For those of you not fasting next weekend, you , can 20% of the population in San Francisco suggest Zhong Qiu Jie instead? Those of you who don't feel the Mandarin Chinese (or who use Wade-Giles transliterations) may recognize this better by its English name, the Chinese autumn moon festival.
The moon festival is traditionally held on the day the moon shines the brightest yellow in the sky, and back in the traditional days of the Zhou dynasty (hit gong here), people would worship the moon and feast for days to celebrate the fall harvest. (For those of you keeping score, the Zhou dynasty is the one in which the movie Hero takes place.) There's also some tedious mythologizing about goddesses and rabbits around the festival too, but to be honest, that's never really attracted much of our attention. Mostly, the moon fest is about the food. More on that after the jump.
The actual date of the moon festival is September 28, but San Francisco will be holding its annual autumn moonfest street party this weekend. Yes, the one with the cool-ass guys dancing in the lion and dragon suits! The dragon parade winds its way up the Chinatown streets on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. Those of you looking for more orientalized fun can also catch Chinese folk dancing, a Chinese music concert, and acrobats. The teenage Asian gangstas among you can also go to some hip hop and R&B shows, and hit on the lovely Miss Chinatown 2004s, who will be present as well.
