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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, September 9, 2003

Moon Festival to be celebrated

Advertiser Staff

LAHAINA, Maui — The Chinese Moon Festival will be celebrated 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the historic Wo Hing Temple on Front Street. The Wo Hing Society and the Lahaina Restoration Foundation are sponsoring the event.

An original shadow puppet show about the story of the moon goddess, by Walczuk Productions, will be presented between 4 and 8 p.m. in the temple's Cookhouse Theater. Moloka'i gunsmith Mel Chung, whose grandfather was a founder of the Wo Hing Society, will display eight weapons made or used in China between the years 1895 to 1997. The guns include an example of firearms used by private warlord armies and participants in the 1911 Chinese revolution.

The Moon Festival is observed on the 15th day of the eighth Chinese lunar month, or between late September and early October in the Western calendar. It is a time for family reunions, and is also associated with the successful Chinese uprising against the Mongols to end the oppressive Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century.

Legend has it that secret orders to start the revolution were hidden in small, round moon cakes, which are made with sweet fillings of nuts, bean paste, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich-tasting dessert.

The Moon Festival also is considered a harvest celebration. In addition to moon cakes, offerings include yams, fruit and nuts.

There is a $1 admission fee to the temple and museum.