happy mid autumn festival

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Mid-AutumnFestival

ThejoyousMid-AutumnFestivalwascelebratedonthefifteenthdayofthe

eighthmoon,aroundthetimeoftheautumnequinox（秋分）.Manyreferredto

itsimplyasthe"FifteenthoftheEighthMoon".

Thisdaywasalsoconsideredasaharvestfestivalsincefruits,vegetablesand

ferings

,pears,peaches,

grapes,pomegranates（石榴）,melons,orangesandpomelos（柚子）might

lfoodsforthefestivalincludedmooncakes,cookedtaro（芋

头）andwatercaltrope（菱角）,atypeofwaterchestnutremblingblack

opleinsistedthatcookedtarobeincludedbecauat

thetimeofcreation,tarowasthefirstfooddiscoveredatnightinthemoonlight.

Ofallthefoods,itcouldnotbeomittedfromtheMid-AutumnFestival.

Theroundmooncakes,measuringaboutthreeinchesindiameterandone

andahalfinchesinthickness,rembledWesternfruitcakesintasteand

akesweremadewithmeloneds（西瓜子）,lotuseds

（莲籽）,almonds（杏仁）,mincedmeats,beanpaste,orangepeelsandlard

（猪油）.Agoldenyolk（蛋黄）fromasaltedduckeggwasplacedatthecenter

ofeachcake,andthegoldenbrowncrustwasdecoratedwithsymbolsofthe

ionally,thirteenmooncakeswerepiledinapyramidto

symbolizethethirteenmoonsofa"completeyear,"thatis,twelvemoonsplus

oneintercalary（闰月的）moon.

TheMid-AutumnFestivalisatraditionalfestivityforboththeHanandminority

tomofworshippingthemooncanbetracedbackasfar

astheancientXiaandShangDynasties(2000B.C.-1066B.C.).IntheZhou

Dynasty(1066B.C.-221B.C.),peopleholdceremoniestogreetwinterand

mesvery

prevalentintheTangDynasty(618-907A.D.)thatpeopleenjoyandworship

outhernSongDynasty(1127-1279A.D.),however,

peoplendroundmooncakestotheirrelativesasgiftsinexpressionoftheir

becomesdark,theylookupatthefull

heMing

(1368-1644A.D.)andQingDynasties(1644-1911A.D.),thecustomof

er

withthecelebrationthereappearsomespecialcustomsindifferentpartsofthe

country,suchasburningincen（熏香）,plantingMid-Autumntrees,lighting

r,thecustomofplaying

underthemoonisnotsopopularasitudtobenowadays,butitisnotless

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erthefestivaltsin,people

willlookupatthefullsilvermoon,drinkingwinetocelebratetheirhappylifeor

thinkingoftheirrelativesandfriendsfarfromhome,andextendingalloftheir

bestwishestothem.

theYuandynasty(A.D.

1280-1368)sfromthe

precedingSungdynasty(A.D.960-1280)wereunhappyatsubmittingtothe

foreignrule,andthowtocoordinatetherebellionwithoutbeingdiscovered.

Theleadersoftherebellion,knowingthattheMoonFestivalwasdrawingnear,

intoeachmooncakewasa

ightoftheMoonFestival,the

,moon

cakesareeatentocommemoratethislegendandwascalledtheMoonCake.

Forgenerations,mooncakeshavebeenmadewithsweetfillingsofnuts,

mashedredbeans,lotus-edpasteorChinedates（枣子）,wrappedina

mesacookedeggyolkcanbefoundinthemiddleoftherich

comparemooncakestotheplumpuddingandfruit

cakeswhicharervedintheEnglishholidayasons.

Nowadays,therearehundredsvarietiesofmooncakesonsaleamonth

beforethearrivalofMoonFestival.