The Mid-Autumn Festival, as its name implies, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many simply referred to it as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurs sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October.
In 2005, the festival falls on 18th September.
The most famous legend of the Mid-Autumn festival tells of how a godess Chang'e ascended to the moon. Here, I shall relate it Kean Wah's style.
A long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth. Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes.
KW: Argh...the heat is killing all of us. Where's the 7 Up, Sprite, Coca-Cola? OMG, look! Ten huge balls of fire in the sky? We need ice...
The trees and grass were scorched. The land was cracked and parched, and rivers ran dry. Many people died of hunger and thirst.
KW: Urgh..No plants, No photosynthesis, No food, No CHICKEN? Are we going to explode?
The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help. When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another.
KW: Ten minus nine equals...(counting fingers)... one. That's Good.
The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.
KW: Hurray! Good for you Hou Yi or you'll definitely lose your head!
One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo container. A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. Chang'e realizes that he is Hou Yi and invites him to drink.
KW: I bet it is not iced water.
Chang'e plucks a beautiful flower and gives it to Hou Yi. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. They fell in love and soon got married.
KW: Boring!
As mortals, our lives will end one day. So there is no chance of living happily ever after. Hou Yi decides to look for an elixir of life that would make Chang'e and him live forever. He goes to the Kunlun Mountains where the Western Queen Mother lives.
KW: What? Live forever? Don't lie.....
The Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with the elixir, a fine powder made from kernels of fruit from the tree of eternity.
"If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it, then only one of you will ascend to Heaven and become immortal," the Queen Mother warns Hou Yi.
KW: Huh, I know there must always be a catch! The Queen Mother, is she some kind of witch?
Hou Yi returns home and tells his wife all that has happened and they decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.
KW: Why wait? Are they out of their mind?
A wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng hears about their plan. He wishes to kill Hou Yi so that he can drink the elixir himeslf and become immortal.
KW: Of course, there must be a villain. I wonder if he's as cool as Dr No?
One day,when Hou Yi was on his way home from hunting, Feng Meng kills him. He then ran to Hou Yi's home and forced Chang'e to give him the elixir.
KW: Hou Yi is a fool. Maybe, he deserves to die.
Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all.
KW: Wow, brave lady. What if it's poison?
Soon the elixir begins to take effect and Chang'e feels herself being lifted towards Heaven. Chang'e decides to live on the moon because it is nearest to the earth.
There she lives a simple and contented life.
KW: Distance of Earth from moon is 384403 km. That's going from KL to Singapore and back about 650 times. Is that right , mum?
Mum: Er.... Check with Dad!
