Yi could not believe what had happened; his wife had left him. Late at night, he looked into the sky and saw that the moon was extremely bright. There was a shadow on the moon, which looked like his beloved wife, Change O. this made him miss his wife even more.

According to the legend, Chang O transformed herself into brilliant moonlight. Today, couples would declare their love for each other under the full moon of this mid-autumn day. Separated lovers make wishes for their reunion.