中秋时节(Mid-Autumn Festival)

中秋时节(mid-autumnfestival)

the15thdayofthe8thlunarmonth

thejoyousmid-autumnfestivalwascelebratedonthefifteenthdayoftheeighthmoon,aroundthetimeoftheautumnequinox（秋分）.manyreferredtoitsimplyasthe"fifteenthoftheeighthmoon".

thisdaywasalsoconsideredasaharvestfestivalsincefruits,vegetablesandgrainhadbeenharvestedbythistimeandfoodwasabundant.foodofferingswereplacedonanaltarsetupinthecourtyard.apples,pears,peaches,grapes,pomegranates（石榴）,melons,orangesandpomelos（柚子）mightbeseen.specialfoodsforthefestivalincludedmooncakes,cookedtaro（芋头）andwatercaltrope（菱角）,atypeofwaterchestnutresemblingblackbuffalohorns.somepeopleinsistedthatcookedtarobeincludedbecauseatthetimeofcreation,tarowasthefirstfooddiscoveredatnightinthemoonlight.ofallthesefoods,itcouldnotbeomittedfromthemid-autumnfestival.

theroundmooncakes,measuringaboutthreeinchesindiameterandoneandahalfinchesinthickness,resembledwesternfruitcakesintasteandconsistency.thesecakesweremadewithmelonseeds（西瓜子）,lotusseeds（莲籽）,almonds（杏仁）,mincedmeats,beanpaste,orangepeelsandlard（猪油）.agoldenyolk（蛋黄）fromasaltedduckeggwasplacedatthecenterofeachcake,andthegoldenbrowncrustwasdecoratedwithsymbolsofthefestival.traditionally,thirteenmooncakeswerepiledinapyramidtosymbolizethethirteenmoonsofa"completeyear,"thatis,twelvemoonsplusoneintercalary（闰月的）moon.

themid-autumnfestivalisatraditionalfestivityforboththehanandminoritynationalities.thecustomofworshippingthemooncanbetracedbackasfarastheancientxiaandshangdynasties(2000b.c.-1066b.c.).inthezhoudynasty(1066b.c.-221b.c.),peopleholdceremoniestogreetwinterandworshipthemoonwheneverthemid-autumnfestivalsetsin.itbecomesveryprevalentinthetangdynasty(618-907a.d.)thatpeopleenjoyandworshipthefullmoon.inthesouthernsongdynasty(1127-1279a.d.),however,peoplesendroundmooncakestotheirrelativesasgiftsinexpressionoftheirbestwishesoffamilyreunion.whenitbecomesdark,theylookupatthefullsilvermoonorgosightseeingonlakestocelebratethefestival.sincetheming(1368-1644a.d.)andqingdynasties(1644-1911a.d.),thecustomofmid-autumnfestivalcelebrationbecomesunprecedentedpopular.togetherwiththecelebrationthereappearsomespecialcustomsindifferentpartsofthecountry,suchasburningincense（熏香）,plantingmid-autumntrees,lightinglanternsontowersandfiredragondances.however,thecustomofplayingunderthemoonisnotsopopularasitusedtobenowadays,butitisnotlesspopulartoenjoythebrightsilvermoon.wheneverthefestivalsetsin,peoplewilllookupatthefullsilvermoon,drinkingwinetocelebratetheirhappylifeorthinkingoftheirrelativesandfriendsfarfromhome,andextendingalloftheirbestwishestothem.