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Picks of the Week 3
Chinese Moon Festival
Friday (Oct. 2), 1-7pm, Wo Hing Temple Museum, Lahaina
by Anuhea Yagi
October 01, 2009
The Chinese Moon Festival is a mid-autumn celebration (held on the 17th day of the 8th lunar month, in China; the 16th day in the United Sates) of great importance to the Chinese community. Steeped in myth and tradition, the legends of the moon range from a life-stealing archer who shoots down multiple suns that scorch the earth, saving but one to a restless apprentice who is banished to a celestial palace, forever chopping a magical tree to a self-sacrificing rabbit who touched the hearts of mischievous sages who ask for a meal. The moon cake—the favorite festival treat—has its roots in the Yuan dynasty where rebellion leaders baked into the cakes secret messages outlining battle plans. Lahaina's Wo Hing Temple hosts this year's local festivities, where round, tasty moon cakes (and other souvenirs) will be made available for purchase. Built in 1912, the two-story Wo Hing Temple served as a social meeting hall and houses a sacred altar room, used for religious ceremonies. After the 1940s the temple fell into disrepair, and in the early '80s the Lahaina Restoration Foundation partnered with the Wo Hing Society to rejuvenate this historic site and open it up as a museum. Free. 661-3262 or 661-5553.
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