Sry if it takes ages to load. October 4th was the day of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, and I made this project to celebrate the festival & the love story of the Moon Fairy. See below for the legend! ღ The Moon Fairy and the Mid-Autumn Festival ღ ღ My very first anime style art~ >v< I hope you like it! ღ *** USE FULL SCREEN *** ღ Please leave a ❤️, fave and follow if you like it~ ღ I would appreciate it very much \(^◇^*)/ ღ All art & coding by me ღ Music: A Maiden's Love - Chinese Instrumental music ღ Special thanks to @C4inSide for spotting a glitch!! <33 ღ If you use any of the art or coding in this project, please give me full credit. Thank you! ღ The 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar is known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the three most important festivals for Chinese people. On this day, the moon is supposed to be at its fullest and brightest in the whole year. The origin of the festival is linked to the legend of Chang‘e the Moon Fairy in Chinese mythology. ღ Chang’e was married to Hou-yi, a master archer who saved the earth by shooting down 9 of 10 suns that were making it too hot for people to live. To reward Hou-yi for his heroic deed, the Jade Empress in Heaven gave him an elixir that would transform a person into an immortal. Hou-yi did not wish to leave Chang’e, so he gave the elixir to Chang’e for safekeeping. ღ One day, when Hou-yi was out hunting, Peng Meng, one of his disciples who learned of the elixir, came to Chang’e and demanded that she give it to him. Unable to fight Peng Meng and afraid that he would use the elixir for evil purposes, Chang’e drank the elixir. Immediately, she floated up the sky. ღ Realizing that she was becoming an immortal, Chang’e wanted to stay as close to Hou-yi as possible. It so happened that it was the 15th day of the 8th month and the moon was full and bright. Chang’e thus chose to land on the moon, the celestial body closest to the Earth, and became the Moon Fairy. ღ When Hou-yi came home and found out what happened to Chang’e, he was devastated. He prayed to Heaven that he could be with Chang’e again. Pitying him, a fairy told Hou-yi that if he prepared a cake in the shape of a full moon on the night of the 15th day of the 8th month and called Chang’e’s name repeatedly before midnight, Chang’e would return home to him for that night. Hou-yi did what he was told and was able to reunite with Chang’e once every year. ღ In some versions of this myth, Hou-yi couldn’t bear to live without Chang’e, so he pleaded with Heaven to let him go to the moon as Chang’e’s pet rabbit. His wish was granted, but Chang’e never knew that the rabbit that kept her company on the moon was her beloved Hou-yi. In my project, I have rendered the rabbit in the form of earrings. ღ In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day of family reunion and gift-giving. The cake offered by Hou-yi came to be known as mooncake. To this day, mooncakes remain the key symbol of this important festival. ღ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ ღ Comment "Mooncake" if you read all the way down here :3
