Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival
Hello China – Mid-Autumn Festival
The Legend of the Mooncake Festival: The Story of Chang-E
The 15th day of every 8th lunar month is the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. It is the most important festival after the Chinese Lunar New Year. The moon on the night of the 15th day of lunar August is believed to be fuller and brighter than in other months. A full moon is a symbol of togetherness. As such, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. It’s also called “Reunion Festival”. Those unable to get home to join the get-together miss their family even more on the festival. The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival derived from the tradition of worshipping the Goddess of Moon. The festival is also a time to celebrate a good autumn harvest. It dates back thousands of years and the modern-day festive customs were gradually formed over the years. Generally speaking, eating moon cakes, enjoying the moon and lighting up lanterns are common traditions on the festival.
In addition, various parts of the country and all ethnic minorities have different Mid-Autumn Festival customs. In Nanjing, the festival coincides with the blooming season of sweet-scented osmanthus flowers. Local people like to pick fresh osmanthus flowers for delicious food preparing.
Continue reading the article at: http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/213Traditions98.html
When the moon is full, mankind is one!
In China and throughout many Asian countries people celebrate the Harvest Moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of their lunar calendar. The date in the Western calendar changes annually.
The Harvest Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhong Qiu Jie) is a day of family reunions much like a Western Thanksgiving. Chinese people believe that on that day, the moon is the roundest and brightest signaling a time of completeness and abundance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, children are delighted to stay up past midnight, parading multi-colored lanterns into the wee hours as families take to the streets to moon-gaze.
It is also a romantic night for lovers, who sit holding hands on hilltops, riverbanks and park benches, captivated by the brightest moon of the year!
The festival dates back to the Tang dynasty in 618 A.D., and as with many celebrations in China there are ancient legends closely associated with it.
In Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, it’s sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, (not to be confused with a similar celebration during the Chinese New Year), but whatever name it goes by, the centuries-old festival remains a beloved annual ritual celebrating an abundance of food and family.
Mid-Autumn Festival Foods & Festivities
Traditional foods for a Chinese Mid-Autumn feast are red — for good luck. Lobster and salmon are particular favorites along with apples, pomegranates, roasted peanuts, pomelo, chestnuts, fatt koh (sponge cakes) and moon cakes.
For the whole article, see:http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/8Kaleidoscope9588.html
Chang Er Flying to the Moon
The legend Chang Er Flying to the Moon is a beautiful fable of ancient China. Chang Er was the wife of the legendary hero Hou Yi, a great archer who accomplished great achievements by shooting down nine extra suns. The hero was rewarded with a kind of elixir for his deed, which was then eaten by his wife by stealth. Chang Er rose up to the sky immediately after that and lived on the moon ever since. The moon is also called “Moon Palace” by the Chinese to describe the abode of Chang Er. It is said that she regretted for what she had done soon after she flied to the moon. Many poets in ancient China cited the subject in their poems, in order to deliver Chang Er’s loneliness, chillness and solitude in the moon palace.
In China, Chang Er is a synonym for the moon, and the Chinese nation has always had a special emotion towards the moon derived by the associations of fair Chang Er, which has even influenced the nation in all aspects. When getting to know what happened to Chang Er, common people of that time put their incense burner tables under the moon and prayed for luck and safety to the kind lady. Thereby, the custom of worshiping the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival caught on among folks.
Later, other legends about the moon, such as Wu Gang Chopping the Laurel Tree and Moon Rabbit Grinding Medicine were created, draping the moon with a mysterious veil once more. Moreover, people are also fond of making interesting patterns of these tales on moon cakes.
This article comes from: http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/210Traditions54.html
Mooncakes
Mooncake (simplified Chinese: 月饼; traditional Chinese: 月餅; pinyin: yuè bĭng) is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival / Zhongqiu Festival. The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; mooncakes are regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
Typical mooncakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter and 4–5 cm thick. A thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste is surrounded by a relatively thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea. Today, it is customary for businessmen and families to present them to their clients or relatives as presents,[1] helping to fuel a demand for high-end mooncake styles. Mooncake energy content can vary with the filling and size; the average moon cake carries 800 to 1200 kcal, mainly from fats and sugar.
See the complete article at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake
The moon song–
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
邓丽君
Teresa Teng
Dèng Lìjūn
中文的歌词
Chinese lyrics
你问我爱你有多深
nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn
You asked me how deeply I love you.
你(you)问(ask)我(me)爱(love)你(you)有(have)多(how much)深(deep)
我爱你有几分
wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐfēn
How much I love you.
我(I)爱(love)你(you)有(have)几分(how much)
我的情也真
wǒ de qíng yě zhēn
My feeling also is true.
我的(my)情(feeling)也(also)真(true)
我的爱也真
wǒ de ài yě zhēn
My love also is true.
我的(my)爱(love)也(also)真(true)
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart.
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
你问我爱你有多深
nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn
You asked me how deeply I love you.
你(you)问(ask)我(me)爱(love)你(you)有(have)多(how much)深(deep)
我爱你有几分
wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐfēn
How much I love you.
我(I)爱(love)你(you)有(have)几分(how much)
我的情不移
wǒ de qíng bùyí
My feeling won’t alter.
