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The Moon In Folklore - Page 2

© Virginia Marin

Chinese folklore is rich with tales of their moon goddess, who is revered as the Lady in the Moon. One Chinese moon legend, Chang O Ascends To The Moon, tells about Chang O and how she came to live in the moon palace. Another moon legend of interest is Wu Hang and the Moon Palace.

Another Version of Chang O

In the Chinese latitudes, the woman in the moon is not viewed as Victorian since her appearance has changed with light and climate variations.

The moon in folklore is often associated with death. The San people of Namibia in western Africa believe that the rising and waning of the moon forcast an impending death. In another Africa tale, the Moon invited Water to visit, and being flooded out, was forced to find a new home in the sky or loose its light and die. In the southern United States, in particular, it is believed that if a dog howls during a full moon, a family member will die. This belief is written into their local lore.

The moon figures in folktales that portray holidays, animals and strange happenings. Virtually every school child can associate the moon with Halloween and animals such as black cats and wolves. Stories that include "things that go bump in the night" invariably portray a typical cat with its fur standing on end, and always with a large, larger, largest full moon behind it.

Welsh folklore has its Moonrakers--those simpletons with typical country guile, who when raking a pond for kegs of smuggled brandy, feign stupidity when surprised by the excise men by stupidly attempting to rake out the moon, which was reflected in the water.

Another legend connected with the moon purports that on the moon is stored and treasured everything that is wasted on the earth, such as misspent time and prayers, fruitless tears, and unfulfilled desires and intentions to mention only a few.

In Ariosto's legend,Orlando Furioso, Astolpho found on his visit to the moon that bribes were hung on gold and silver hooks; princes' favours were kept in bellows; and wasted talent was kept in vases, each marked with the proper name. (Book xxxiv).

AND

On a lighter note from classic Mother Goose:

The Man In The Moon looked out of the Moon,
Looked out of the Moon and said,
"Tis time for all children on the Earth,
To think about getting to bed!

Some say the man in the moon is a man leaning on a fork, on which he is carrying a bundle of sticks picked up on a Sunday. The origin of this fable is from the Bible (Numbers xv,

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