This week, I noticed they have put up loads of lanterns that look amazing, and after a bit of googling I found out it is for the mid- autumn festival, which falls on the autumnal equinox- when the moon is at its fullest.
There is a weird story associated with the festival about Houyi and Chang'e...
it goes a little like this...
Once there were 5 suns in the form of 5 three legged birds (so far, so strange) they one day clubbed together and started to burn the earth,
A prince ( Houyi) was commissioned to shoot down the suns with a bow and arrow, and he shot 4 of them leaving only one (our sun)
As a reward the king gave him a pill of immortality, but warned him to break the pill up and only take a small piece at a time, he took it home and hid it in a box.
One day his wife (Chang'e) came across the box containing the pill and decided to take it to see what it was (never a good idea)
Because she took the whole pill, she overdosed and floated high in to the sky until she reached the moon, as the pills effects wore off, she was stuck there.
So, now she is still stuck, and there is this rabbit on the moon (duh?) who is trying and trying to make a new pill so she can get back.
(pic above-The princess with the rabbit on the moon!)
How random eh?
Anyway, so people put up lanterns and eat mooncakes...
