The Story of the Autumn Festival

Many years ago, for some unknown reason, nine suns rose up into the sky. The people and the animals of Earth could not handle the heat. So, the best archer in the kingdom took it upon himself to save the world. He strung his bow and shot down eight of the suns. The people and the gods were impressed with his marksmanship and crowned him king.

Things were happy in the kingdom the first few years, but the king soon became arrogant. He would order people around as if they were slaves and he did not respect the gods. He had become the opposite of what he was when he became king. As the years went on, the king aged horribly and wanted to seek a potion that would make him immortal. He had court doctors search day and night. His wife was not happy with him either. He had become a monster that wanted to become a god. She could not let him become immortal.

Eventually, the doctors found a potion and were going to give it to the king the next day. The queen found out and quickly took it upon herself to serve the potion to the king herself. So, when the day came, many people came to watch. As the queen walked up with the potion, the king was sitting on his throne. As she neared the throne, she quickly drank the potion to the horror of the king.

As the king was ordering her to be executed, the queen suddenly started to feel very light. All of a sudden, she started to float up into the sky. She floated and floated until she landed on the moon where she has been ever since.

The people of the kingdom heard of her sacrifice, and started to celebrate her ascension. This is why the Chinese celebrate during the Autumn season.