The Mid-Autumn festival also known as the Moon Festival , Mooncake Festival , or the August Moon Festival is a popular Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty
At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, marking an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. It is traditionally celebrated by people eating mooncakes, which are round-shaped to symbolize family reunion. Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.
However, the custom has fallen out of favor among young people due to the cakes' high oil and sugar content and the burgeoning number of bakeries and supermarkets offering a wide range of delicacies year round.
Typically, China traditional festivals often connect with several fantastic legends, also including the Moon Festival. While Westerners may talk about the "man in the moon", the Chinese talk about the "woman on the moon". The story of Chang E , and her flight to the moon, is familiar to every Chinese, and a favourite subject of poets. Unlike many lunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang'e only lives on the moon. Tradition places Hou Yi and Chang'e around 2170 BC, in the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huang Di.
