BEIJING (SCMP): A special folk tradition known as “screaming at the moon” is celebrated as a distinctive way to honour the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday steeped in profound cultural symbolism. Common customs include moon gazing and savouring mooncakes, as the moon embodies themes of reunion, longing, eternity, feminine beauty, and reverence for nature.
As poignantly captured by a famous ancient Chinese poem: “Though miles apart, we share the beauty of the same moonlight,” it beautifully illustrates the deep, enduring emotions that people project onto the moon.
Traditional folk activities such as moon worship, moon chasing, and heartfelt prayers to the moon have been passed down through generations and continue to be cherished aspects of the celebration.
However, in the expansive rural areas of Xinye county, Henan province, in northern China, elderly villagers uphold a remarkable Mid-Autumn Festival tradition known as “Screaming at the Moon,” a ritual of longing expressed through passionate shouts directed at the moon.
According to local legend, an elderly woman once tragically lost her 17-year-old son to military conscription; he was sent to Taiwan and never returned.
Every evening during the Mid-Autumn Festival, she would stand beneath the moonlight and “call to the moon,” voicing her profound yearning for her son. Over time, this poignant act of remembrance evolved into a cherished custom.
In Xinye, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, local parents and grandparents place offerings such as mooncakes, persimmons, and peanuts in the courtyard, illuminated by the moonlight.
Then, they gaze up at the sky and call out the names of loved ones who are far away, channelling their longing and sending heartfelt blessings.
As more young villagers leave home to seek employment in distant cities, this tradition has gained new significance; it has transformed into a means for parents to provide comfort and emotional support to their children working far from home.
Their chants might resound: “Don’t worry about home while you’re away. Your father and mother are well, and so will you be!”
Others may recite poetic lines wishing for diligence, bountiful harvests, and prosperity.
They often say: “Moon Grandma, Yellow Grandpa, Father weaves cloth, Mother spins thread, making white buns to nourish the children.”
However, this is not the only occasion when such practices occur.
In Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County of Yuxi City, Yunnan province, a similar ritual known as “Calling the Moon” takes place annually, two days before the full moon of the second lunar month.
This tradition, practised by the Huayao Dai ethnic group, serves as a form of worship to the Moon God, praying for rainfall and good fortune. It has been officially recognised as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
