The pure beauty of it is so blinding that it stuns me.
It's Mid-Autumn Festival today. I wanted to celebrate it with candles, and sparkles and whats-not, but sadly, i didn't. Anyway, was interested in the festival, so i went to check it up on the net and thought i'd share it.
A long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth. Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes. The trees and grass were scorched. The land was cracked and parched, and rivers ran dry. Many people died of hunger and thirst.
The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help. When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.
One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo contaiver, A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi. Inviting him to drink, Chang'e plucks a beautiful flower and gives it to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.
A mortal's life is limited, of course. So in order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to look for an elixir of life.He goes to the Kunlun Mountains where the Western Queen Mother lives.
Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, a fine powder made from kerndls of fruit which grows on the tree of eternity. At the same time, she tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.
Hou Yi returns home and tells his wife all that has happened and they decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.
A wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng secretly hears about their plan.He wishes Hou Yi an early death so that he can drink the elixir himeslf and become immortal.His opportunity finally arrives. One day,when the full moon is rising, Hou Yi is on his way home from hunting. Feng Meng kills him. The murderer then runs to Hou Yi's home and forces Chang'e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all.
Overcome with grief, Chang'e rushes to her dead husband's sied, weeping bitterly.Soon the elixir begins to have its effect and Chang'e feels herself being lifted towards Heaven.
Chang'e decides to live on the moon because it is nearest to the earth. There she lives a simple and contented life. Even though she is in Heaven, her heart remains in the world of mortals. Never does she forget the deep love she has for Hou Yi and the love she feels for the people who have shared their sadness and happiness.
There's different versions of the legend tho, but i thought this is the more beautiful one. You can wiki it up for different versions.
Have you ever wondered why it rains on every Mid-Autumn Festival? It's raining really heavily today just went i wanted to go out. Like seriously pouring. Flooded everywhere and needless to say, i was soaked, thru and well. Makes me wanna curse! But the interesting thing is just when the song 晴天 by Jay was played, the rain stopped. Like *snap* this. LOL. Pretty shocking.
But that's not the point. LOL. I realised it rains on every Mid-Autumn Festival and was contemplating it on the way home today. So mystical. Perhaps it makes the moon brighter and rounder after a rain？The moon is really bright now. It's soooooo beautiful :)
It's been a while since I've played with candles and sparkles. I love the way they brightened up the surrounding.
I love the flicker of fire from the candle.
I like arranging the candles the way i wanted to, which is always a heart shape, or star shaped, or a C. :D
I even like the feel of wax dripping onto my hand, then getting from scorching hot, to warm, and fuzzyyyy.
Sparkles too! I like the sound, especially those that has the *Shoooooooooo* in front, when there's no sparkles yet. It's so scary yet exciting.
Then, i like transferring my sparks to others and watch the spark grow brighter and brighter.
I like it when i twirl and twist it around, when i write words or draw in the air with it, and it'll leave the light behind so you can actually see what you wrote for a short moment.
I like playing the guessing-what-i-wrote game with my cousins.
I remembered my mummy has a friend that we used to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together with her lil' boy. He was the same age as me, and we used to have lots of fun, carrying lanterns, running around and playing with candles. I wonder how he is doing right now. I hope that Aunty is well, safe and recovering.
I never used to like eating mooncakes. But now i do. Double egg-yolk! Hehe. I very much prefer the traditional one 'cos it is of course, traditional.
As i was walking back, i saw little kids running around, playing with candles with a big smile on their face and thought, how much i wished to be able to go back to the times when i celebrated with candles. I don't really know when exactly have i stopped, it don't seem very clear to me now. I'm remembering the stupid stuff i've done with my cousins, like wrapping up all the sparkles in a newspaper trying to make a "bomb", or trying to burn leaves with the sparkles. Oh, i know it's bad, but we're just kids being playful. Although i get irritated now when i see kids trying to burn trees or leaves, i'll remind myself that i did it once, before.
All those beauty it's amazing.
Despite the bright light emitting from them, the Moon still outshines them.
The pure of beauty of it is so blinding that it stuns me.
