Celebrate the harvest and, in a less literal sense, abundance at this year’s Moon Festival! Fortitude Valley is dressing up in lanterns and tradition on Saturday, October 4 in honour of this ancient Asian celebration, with plenty to see, do and taste!
What is the Moon Festival?
Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mooncake Festival — due to its place in the Chinese calendar and because of a traditional pastry, respectively — the Moon Festival is a harvest festival chiefly celebrated in China, though other Asian cultures observe similar occasions.
Its place in the Chinese calendar means it’s held when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, coinciding with the time of harvest in the middle of autumn in China.
With millennia of history behind it, Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture and has the lively traditions to show it, including lanterns of all sizes and shapes — which symbolise beacons that light the path toward prosperity and good fortune — and mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste.
The legend of Chang’e
There are many different versions of the myth that explain the origin of the Moon Festival, most of them involving Chang’e, also known as the Goddess of the Moon.
One of them tells of a beautiful woman, Chang’e, whose husband Hou Yi was a legendary archer. In this very distant past, ten suns had risen at the same time, scorching crops and people. Thanks to his skills, Hou Yi shot down nine of them, and was then rewarded with enough elixir of immortality for him and Chang’e.
However, when Hou Yi went hunting, leaving the elixir at his home, a wicked man named Fengmeng broke in and tried to force Chang’e to give it to him. Refusing to hand it over, Chang’e instead drank both portions and flew towards the heavens, choosing the Moon as her immortal home, from where she could still watch over her beloved husband.
When Hou Yi came home and realised what had happened, he prepared all the fruits and cakes that his wife had enjoyed and displayed them on a table outside, under the moon, in the hopes than she would return. This is why, in the Mid-Autumn Festival, people admire and worship the moon by offering food for her to bless, and Chang’e is said to bestow those who worship her with beauty.
Other versions of the tale have Hou Yi committing suicide, or Chang’e stealing the elixir in order to escape her husband, but what can we say, we love a bittersweet ending.
The Moon Festival in the Valley
From spectacular lion and dragon dances to Japanese drumming and martial arts performances, the Valley is the place to be for this mystical evening of festivity. Here’s some of what you can look forward to:
Chinatown Mall will be offering delicious market stalls with authentic Asian food and drinks throughout the evening, and you’ll be able to catch roving lions, a traditional Chinese violin “Erhu” performance and roving “Mooncakes Folktale” characters. And, if you want your own little slice of the moon’s blessings, there will also be clay mooncakes and lantern crafting workshops!
On stage, different electrifying acts will enliven the celebration, from High Jong Poles, traditional instruments and a Japanese drumming performance to martial arts demonstrations and even a “Mooncakes Folktale” theatrical performance, there will be something to keep you entertained into the night. This is great news, because at 8pm the LED Dragon Dance will light up the stage in a mesmerising display.
Additionally, there will be roving lions and characters all over the precinct, so the whole area will feel like a party! And you can, of course, close out the night by feasting on some top-notch Asian food at one of the Valley’s excellent dining spots.
Practical info
The Moon Festival will take place on Saturday, October 4 from 2pm to 8:30pm.
It is free entry and you can find the full program here.
📍Chinatown Mall, 33 Duncan St, Fortitude Valley & surrounding precinct