Mooncakes and lanters
"Swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable"
(W. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
Who hasn't observed the moon with a hint of melancholy, expressing a wish or simply hoping that, perhaps on the other side of the world, the same one also observing the loved one?!
The moon has always inspired poets, proverbs and idioms handed down by generations of grandparents who oriented themselves and fixed dates of weddings, sowings and stories based on the lunar cycles.
Myths and legends find their setting with the full moon as, for example, "crescent moon, flowing hair" according to which the crescent moon affects hair growth. Furthermore, it is believed that the moon influences the tides through the combined force of gravity of the sun (on the one hand) and the moon (on the other).
Of course, Eastern culture also has its legends, one of which lies at the very basis of the Mid - Autumn Festival, or more commonly known to Westerners with the Full Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, which this year fell on September 21st.
Linked to this festival are some of the most famous Chinese legends. The best known is certainly that of Cháng'é 嫦娥.
The legend of the Moon festival revolves around Chang’e (嫦娥) and Hou Yi (后羿). There are many versions of this tale but out of that only 4 mention, Chang’e and Hou Yi at it are best.
Chang’e and Hou Yi were husband and wife. Hou Yi was an excellent archer and was asked to go on a mission. A mission to take down 10 suns that were withering the earth. Using just bow and arrow he killed 9 of them and as a reward, he was offered the elixir by the Queen mother of the west. The elixir could provide him immortality but given his love for his wife, he wasn’t willing to ingest the elixir alone. He did accept the elixir but gave it to his wife to hold onto under her protection.
Greed took over him when one of Hou Yi’s students, Pang Meng heard about the elixir and tried to seize the opportunity to steal it when Hou Yi went out hunting. Just as he was progressing with the theft, realizing that she couldn’t defeat the man, Chang’e drank the elixir before he could put his hand on it. As a result of the effect of immortality and not wanting to abstain from her husband, she fled to the moon. Upon hearing of his wife’s trials, Hou Yi grew sad and in hope of bringing his wife back arranged a table of fruits and food. There’s another version of this story too where Chang’e turns into a toad on her way to the moon. Although her beauty was now gone, the toad was considered a symbol of fertility in the matriarchal society and flying to the moon was considered a ritual of chasing the moon where the ancestors wanted to be close to the God, they now worship.
On this day it is tradition to eat a moon-shaped candy called yuèbǐng 月饼 in Chinese. These cakes, not really dietetic, and a symbol of the party, should be consumed together with the loved ones to wish them long life, happiness and luck (obviously!). They usually have a round shape that recalls the moon and the unity of the family, although in recent years they have been found in all shapes and colors. The external consistency of the cakes can be rubbery or crumbly, while the filling has several options: ranging from the very traditional versions of lotus seeds, red beans, mixed dried fruit and, of course, those with egg yolk (favorite of the writer). Currently, with the evolution of nutrition, there are also vegan options or filled with chocolate, yogurt and cheese. Of course, even the big chains like Starbucks in China have them with their logo on.
While you are still looking for the right mooncake, we look forward to seeing you next week with another story about another local holiday: the Cheung Yeung Festival which this year was October 14th.
#staytuned
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italian version:
"Non giurare sulla luna, l’incostante luna che si trasforma ogni mese nella sua sfera, per paura che anche il tuo amore si dimostri, come la stessa luna, mutevole"
(W. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
Chi di noi non ha osservato la luna con un pizzico di malinconia, esprimendo un desiderio o semplicemente sperando che, magari dall’altra parte del mondo, la stessa osservando anche la persona amata.
La luna ha sempre ispirato poeti, proverbi e modi di dire tramandati da generazioni di nonni che si orientavano e fissavano date di matrimoni, semine e racconti in base ai cicli lunari.
Miti e leggende trovano la loro ambientazione con la luna piena come, ad esempio, “luna crescente, chioma fluente” secondo la quale, la luna crescente influenzerebbe la crescita dei capelli. E ancora, si ritiene che la luna influenzi le maree attraverso la forza di gravità combinata del sole (da una parte) e della Luna (dall’altra).
Naturalmente anche la cultura orientale ha le sue leggende, una delle quali risiede proprio alla base del Mid – Autumn Festival, o piu’ comunemente noto agli occidentali con Full Moon Festival o Mooncake Festival, che quest’anno cadeva il 21 settembre.
Legate a questa festa ci sono alcune delle più famose leggende cinesi. La più conosciuta è sicuramente quella di Cháng’é 嫦娥. La leggenda narra che in passato ci fossero ben 10 soli in cielo. Questi, a causa del loro calore, rischiavano di estinguere la vita sulla terra percio’, un eroe di nome Hou Yi, appartenente alla guardia imperiale, abbatté 9 di loro con arco e frecce e fu ricompensato dalla Regina Madre con un elisir di immortalità. Un giorno però, approfittabdo dell’assenza di Hou Yi, il suo apprendista Fengmeng entrò in casa per rubarglielo e Chang’e, la bellissima moglie di Hou Yi, decise di berlo lei stessa pur di non farglielo avere. Chang’e iniziò a fluttuare verso il cielo. Arrivando fino alla luna che scelse come sua dimora. Hou Yi, disperato per la mancanza della moglie, fece in suo ricordo offerte alla luna, mettendo su un altare il cibo e la frutta che Chang’e aveva amato di più.
In questo giorno è tradizione mangiare un dolcetto a forma di luna chiamato in cinese yuèbǐng 月饼. Queste tortine, non proprio dietetiche, e simbolo della festa, vanno consumarle insieme alle persone care per augurare loro lunga vita, felicità e fortuna (ovviamente). Solitamente hanno forma rotonda che richiama la luna e l’unità della famiglia, anche se negli ultimi anni se ne trovano di ogni forma e colore. La consistenza esterna delle tortine può essere gommosa o friabile, mentre il ripieno ha svariate opzioni: si va dalle tradizionalissime versioni ai semi di loto, fagioli rossi, frutta secca mista a quelli col tuorlo d’uovo (preferito di chi vi scrive). Attualmente, con l’evolversi dell’alimentazione si trovano anche opzioni vegane o con ripieno al cioccolato, allo yogurt e al formaggio. Naturalmente, anche le grandi catene come Starbucks, in Cina, le propongono con tanto di logo.
Mentre cercate ancora la mooncake adatta a voi, noi vi aspettiamo la prossima settimana con un’altra storia su un’altra festivita’ locale: il Cheung Yeung Festival che quest’anno e’ stato il 14 Ottobre.