中秋节知识英文介绍(英文版)

2021年1月22日发(作者：妖魔代理人)
The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was celebrated on the
fifteenth
day
of
the
eighth
moon,
around
the
time
of
the
autumn
equinox.
Many
referred
to
it
simply
as
the

of
the
Eighth
Moon
In
the
Western
calendar,
the
day
of
the
festival
usually
occurred
sometime
between
the
second
week
of
September
and
the
second
week
ofOctober.




This
day
was
also
considered
a
harvest
festival
since
fruits,
vegetables
and
grain
had
been
harvested
by
this
time
and
food
was
abundant.
With
delinquent
accounts
settled
prior
to
the
festival , it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up
in
the
courtyard.
Apples,
pears,
peaches,
grapes,
pomegranates
,
melons,
oranges
and
pomelos
might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from
the
taro
patches
or
rice
paddies
cooked
with
sweet
basil,
and
water
caltrope,
a
type
of
water
chestnut
resembling
black
buffalo
horns.
Some
people
insisted
that
cooked
taro
be
included
because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all
these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The
round
moon
cakes,
measuring
about
three
inches
in
diameter
and
one
and
a
half
inches
in
thickness,
resembled
Western
fruitcakes
in
taste
and
consistency.
These
cakes
were
made
with
melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk
from
a
salted
duck egg
was
placed at
the
center
of each
cake,
and
the golden
brown
crust
was
decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid
to symbolize the thirteen moons of a
moon.

Origin



The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The
custom of worshipping the moon (called xi yue in Chinese) can be traced back as far as the ancient
Xia
and
Shang
Dynasties
(2000
B.C.-1066
B.C.).
In
the
Zhou
Dynasty(1066
B.C.-221
B.C.),
people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival
sets
in.
It
becomes
very
prevalent
in
the
Tang
Dynasty(618-907
A.D.)
that
people
enjoy
and
worship
the
full
moon.
In
the
Southern Song Dynasty
(1127-1279 A.D.),
however,
people
send
round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion.
When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate
the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom
of
Mid-Autumn
Festival
celebration
becomes
unprecedented
popular.
Together
with
the
celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning
incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However,
the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less
popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the
full
silver
moon,
drinking
wine
to
celebrate
their
happy
life
or
thinking
of
their
relatives
and