For over 2,000 years, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival (aka the Moon Festival) has been the second biggest celebration in Chinese culture after the Lunar New Year, although today it is celebrated in countries all throughout Asia. It has traditionally been an autumn harvest celebration, devoted to thanking the gods, and celebrating good fortune and bounty. The full moon is the symbol of a rounded completion of family in Chinese culture - and therefore also of family reunions. And it is often said that the moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival is the brightest and the most beautiful of all the full moons of the year. Families will often gather in the light of the moon, eat mooncakes, snacks and fruites; play games; and make and light colorful lanterns - some with good wishes written on them, to be released into the sky or onto the water like prayers.

Rabbits are associated with this festival because in Asian cultures, it is thought that the craters on the moon look like a rabbit pounding a pestle. Chinese myth says that it is no ordinary rabbit, but a Jade Rabbit, who was flung by immortals up to the moon to keep the Moon Goddess company, and in gratitude for the rabbit's selfless offer to yield itself up as a meal to the immortals. Touched by the rabbit's self-sacrifice, the immortals spared it and there the rabbit grinds magical herbs with its mortar and pestle to this day, making elixirs of immortality, and inspiring people all over the world. For he who looks up to the full moon - especially in Autumn - will recall the selflessness of the Jade Rabbit who has nothing to give but himself, for others.

This scroll is the third in my Four Seasons series. The lanterns this family has released read (left to right): Good Fortune; the Ties that Bind (e.g., of family and friends); and Bountiful.

Original artwork only, and painted to order, PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY PIECE WILL BE UNIQUE TO YOU. This large scroll is a real statement piece, measuring 59.5 x 23.5 inches.

Scrolls are hand-crafted of the finest materials - silk brocade, wooden rods, and rice paper - and are convenient to handle, store and hang. The piece shown is done on a neutral brown silk scroll; color availability may vary over time (due to the supplier), but all are neutral from afar and complement any wall color and decor. Contact me to find out what colors are available now. Chances are good that you can get the color you want or something close to it.