The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival and the Chinese Lantern Festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This usually occurs in late September or early October, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the most important festival in the Chinese calendar, besides Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice (also known as the Dongzhi Festival), and is a national holiday in some countries.
Traditionally, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvest season on this date. Chinese family and friends gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon and enjoy mooncakes and grapefruit together.
Overthrow of Mongol rule
According to Chinese folklore, the Moon Festival commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368) in the 14th century. The Mongol rulers forbade group gatherings, and it was impossible to orchestrate a rebellion.
Since the Mongols did not partake in eating mooncakes, the rebel leaders came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Moon Festival. They distributed thousands of mooncakes to Chinese residents in the city and cleverly inserted inside each mooncake a piece of paper with the message: “Kill the Mongols on the 15th of the 8th month.”
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the Mongolian government. After the overthrow of the Mongol government, the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) was established. As a result of the successful rebellion, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with mooncakes nationwide.
Mid-Autumn Festival in London
Gerrard Street was the main focal point of London’s Moon Festival and Chinatown was lit up with thousands of orange paper lanterns to mark the occasion. Thousands of local Chinese and visitors from all over the world were there to participate in the highly anticipated annual event. Many children wore traditional brightly colored Chinese costumes and looked pretty in them.
This event was organized by the London Chinatown Chinese Association and took place on Sunday October 11, one week later than usual, coinciding with the London Restaurant Festival (October 8-13, 2009).
An outdoor stage was set up on Macclesfield Street, opposite Gerrard Street. The opening ceremony began at 1:00 p.m. with the ever-popular lion dance.
The afternoon performances were a mix of traditional and modern entertainment, including lion dance, martial arts, traditional Chinese music, hip-hop dance and Hong Kong Sing-Pop.
Gifts were distributed to those who entered contests or were brave enough to come on stage to give a performance. There were also classes in food tasting, making sweets and noodles, and even a chopsticks challenge.
28 Chinatown restaurants participated in the London Restaurant Festival and offered delicious special menus of oriental cuisine at special prices.
Elsewhere, Chinese community shops were set up to sell Chinese goods and those selling paper lanterns and fans seemed to have done very well that day.
And so did the lion that danced from one store to another offering good fortune to the Chinese business community.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in London was clearly enjoyed by all. There was lots of fun and laughter and even the drizzle near the end didn’t dampen the spirits of those who participated in this year’s event.