The most popular one tells how a goddess named Chang'e ascended to the moon.Ī long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth, Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes. Naturally, they are reminded of beautiful legends about the moon. Together, they enjoy the enchanting spell of night. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies, chatting and sharing offerings to the moon. So the 15th day of the eighth lunar mounth has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival for ordinary people. They are overwhelmed with joy when they have a bumper harvest and at the same time, they feel quite relaxed after a year of hard work. In Mid-autumn, farmers have just finished gathering their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. An overseas tourist is advised not to miss it if he or she happens to be in China during the Moon Festival. Some moon cakes are of very high quality and very delicious. There are hunderds of varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of the Moon Festival this year. The custom of paying homage to the fairy and rabbit is gone, but the moon cakes are showing improvement every year. In the old days, people paid respect to the fairy Chang E and her pet the jade rabbit. In Chinese fairy tales, there live on the moon the fairy Chang E, a wood cutter named Wu Gang and a jade rabbit which is Chang E's pet. On the Moon Festival, people eat moon cakes, a kind of cookie with fillings of sugar, fat, sesame, walnut, the yoke of preserved eggs, ham or other material. Sometimes people who have already settled overseas will come back to visit their parents on that day.Īs every Chinese holiday is accompanied by some sort of special food. On that day sons and daughters will bring their family members back to their parents' house for a reunion. Therefore the Moon Festival is a holiday for members of a family to get together wherever it is possible. The round shape to a Chinese means family reunion. On the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the moon is round and the Chinese people mark their Moon (or Mid-autumn) Festival.
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