Long ago held as the superlative deity, we set the moon today on a stunted pedestal, reducing its divine mystery to samples of dust and the universe’s longest (known) six-iron drive.
This was not always the case. The Babylonians, like many other ancients, held the moon-god as the progenitor to those planetary gods who came later to dominate the sky. Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, is related to the Babylonian word “sin,” which stems from their word for “moon.” There is a parallel etymology, which traces mount Sinai to the Hebraic “mountain pure as cheese,” possibly foreshadowing the cultural mythos of the moon being made of green cheese.
This fascination is indeed global. Known in eastern Asia alternatively as the Moon, Mooncake, Mid-Autumn or Lantern Festival, the custom of lunar celebration stretches back over 3,000 years.
The festival is celebrated by many nations, including China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, each maintaining their own traditions while sharing certain common practices.
Like the festival itself, many versions of its mythical origin exist. The most common factor, it seems, is an archer by the name of Houyi.
In his age there were ten suns and the people were suffering from their intense heat. To save them, Houyi managed to shoot down nine of the suns with his powerful bow. For his skill he was rewarded with a pill of immortality.
As with nearly all myths, a tragedy is then introduced. Like Pandora, Houyi’s wife Chang’e could not contain her curiosity. She opened the box and swallowed the pill.
Of course with immortality comes great lightness. No exception to the rule, Chang’e begins to float into the sky.
Yearning for her terrestrial past, she stations herself on the last remaining sun so she may look back onto the Earth. Overcome with grief, Houyi is unable to shoot down this sun, and instead was reduced to standing on Earth, lamenting his loss.
Today we know this sun as the moon, and to commemorate the event people all over the world gather in mid-autumn to enjoy mooncakes, a delicate treat made from a nut paste coated in dough.
This week at Unity House the festival was celebrated and hosted by CCASA, the Connecticut College Asian/Asian-American Student Association, with a discussion of Asian identity, including a film that depicted a group of Chinese-Americans banding together to save their neighborhood from city developers trying to install a new baseball stadium. The film touched on national identity, and posed the problem of cultural communication between Asians and Asian-Americans, including the most basic problem of the language barrier.
Like any identity, culturally identity is rather complex. Adapting to a new land, a new language and a new culture poses an obstacle for many immigrants.
To counter the influence of a culture that may sometimes feel alien, people often band together, asserting their own cultural traditions.
The Moon Festival is one such example. Traditionally, the Festival is a time for families to enjoy cakes, light lanterns and incense in honor of the deities and, most importantly, to gather.
Bo Xiong, a student here at Connecticut College, has recently arrived from China. Facing barriers both linguistic and cultural, Bo remarked on his excitement and his longing for his home and family.
“The Festival is meant to bring families together,” he noted, “and I’m here…”
Photo by Koreen Shoham
