The Salute to the Moon
A free Mid-Autumn Festival coloring page. US Letter, portrait, ready to print.
Download the PDF — freeNo email, no sign-up, no account. Print it as many times as you like, at home, in a classroom or in a library.
From the story “The Salute to the Moon” in Once Upon a Mid-Autumn Moon in Cambodia — eleven bedtime tales for ages 4–10, each with a word search and a coloring page of its own.
A wish given away
At midnight the family kneels on a mat facing the full moon, and an elder presses sweet ambok into each child's mouth for a wish. Panha longs for a red wooden spinning top, but his grandmother looks tired and thin after a season of illness. He spends his wish on her health and gives her the next pinch of ambok himself.
The picture shows a Cambodian family at midnight, hands joined, bowing to the round full moon, with offerings on a mat.
The Salutation to the Moon
During Bon Om Touk, families perform Sampeah Preah Khe, the Salutation to the Moon: palms joined in the sampeah, a bow to the full moon, thanks given. Ok Ambok means eating ambok, young rice pounded flat. The custom recalls an old moon legend about a generous rabbit.
Questions about the wish
- Panha changed his wish at the last moment. What did he notice?
- He gave the ambok back to her. Why does that matter?
- What one wish would you send to the moon for someone you love?
Leave the moon for last
The scene is set at midnight, so try a deep blue or purple sky and leave the moon pale. Pressing lightly near the moon and harder farther away makes it glow.