Mooncake Festival

This week our Chinese EAL students celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. One of our students Xiao Yang made some yummy mooncakes for the class. She also shared the old Chinese folk tale related to the festival with the class. See the story she wrote below.

“On 13 September , it is also the lunar August 15. It’s a China’s traditional festival, called Mid–Autumn Festival. That day every family eats mooncakes. Now I would like to share one Chinese fairy tale about this festival. it’s called Chang-e flying to the moon.
Long Long ago in ancient China. There were once ten suns in the sky. The animals and plants burned and people couldn’t live. A master archer called Hou Yi, He climbed high up the Kun lun mountain and then shot down nine suns. He saved the earth. People Thought Hou Yi was hero. As his reward, the Wang mu Queen gave him an elixir. It’s just only one, Hou Yi didn’t want self enjoy. He told his wife Chang-e to keep it well. Hou Yi had a friend name was Peng Ming. He was very jealous of Hou Yi’s life. When he knew Hou Yi had an elixir and wanted to take it. On lunar August 15, Hou Yi went hunting, Chang-e was at home alone. Peng Ming took the sword went to Hou Yi’s home, he threatened Chang-e gave him the elixir. Chang-e refused to give it to him and swallowed elixir then Chang-e became lighter, flew out of the window. Chang-e worried about Hou Yi , she stayed on the moon, the nearest to the earth. When Hou Yi went home, he knew Chang-e lived on the moon forever. He was very sad so every lunar August 15, Hou Yi watched the moon reunite with Chang-e . Unite now, On lunar August 15, the whole family will stay together eat mooncakes and enjoy full moon. It means family reunion. “