Moon

The moon represents the essence of the female or yin qualities in nature. (The sun embodies the masculine.) This luminary is often depicted in Chinese paintings as grayish-pink disk among the clouds with curling waves underneath and its influence on the ocean tide is well known. The Chinese calendar is still in use side by side with the Gregorian calendar.

The Chinese also associate the roundness of the moon with the cohesion of the family. The moon festival celebrates the importance of family which takes place on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Families gather together to enjoy one another’s company as well as round foods such as moon cakes, pomelos, and persimmons.

There are many legends about the moon such as the one with the unlucky Heavenly Dog Star that swallows the moon at the time of the eclipse; the people create a lot of noise to scare the evil spirit away.