![]() ![]() The moon-worshiping tradition in China dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).Īt first, it was the kings and nobles who followed the moon-worshiping rituals every year, but later it became a festival for all. Though similar to Thanksgiving Day in North American countries, the Mid-Autumn Festival has a much longer history. It’s the second most important festival for Chinese people after the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year. The Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also known as the Chinese Moon Festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year - September 24 this year. Rice cakes-known commonly in English as “mochi rice cakes” (from the Japanese mochi)-is called moa-chi in Taiwanese.With a rabbit in hand, a Russian modal cosplays Chang’e, the Moon Goddess in Chinese legend, in an entertainment park during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Tianjin. In any case, the Taiwanese moon rabbit makes elixirs for the goddess (as in the Chinese stories), but also (like the Japanese and Korean rabbits) treats itself to delicious rice cakes on occasion! That same tradition exists alongside the Chinese version in Taiwan-perhaps born of Taiwan’s Japanese colonial experience or simply due to the proximity of the island nations. Instead, the rabbit is making delicious mochi rice cakes! In Japan and Korea, however, the story of the Chinese moon goddess doesn’t exist. ![]() For centuries, people believed that to be a mortar, which is used to grind up herbs and grains!Ĭonsequentially, in the original Chinese mythology, the rabbit uses the mortar to grind up herbs to make an elixir to sustain the moon goddess Cháng’é. #THE MOON RABBIT ELIXIR OF IMMORTALITY FULL#Why is that? The answer, if you look at the outlined full moon above again, is in that rectangular shape in front of the moon rabbit. This is true in Taiwan as well, where both rice cakes and the more famous mooncakes are part of Moon Festival celebrations. The Koreans and Japanese associate the moon rabbit with rice cakes. And so, he raised the rabbit from the netherworld and installed him on the moon-effectively deifying him.Īnd that’s why the moon rabbit resides on the moon! Mochi Rice Cakes The king was very moved by the rabbit’s selfless sacrifice. It was then that the monk revealed his true identity as the king of the gods. As a result, he was able to save his friends from starvation. In an incredible act of self-sacrifice, the rabbit dove into a bonfire, thereby turning himself into food for the others. And so, the four animals frantically began scouring the surrounding lands for food. One day, the monk came upon the food stores to discover they were empty. Everyday, the four creatures visited the monk to study with him. There once was a monastery where a monk resided with a fox, an otter, a monkey and a rabbit. We’ll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl.Īccording to one legend, the king of the gods deified the rabbit for an act of selfless sacrifice. You might also look for her companion, a large Chinese rabbit, who is easy to spot since he is always standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. It seems she was banished to the Moon because she stole the pill of immortality from her husband. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl called Chang-O has been living there for 4,000 years. The exchange with mission control in Houston went like this:Īmong the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning, is one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. In the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, NASA mission control humorously asked the US astronauts to keep an eye out for the duo. In Taiwan and China, people believe that the moon rabbit is a companion of the moon goddess, Cháng’é. ![]()
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