Mooncakes are in the air (and in the shops)! The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the Eighth Lunar Month – according to the tradition Chinese calendar! This marks the night of the Full Moon – which falls near the Autumnal Equinox (on or between September 8th and October 7th in the Gregorian Solar Calendar). In 2023 this will fall on Friday September 29th! This coincides with what is termed the ‘Chung Yeung’ Festival – where the graves of the ancestors are cleaned and tidied! In Putonghua this is pronounced as ‘Chong Yang’ (重陽) and refers to the ‘Double Nine’ attribute common in the Book of Changes (essentially a ‘double-yang’ line in a hexagram implying incredible good luck – doubled). What all this means – and there are many more stories – is that we eat Mooncakes and pay respect to our deceased ancestors – either at their graves or at a shrine – where incense-sticks are lit. Meanwhile, there is a beautiful woman, a Jade Rabbit and even a Master-Archer – who is able to shoot-down false ‘Moons’! Like most cultural aspects in traditional China – there is a complexity of integration, contradiction, paradox and reconciliation! The main point is to wish everybody Good Luck for the future!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 