The Story Behind Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on 15th day of the 8th 
month in the Chinese calendar. There are many interesting tales behind this festival.
The most strongly associated myth revolves around an extraordinary archer named Houyi (Hòu Yì), who was awarded an elixir of life. In some versions of the story his beautiful wife Chang’e takes the whole elixir and finds herself, and her jade rabbit, floating all the way to the stars and getting trapped on the moon, forever being known as the Moon Goddess. On that day each year, when the moon is at its fullest, Houyi prepares Change’s favourite food, looks at the full moon and misses her. It later became custom for people to prepare food for family reunions, or miss separated loved ones, on a mid-autumn day under the moonlight.
Picture and info source:
“Chang’e” photo. Thinkstock. 1 Sep. 2014.
http://www.rdasia.com/mooncake-festival?page=1