Perhaps you’ve seen lanterns around campus, mooncakes in shops, and posters for Mid-Autumn Festival（中秋节) events — but what is it all about?
Legend has it that long ago, ten suns rose in the sky, scorching the earth with intense heat. A hero named Hou Yi, with his bow and arrow, shot down nine of them, saving the world. As a reward, he received the coveted elixir of immortality. However, he didn’t want to leave his wife, Chang’e, so he kept it hidden.
One day, while Hou Yi was away on a hunting trip, a greedy apprentice sneaked into their home and tried to steal the elixir. Alone and cornered, Chang’e refused to surrender it. In desperation, she drank the elixir herself. The potion flowed through her veins, and she instantly floated up to the moon, where she became a goddess, forever separated from her beloved husband.
Every year, on the night of the full moon, Hou Yi set out food and mooncakes in her honour. Today, people continue this tradition, gazing at the moon to remember love, sacrifice, and reunion.
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival fell on 6 October, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the moon is believed to be at its brightest and fullest. The festival is celebrated across East and Southeast Asia, in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, and among Chinese communities worldwide. It’s a time to celebrate the harvest, give thanks, and reunite with family, much like Thanksgiving.
Among its many customs and emblems, the most symbolic are mooncakes （月饼）, just as Hou Yi set out for Chang’e in the legend. These round pastries, which are often filled with lotus seed paste, red bean, or salted egg yolk, symbolize reunion and the full moon. People also light and carry colourful paper lanterns （提灯笼）, an activity once meant to guide good fortune and light the way to reunions with loved ones. Over time, lanterns have become a symbol of childhood joy and festivity. Children parade with them while communities hold lantern displays, riddle-solving games （猜谜）, and moon-gazing （赏月） gatherings.
Although geographically far from Asia, the East and Southeast Asian communities in Edinburgh continue to celebrate the festival with warmth and creativity. This week, students gathered for reunion dinners with friends and attended events hosted by university societies. From ABACUS’s Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations to the Hong Kong Society’s bonfire night, where people huddled by the fire, shared mooncakes, and admired the moon. The wider Edinburgh community also joined the celebrations at the Confucius Institute for Scotland, enjoying poetry readings, Chinese tea, and of course, plenty of mooncakes.
So, whether you were at a celebration or simply spent some time admiring the moon, I hope it was a reflection of abundance and love, a reminder that even far from home, we all share the same sky and the same moon.
Image provided by writer, courtesy of Edinburgh University Hong Kong International Society.