Sydney students celebrate Moon festival
Published on 10 October, 2006
The Chinese Moon Festival was celebrated at the Sydney International Campus last Friday.
The Festival falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month. This year it fell on Friday October 6.
Students and staff of all nationalities were treated to moon cakes as they came to attend their classes, so they could commemorate the establishment of the Ming dynasty, reunite with loved ones, friends and family or steal a romantic moment under the full moon with a loved one.
The Moon Festival is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese.
The Festival is full of legendary stories. One legend talks of a builder who built a jade palace for the Goddess of the Western Heaven.
The Goddess was so happy that she gave the builder a special pill containing the magic elixir of immortality, but with the warning that he was not to take it until he had accomplished certain things.
The builder’s wife found the pill and took it. The Goddess was so angry that she banished the builder’s wife to the moon where, according to legend, she can be seen dancing during the Moon Festival.
The food of the Moon Festival is the moon cake. The legend of the moon cake comes from the Yuan dynasty when China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding dynasty - unhappy about submitting to foreign rule - planned a rebellion.
Knowing that the Moon Festival was coming they ordered the making of special cakes into which they placed a message with the outline of the attack.
On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.
The Moon Festival can also be an occasion for family reunions. When the full moon rises, families get together to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes, and sing moon poems. The Moon Festival is also a romantic time. Lovers spend the time together eating moon cakes with wine while watching the full moon.
Couples who cannot be together can still enjoy the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems that they are together at that hour.
Photo: Barbara Abou-Lehaf (Campus Director) joins in the Moon Festival with Fan Qing and Yi Tong Lu who are holding moon cakes.