Mid-Autumn Festival

The festival falls on August 15 in the lunar calendar. Originally it is the when people celebrate harvesting, and later it became a date when family get reunited wherever family members are. The festival also related to a beautiful legend " Chang'e Ran to the Moon ".

In the remote past, there were ten suns in the sky, which fiercely roasted the land, and sea water getting dry. Men couldn't make a living. For the sake of saving the local people, a hero named Houyi climbed up the Kunlun Mountain, he exerts all his strength to dragg the bow and shot down nine of the ten suns. People were saved. After a few years, he married a beautiful woman named Chang?/font>e.

One day, HouYi went to the Kunlun Mountain to meet his friend. He happened to encounter the queen of the heaven. He asked her for amaranthine medicine, and the queen gave it to him. It was said that if one took the medicine he could become a immortal immediately. However HouYi didn't have the heart to leave his wife so he gave the medicine to Chang'e.

Unluckly, an underling named FengMeng saw everything. When HouYi went out, he came to HouYi?/font>s home and bullied Chang'e gave the medicine to him. Chang'e knew that she couldn't beat FengMeng so she took the medicine. After taking the medicine, she felt her body flying in the air, at last she fly to the heaven. Missing her husband very much, she fell on the moon because it is the nearest to the earth and thus she became the goddess of the moon.

When Houyi returned home, handmaids sobbed out everything to him. HouYi 's heart was broken. He looked up the sky and cried out for his lover. Suddenly he found that the moon that night was so bright and round, and there was a swaying figures so much like his wife. He hurriedly asked the servants to put an incense burner table with fruits and sweeties under the moon to memorize Chang'e. People learned about the message, they all put an incense burner table under the moon impetrating that Chang'e would bring them safety and luck. From then on, holding a memorial ceremony at the Mid-Autumn Moon has become a traditon and spread throughout the country..

The Festival is exceptionally interesting for the children who play happily with the bright new toys. The toys are made from various different forms: the lion lead, the animal in folk tales and stories. The lanterns are colourful and of various kinds, such as the rabbit, the carp, etc. Besides traditional carton paper toys, plastic and bamboo plates, ships, tanks, etc. made of plastics with batteries and having remote controls are also on sale. This is understandable due to the economic improvements of the people. Whether organized in the city or countryside, the preserved tradition of the Mid-Autumn Festival is reflected in the way the children play games such as seek-and-hide, lion dancing, lantern marching, etc.

The welcome-the-moon party in the evening is a good opportunity for the children not only to enjoy the food, but also to learn more from their grandparents and parents. They are told how to prepare the party in the most attractive way. To decorate the party, there is always a "doctor" made of paper or dough, which reminds the children of the high achievements to be obtained in their studies. The time to start enjoying the party is solemnly shared by the whole family and becomes the most sacred moment of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the bright moonlight, clear sky and fresh environment, everybody is relaxed with a pure and detached joy.

To the Chinese, this festival is similar to the American Thanksgiving holiday, celebrating a bountiful harvest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colors and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common.