Welcome back to The Sunstone Way, and happy Mooncake Day!
One of the many ways we promote Community here at Sunstone is to mark the special days our communities celebrate. The annual Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is certainly one of those special moments.
The Mooncake, or Mid-Autumn Festival is second only to Chinese New Year in importance when it comes to traditional festivals in the Chinese culture. It is on Monday, Oct. 6, this year.
It takes a full moon to have a Mooncake Festival, and this full moon is celebrated because it is the first in the fall harvest season, allowing for harvesting into the evening. (This is the Harvest Moon in western countries.)
If you prefer calendars, the festival is on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar – last year, the day fell on Sept. 17.
Why Mooncakes?
The lineage of Mooncakes stretches back 3,000 years in ancient China. It wasn’t until the Tang Dynasty, a mere 1,400 years ago, that mooncakes became popular in the royal courts, and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) tied the pastries specifically to the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
The cakes are, of course, round to symbolize the moon. They often are imprinted with the Chinese characters for longevity and harmony as well as decorative designs. Most mooncakes are large enough to be sliced into wedges and shared with the family. Fillings commonly are sweet, but some savory options have surfaced in recent years.
Giving and eating mooncakes during the festival is a gesture of gratitude, love, and best wishes, expressing the strong cultural ties to reunion and togetherness. At Sunstone, togetherness equals Community.
Who Cares?
First and foremost, the Mooncake Festival means a chance to eat something sweet and to get together with friends and family. Those are two of my favorite things, and I’m betting they are on or near the top of your list, too.
Remember that this is the Mid-Autumn Festival, centered around harvesting the crop from a year of hard work. What better symbol for reaping the rewards of our investments and efforts?
Mooncakes are round because the full moon is round. But did you know that the round shape also symbolizes completeness and reunion? I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that public-private partnerships fit into that concept of completeness.
Always a Legend
As is usually the case, there is a legend behind the Mooncake Festival. Here’s an abbreviated version of the most common story.
One year, 10 suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster. An archer hero named Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns. An immortal admired the feat and sent him the elixir of immortality. But Yi did not want to leave his wife Chang’e behind.
Yi went hunting and one of his apprentices tried to steal the elixir. Rather than give it to him, Chang’e swallowed the potion and flew into the sky. Wanting to remain near Yi left on Earth, Chang’e went to the moon to live there.
When Yi found out what happened, he began displaying fruits and cakes he knew Chang’e liked in the yard, and the rest of the village soon followed.
That looks like putting others before yourself. That’s what community is all about.
Into the Holidays
We just recently passed the autumn equinox (Sept. 22). That means for the next three months, the hours of daylight will shrink in our Northern Hemisphere.
It also means we are running into holiday season – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year. I love holidays. It gives us a chance to gather with family and friends, to make or renew connections.
It means celebrating community. And if that seems like a theme, that’s because it is, at least for me, and for Sunstone. Creating community around common beliefs (common – community, right?) for the common good is the Sunstone Way!
Enjoy a mooncake for me. And remember, always be a Sunstone.
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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