There's going to be a Mooncake Festival celebration event at the Windsor Tua Pek Kong from tonight in Batam with Games, Bazaar, Performing art, Lucky draw etc :
Coupons available in :
May all have a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival 2016.
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More on the history and development of the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival.
Stories of 3 Origins
Sacrificing to the Moon, Parties at Night, and Eating Mooncakes
Sacrificing to the Moon — Earliest Origins of Ancient Worship
Ancient Chinese emperors worshiped the harvest moon on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, as they believed that the practice would bring them a plentiful harvest the following year.
The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon originated from worshiping the moon goddess, and it was recorded that kings offered sacrifices to the moon in fall during the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045–770 BC).
The sacrificial offerings include apples, plums, grapes, and incense, but mooncakes and watermelons (pomelos in the south) are essential. The watermelon's (or pomelo's) skin is sometimes sliced and opened up into a lotus shape when offered as a sacrifice.
Appreciating the Moon — Harvest Moon Feasts at Night Established
Appreciating the moon has been a traditional custom since the Tang Dynasty. Not just the rich merchants and officials, but also the common citizens, began appreciating the moon together during that time.
The rich merchants and officials held big parties in their large courts. They drank and appreciated the bright moon. Music and dances were also indispensable. The common citizens just prayed to the moon for a good harvest.
Eating Mooncakes at Mid-Autumn — It Began 650 Years Ago
The tradition of eating mooncakes during the festival began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), a dynasty ruled by the Mongols.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people's resistance wanted to overthrow the rule of the Mongols, so they planned an uprising together. But they had no way to inform other Han people who wanted to join them of the time of the uprising without being discovered by the Mongols.
The military counselor of the Han people's resistance army, Liu Bowen, thought out a stratagem related to mooncakes. Liu Bowen asked his soldiers to write "uprising on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival" on slips of paper, put them in mooncakes, and then sell them to the other Han people.
When the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival came, a huge uprising broke out and the Han people succeeded.
From then on, people ate mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival to commemorate the uprising (although this is little-remembered today).
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3 Interesting Mid-Autumn Festival Stories
Long, long ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. The suns burnt all the plants on Earth. People were dying.
One day, Hou Yi used his bow and arrows to shoot down nine of them. All the people on Earth were saved.
The Queen Mother of the West gave Hou Yi a bottle of elixir that could make him immortal. But the elixir was only for one person. Although Hou Yi did want to become immortal, he wanted to stay with Chang'e more. Therefore, he didn't drink the elixir and asked Chang'e to keep it safe for him.
Hou Yi became more and more famous after he shot down the nine suns. People wanted him to be their master and most of them were accepted by Hou Yi.
Not every student of Hou Yi had good morality. Pang Meng, one such student, wanted to seize his elixir.
One day, Hou Yi went hunting with his students, but Pang Meng pretended to be ill and stay at home. After making sure Hou Yi had gone, he went to Hou Yi's house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir. Chang'e knew she couldn't defeat Pang Meng, so she drank the elixir immediately.
The elixir made her fly higher and higher. In the end, she stopped on the moon. She became immortal.
Hou Yi was very sad when he received the news. He came back home and moved a table under the moon, preparing some food on it. He hoped Chang'e could come back to stay with him.
Since then, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people have offered lots of food to worship the moon.
Children Still Believe That a Beautiful Lady Lives on the Moon
Most children in China believe that Chang'e is still living on the moon. And on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon is bright, children try their best to find the shape of Chang'e on the moon.
2. Wu Gang Chopping the Cherry Bay — He Could Never Cut It Down
Wu Gang was an ordinary person who wanted to become immortal but didn't work very hard, and he never tried his best to learn the necessary.
The Emperor of Heaven got angry with him because of his attitude. In order to punish him, the Emperor of Heaven planted a huge cherry bay tree, which was 1,665 meters (5,460 feet) high, on the moon and ordered Wu Gang to cut it down. If Wu Gang could cut it down, he could become immortal.
This time, Wu Gang was very serious and worked hard on chopping down the tree. But you know what? He could never finish his work because the cherry bay was healed every time that Wu Gang chopped it.
Wu Gang wouldn't give up. He tried time and time again, and is still trying now. On clear nights, people can see an obvious shadow on the moon. This is made by the huge cherry bay.
3. The Jade Rabbit — Self-Sacrifice Rewarded
There are three animals living in a forest: a fox, a rabbit, and a monkey.
One day, the Emperor of Heaven wanted to test the animals' virtues. So he came to Earth and changed his appearance to that of an old man.
He said, "I heard that you three are good friends, so I came a long way to meet you. Now I am very hungry. What will you offer me?"
"Please wait here. We will come back with food soon." Then the three animals went their separate ways to find food.
The fox caught a fish in a river; the monkey got fruit in the forest; but the rabbit got nothing and came back with nothing.
The old man said, "It seems that you three are not united and work alone. You two kept your promise and brought back food. But the rabbit hasn't brought back anything."
The rabbit felt very sorry. "Please help me to get some firewood. I want to cook some food for him," she said to the fox and monkey.
After they set the firewood on the fire, the rabbit said, "Sorry I didn't fulfill my promise. But I can give myself to you. Eat me, please!" and the rabbit jumped into the fire.
The Emperor of Heaven was deeply moved by the rabbit. He picked up the rabbit's bones and said, "I was so touched. To honor her, I will let her go to the Moon Palace, so that people can see her forever."