The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the Eighth Month of the Lunar Calendar. There are many legends that associate the Festival with the moon and here is one of them.

Once upon a time, there were ten suns co-existing in the sky. Their burning rays scorched the earth and the farmers were full of grievances. A hero with enormous strength, by the name of Houyi, wanted to alleviate the people from the agony. He managed to shoot down nine suns with his arrows. He was highly respected by the peasants who could now go back to farm their land. Houyi finally married the beautiful Chang e.

A Taoist monk gave Houyi a medicine for longevity as a gesture of appreciation. Houyi's evil-minded apprentice wanted to steal the medicine while Houyi was out. He forced Chang e to hand over the medicine and out of desperation, she swallowed it. In a flash, she flew up to the sky. That happened to be the 15th day of the Eight Month. From then on, Houyi and the peasants commemorated the day with fruits and worship to the moon as a remembrance of Chang e who had ascended to heaven.

Besides moon cakes, different regions celebrate the festival with different food, such as pomelo which in Cantonese sounds like the word ¡§blessing¡¨, and eating the fruit is deemed to bring heavenly blessings. Pre and post Mid-Autumn Festival is the season for wild ducks which can be cooked into a variety of delicious dishes. The weather also starts to turn cooler and in Taiwan, people celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with barbecue meat. Some will go on a camping and barbecue spree, while others will gather at a scenic spot to watch the moon as they nibble on barbecue meat. In China¡¦s Shaanxi province, people, regardless of poor or rich, will eat watermelon while people in Guangdong will prefer taro root. In Beijing, lots of fruits are in season including apples, pears, grapes, dates and peaches. There are also all kinds of melons, sweet cakes, snails and crabs to celebrate the Festival.