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Written by Administrator
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 People in different parts of China have different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. But one traditional custom has definitely remained and is shared by all the Chinese. This is eating the festive specialty: cakes shaped like the moon. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 December 2004 )
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Written by Administrator
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For thousands of years, the Chinese people have related the vicissitudes of life -- joy and sorrow, parting and reunion -- to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes. Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion. All family members try to get together on this special day. Those who can not return home gaze at the bright moonlight and long for their loved ones.
Today, festivities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are more varied. After a family reunion dinner, many people like to go out to attend special performances in parks or on public squares. Night falls, and the land is bathed in silver moonlight. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies, chatting and eating moon cakes and fruit. Together, they enjoy the enchanting spell of night.
In Guangzhou in South China, a huge lantern show is an irresistible attraction for local citizens: thousands of differently shaped lanterns are lit, forming a fantastic contrast with the bright moonlight. In East China's Zhejiang Province, watching the flood tide of the Qiantang River during the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a must for local people, but also an attraction for those from other parts of the country; the ebb and flow of tides coincide with the waxing and waning of the moon as it exerts a strong gravitational pull. In mid-autumn, the sun, earth and moon send out strong gravitational forces upon the seas. The mouth of the Qiantang River is shaped like a bugle. So the flood tide which forms at the narrow mouth is particularly impressive. Spectators crowd on the river bank, watching the roaring waves. At its peak, the tide rises as high as three and a half meters.
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Written by Administrator
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 The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivities in China, According to Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month is the exact midst of autumn, so it's called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an evening celebration when families gather together to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate the round moon. On that night, the moon appears to be at its roundest and brightest. The full moon is a symbol for family reunion, which is why that day is also known as the Festival of Reunion. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 December 2004 )
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Written by Administrator
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On the Chinese New Year, families in China decorate their front doors with poetic couplets of calligraphy written with fragrant India ink, expressing the feeling of life's renewal and the return of spring.
It is said that spring couplets originated from "peach wood charms", door gods painted on wood charms in earlier times. During the Five Dynasties (907-960), the Emperor Meng Chang inscribed an inspired couplet on a peach slat, beginning a custom which gradually evolved into today's popular custom of pasting-up spring couplets. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 December 2004 )
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Written by Administrator
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 Since the Spring Festival marks the first day of a brand new year, the first meal is rather important. People from north and south have different habits of the food they eat on this special day. In Northern China, people usually eat jiaozi (or dumpling), which is shaped like a crescent moon. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 December 2004 )
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