Moon Cake and the Mid-autumn Festival

Oct. 6, 2006 is a day to look forward to among the Chinese, and the Filipinos alike, as it marks the unfolding of this year’s Moon Festival – a feast with rich significance stemming not only from folklore but also from history.

BY LYN V. RAMO
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY – Oct. 6, 2006 is a day to look forward to among the Chinese, and the Filipinos alike, as it marks the unfolding of this year’s Moon Festival. 

The Filipino-Chinese community here will celebrate the Moon Festival at the Supreme Hotel with “fun fare,” said Dr. Charles Cheng, founder of Baguio City’s Filipino-Chinese General Hospital.

Also called the mid-autumn festival, this marks the time of the year when the moon is at its brightest and roundest, Cheng added. 

“This is the time for family reunions where members exchange gifts of round objects,” Cheng explained. “A table facing the rising moon is filled with round-shaped fruits, dumplings, moon cakes, wines, tea, fish and other delicacies.”

Moon cake, a favorite Chinese pastry dish served with tea, comes in several varieties. Cheng said it symbolizes unity and oneness. 

Based on Chinese folklore, the mid-autumn festival started 5,000 years ago in China with the reign of the legendary emperor Huang Di, who inculcated among his constituents the belief that in order to maintain good health and positive human spirit, man must interact and live in harmony with the four seasons: spring for renewal and growing; summer for luxurious growth and strengthening; autumn for ripening and harvest; and winter for closing, hibernating and storing.

The mid-autumn, is that time of year when the fields are fragrant with ripening grains and trees bear fruits, an abundant harvest calls for celebration, based on legend.

Cheng, however, also shares a 12^th-century anecdote that gives a “nationalistic significance” to the Moon Festival.

During the 12^th century, China was under the Mongols who subjected the Han people (now the Chinese) to slavery and other forms of cruelty. Based on Chinese history, a peasant leader named Zhu Yan Zhang, during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), employed the celebration to overthrow the abusive Mongols.  Zhu reportedly started a revolution by passing around moon cakes with secret messages written on a piece of paper.  All those who received the message eventually joined the revolution, which liberated the Hans from the Mongols and gave rise to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) which Zhu founded.

The Moon Festival is among the more popular Chinese celebrations, falling on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The most popular of these celebrations is the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival which usually falls on February in the Gregorian Calendar. 

Peasants in the Cordillera also give importance to the moon’s position, but do not necessarily depend on it for the agricultural cycle. Cheng, however, observes that some communities in the Cordillera schedule their farming and rituals based on the four phases of the moon, namely first quarter, beska; full moon, teke; last quarter, bakas; and new moon, lenned.  

 The Baguio-Filipino Cantonese Association-Cordillera leads the annual Moon Festival celebration. 

Among the more prominent descendants of the Cantonese in the Cordillera, aside from Cheng, are Benguet Board Member John Kim, La Trinidad Mayor Nestor Fongwan; and businessmen Peter Ng, Freddie Wong, Cristeta Leung, and Robert Lim. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

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