我的(my)情(feeling)不(not)移(movable)
我的爱不变
wǒ de ài búbiàn
My love won’t change.
我的(my)爱(love)不(not)变(change)
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart.
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
轻轻的一个吻
qīngqīng de yí gè wěn
A soft kiss
轻轻(soft)的(connecting particle)一(one)个(measure word)吻(kiss)
已经打动我的心
yǐjīng dǎdòng wǒ de xīn
Has already moved my heart.
已经(already)打动(move)我的(my)心(heart)
深深的一段情
shēnshēn de yí duàn qíng
A period of time’s deep feeling.
深深(deep)的(connecting particle)一(one)段(segment/a period of time)情(feeling)
教我思念到如今
jiāo wǒ sīniàn dào rújīn
Makes me miss it till now.
教(make)我(me)思念(think of/ miss)到(till)如今(now)
你问我爱你有多深
nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn
You asked me how deeply I love you.
你(you)问(ask)我(me)爱(love)你(you)有(have)多(how much)深(deep)
我爱你有几分
wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐfēn
How much I love you.
我(I)爱(love)你(you)有(have)几分(how much)
你去想一想
nǐ qù xiǎng -yi- xiǎng
You go and think about it.
你(you)去(go)想一想(give a thought of )
你去看一看
nǐ qù kànyikàn
You go and take a look.
你(you)去(go)看一看(take a look)
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart.
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
Music ..
轻轻的一个吻
qīngqīng de yí gè wěn
A soft kiss
轻轻(soft)的(connecting particle)一(one)个(measure word)吻(kiss)
已经打动我的心
yǐjīng dǎdòng wǒ de xīn
Has already moved my heart.
已经(already)打动(move)我的(my)心(heart)
深深的一段情
shēnshēn de yí duàn qíng
A period of time’s deep feeling.
深深(deep)的(connecting particle)一(one)段(segment/a period of time)情(feeling)
教我思念到如今
jiāo wǒ sīniàn dào rújīn
Makes me miss it till now.
教(make)我(me)思念(think of/ miss)到(till)如今(now)
你问我爱你有多深
nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn
You asked me how deeply I love you.
你(you)问(ask)我(me)爱(love)你(you)有(have)多(how much)深(deep)
我爱你有几分
wǒ ài nǐ yǒu jǐfēn
How much I love you.
我(I)爱(love)你(you)有(have)几分(how much)
你去想一想
nǐ qù xiǎng -yi- xiǎng
You go and think about it.
你(you)去(go)想一想(give a thought of )
你去看一看
nǐ qù kànyikàn
You go and take a look.
你(you)去(go)看一看(take a look)
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart.
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
你去想一想
nǐ qù xiǎng -yi- xiǎng
You go and think about it.
你(you)去(go)想一想(give a thought of )
你去看一看
nǐ qù kànyikàn
You go and take a look.
你(you)去(go)看一看(take a look)
月亮代表我的心
yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn
Moon represents my heart.
月亮(moon)代表(represent)我的(my)心(heart)
Translated by Shu
Moon quotes
A conservative is a man who will not look at the new moon out of respect for that “ancient institution” the old one.
Douglas Jerrold
A country so rich that it can send people to the moon still has hundreds of thousands of its citizens who can’t read. That’s terribly troubling to me.
Charles Kuralt
A lot of good has come from drugs. I think ‘Penny Lane’ is worth 10 dead kids. Dark Side of the Moon is worth 100 dead kids. Because a lot of kids wouldn’t even be born if it weren’t for that album, so it evens out.
Bill Maher
A member must say that he is a member of the Unification Church and that he is the follower of Sun Myung Moon. If he doesn’t have the courage to say it, he is not worthy of me.
Sun Myung Moon
Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.
W. Clement Stone
Almost a quarter of our planet is a single mountain range and we didn’t enter it until after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin went to the moon. So we went to the moon, played golf up there, before we went to the largest feature on our own planet.
Robert Ballard
And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growin’ brown and golden under a sinkin’ sun.
Roy Bean
Another thing that I don’t like to do is show too much how it goes. I do it once in a blue moon. Sometimes there are lessons when I don’t pick up a violin at all.
Itzhak Perlman
Apollo 13, as you may remember, gave us a reactor that is bubbling away right now somewhere in the Pacific. It’s supposed to be bubbling away on the moon, but it’s in the Pacific Ocean instead.
David R. Brower
As Peter Bogdanovich would say of Paper Moon: Ryan’s wonderful in it, and he sat there and watched the kid steal the picture.
Tatum O’Neal
Bleaching my hair for Two Moon Junction… my hair was fried and I looked like an idiot.
Sherilyn Fenn
But I don’t think we’ll go there until we go back to the moon and develop a technology base for living and working and transporting ourselves through space.
Jack Schmitt
But I’m the only one who can paint the moon, because I’m the only one who knows whether that’s right or not.
Alan Bean
But, truly, I have wept too much! The Dawns are heartbreaking. Every moon is atrocious and every sun bitter.
Arthur Rimbaud
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
Anton Chekhov
See more moon quotes at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/moon.html