Celebrate the harvest with ancient Moon Festival

Published on 11 September 2018

There’s an ancient Chinese legend that tells of a master archer, Hou Yi, and his beautiful wife, Chang E. Through an unfortunate turn of events, Chang E drank an elixir which made her immortal and lifted her to Heaven.

She wanted to stay as close to the earth as possible and so chose to stay on the moon. Stricken with grief, Hou Yi made sacrifices to her of the foods from the garden that his wife loved.

This tale of mysticism, varying from region to region across Asia, has been celebrated as the mid-Autumn Moon Festival which the Chinese believe, is when the moon is at its fullest. With enough imagination, you might even look up at the night sky and catch a glimpse of Chang E and her jade rabbit silhouetted against the fabled gnarly moon.

Maribyrnong will celebrate the Moon Festival this year, which falls on 24 September, at library branches across the City. The Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month according to the Chinese lunar calendar and celebrates the end of the autumn harvest.

Footscray resident, Hanoi-born Tong Thi Nguyen, remembers preparations in Vietnam for the Festival starting in August.

“Everyone made lanterns and drums. These days, you just buy your own lanterns and drums. We also celebrated by telling stories,” she says.

Aunty Tong, as she is affectionately known, now passes on those cherished stories to her grandchildren. She is a member of Maribyrnong’s Vietnamese community which constitutes about 10.7 per cent of the city’s diverse population.

This year, the libraries in Maribyrnong will incorporate the Moon Festival into regular programs. These include bilingual story time sessions in Vietnamese and Mandarin, and lantern-making workshops for children. Morning teas with traditional mooncakes and new Chinese and Vietnamese collection items will be hosted at Braybrook and Footscray libraries, as well as a film screening at West Footscray Library. These events highlight one of the key festivals celebrated by our diverse community.

Moon Festival

17 - 21 September
Various libraries across Maribyrnong