Deepavali, the Festival of Lights

Deepavali is around the corner and the buzz has already begun. For the Indian community, there is the excitement of preparing for this event.  Deepavali is the celebration of the good triumphing over evil. 

Apart from buying new garments and preparing delicacies and food for visitors, some will have beautiful kolams outside their front doors. The kolams welcome the Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity.  

The kolams vary in size and are very colourful, drawn using rice flour and rice dyed in various colors.  Some designs can be very intricate.  The shopping malls have large ones.

Rituals are part of the celebration and an oil bath is de riguer. It symbolizes cleansing. The celebrants don new garments and welcome guests who visit their homes and join in the celebrations. There is much good will and bon homie at these open houses (a practice common in Malaysia where friends and friends of friends drop by to enjoy the company and the food).

Oil lamps are lit and placed on the kolams.  You can also find oil lamps in the homes of the Hindu community. The lights from these lamps are a reminder of one’s inner light.  Light is a metaphor for consciousness and knowledge.

Here's wishing my friends Happy Deepavali!

The Legend Behind The Moon Cake

The moon cake is not just a tasty cake eaten during the Moon Cake Festival. There is an inspiring story behind it.

During the Yuan Dynasty (1271- 1368 AD) when China was ruled by the Mongolians, the people found the tyranny of the government unbearable. They plotted to revolt and to end their suffering.

Zhu YuanZhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644 AD) united the different resistance groups to organize the uprising. However, they encountered a problem.

How were they to inform the different groups of the battle plan without being detected by the government forces? It was almost impossible to pass messages. Then the counselor Liu Bowen thought of an idea.

The leaders of the rebellion ordered the people to bake moon cakes and inserted into the cakes was the outline of the attack against the government. These cakes were given to the resistance groups who had been told via the messages in the moon cakes, to rebel on the night of the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month. The Mongolians were not interested in the pastries of their inferior subjects so the message got through to the resistance movement.

The rebellion was a success and the Mongolian rule ended with the overthrow of their government. The Ming Dynasty was established by Zhu and this success was commemorated annually by eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The tradition of eating moon cakes on the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month has lasted through the centuries and the cakes have evolved into different kinds of pastries with various fillings and flavors.

Legends Associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival

 Festivals often have legends behind them. The most popular legend linked to the Mid Autumn Festival is that of the Moon Goddess, Chang-Er.

Once upon a time, there was a very skillful archer named Hou Yi and he had a beautiful wife, Chang Er. During that period, there were ten suns circling Earth but only one would shine each day. However, one day, all the ten suns decided to shine at the same time. It became unbearably hot on Earth and people were dying. To save Earth, Hou Yi used his bow and arrows and shot down nine suns.

The Heavenly Queen Mother rewarded him with a bottle of elixir which would make him an immortal. However, he didn’t wish to become an immortal as he loved his wife very much so he kept the bottle at home.

One day while he was away, one of his students tried to steal the bottle but Chang Er preempted him by drinking the elixir. As a result, she floated away into the sky and landed on the moon which became her home.

When Hou Yi returned and discovered what had happened, he was grief-stricken. He displayed her favorite food as offerings to her. She became known as the Goddess of the Moon and people began to worship her for luck and peace.

However, there is another version of Chang -Er’s story and this one was told to me by my grandmother when I was a young child, celebrating the Moon Cake Festival at her home. She also told me that when I was born, my grand aunt had named me after the Moon Goddess, Chang-Er. My Chinese name is Chang Er.

In this version there were also ten suns circling the Earth and each day only one sun would shine on Earth. However, one day all the ten suns appeared together and they burnt the earth and killed people.

The Emperor of Heaven ordered Hou Yi to save the earth and he shot down nine suns.

Hou Yi, in this version, was a tyrannical ruler. One day, he stole the elixir of life from a goddess. He wanted to live forever. To save the people from her husband’s tyranny, Chang Er drank the elixir.

After drinking it, she found herself floating higher and higher and she flew to the moon. She became the Moon Goddess and the festival celebrates her good deed of saving her people.

The Jade Rabbit

The Jade Rabbit is Chang Er’s companion in the moon. This is how she landed there.

Once upon a time, there were three animals in the forest, a fox, a monkey and a rabbit.

One day, three immortals disguised themselves as beggars and went into the forest, begging for food.

The fox and the monkey offered them food but the rabbit had nothing to offer. She was a pious creature and felt ashamed and guilty because she could not give the beggars anything to eat.

“I’m so sorry I have no food to offer you but I can give myself,” and she jumped into the fire.

The three immortals were very touched by the rabbit’s sacrifice and made her an immortal. They sent her to the Moon Palace to live with Chang Er. They also bestowed her with the title “Jade Rabbit”.

So, children are often told to look at the beautiful, bright moon on this auspicious day, the fifteenth of the eighth lunar month and see if they can spot the Jade Rabbit alongside Chang Er.