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Mid-Autumn Festival

Cai Fengqin 10497211012

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals 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. 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 watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Although the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, 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 friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

There are many legends about this festival. The most popular one among the Chinese people is “Hou Yi Shooting the suns”.

The story goes that during the time of Yao, there lived a talented archer named Hou Yi. One day ten suns appear in the sky at the same time. Their scorching heat withered the crops on the earth and made people unbearable. Hou Yi shot nine of them out of the sky leaving only one. As a prize for this extraordinary feat, he was given a pill of immortality from the goddess. The pill, however, was stolen by his wife named Chang E, she ate it and flew off to the moon where she lived in solitude, only accompanied by a jade rabbit.

To Chinese people today, it is not the romantic stories but the tradition of having family reunion on the festival that has a special appeal, because, as it might be difficult for the Westerners to understand.

In the view of Chinese people, the family is very important. Therefore, the Mid-autumn Festival will continue to hold a prominent place in China’s traditional festivals. Besides, the festival is also known as a festival of harvest since various kinds of fruits and grains become mature at this time.