A lot of my friends always ask me.. When is your bday? I would tell them.. It varies every year depending on the lunar calendar ~ & so, they would ask me.. What is Lunar calendar and when will that be? I would then tell them that Chinese people will prefer to celebrate their Bday using the Chinese Calendar which is based on the moon cycle~ So when will my bday be again? Four days after Mid-Autumn Festival..
This year, my B'DAY will be on Sept. 18, 2008!!!
--- I always wanted a Bday Cake that is unique.. Perhaps, a MoonCake with Candles on it.. That is so cool!!! *Hint* .. Oh sh*t, that's not a surprise to me anymore!!! Think of something else.. Haha..
Zhōng qīu jié, 中秋節
Mid-Autumn FestivalThe Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle and the moon is important to the Chinese. Autumn Moon Festival, literally ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’, or the Birthday of the Moon is on 8/15 of the lunar calendar, a full moon night. It is a time to have the family together, eat a festive meal including moon cakes, and enjoy the moonlight. Children & adults carry paper lanterns and climb hills to get a good view of the full moon. They give thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. Some call it a “Chinese Thanksgiving”. (In Taiwan this is also Teacher’s Day.)
When the moon is round, families unite. Yuè yuán, rén yuán. (月圓, 人圓)
The next Mid-Autumn Festivals (lunar 8/15) are:
Sept. 14, 2008;
Oct. 3, 2009;
Sept. 22, 2010,
Sept. 12, 2011;
Sept 30, 2012,
Sept. 19, 2013;
Sept. 8, 2014;
Sept. 27, 2015;
Sept 15, 2016;
Oct. 4, 2017;
Sept. 24, 2018.
Not that long ago, most people in the world were farmers. They grew their own vegetables and fruit and they raised their own pigs, cows, and chickens for milk, eggs, and meat. Sometimes they had a lot of food and sometimes not enough. But after the fall harvest families and friends would gather together to give thanks for all they had to eat, for the rain, the sunlight and the earth that made all life possible. In America this holiday is called Thanksgiving. In China, the people celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival. If we lived in North China, wheat is important; in South China, rice is more important.
Mooncakes are round like the moon. The round shape is a symbol for togetherness and harmony. Made of flaked pastry, they often have egg yolks in the center, to represent the moon, and sweet fillings of red bean paste, lotus seed paste, coconut or nuts. The sweetness of them represents good fortune or good harvest. Traditional red bean paste filling takes days to make. Special molds are used which press special designs in the top. Now “everyone” buys mooncakes instead of making them at home.
On the evening of the Autumn Moon Festival, people carrying paper lanterns climb hills and mountains to get a good view of the full moon. They give thanks to the bright, silvery moon of the eighth lunar month. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also partially a Festival of Lights. The lanterns they carry all have candles in them. Before electricity, people were more aware of the length of the days and the stars, and what happened in the night sky.
Aywen: Wow, Good Idea!!! I am so gonna Climb Hills this year... Hehehe!!
Days in China, as days here, get shorter in the fall as there are more hours of darkness each day, but the moon triumphs. They say that the moon is its roundest on 8/15 (lunar).
The later one stays up, the longer one’s parents live. (Although the family “should” be together for Autumn Moon festival and it is always good to remember and worship one’s ancestors, this is not the special day to remember the dead. That is Qing Ming, celebrated on April 4th.
Aywen: I never got a chance to celebrate Qing Ming.. Dont know why~ I always think of my late grandparents during that auspicious occassion!! Love them alot..
There are many legends about the moon that people remember at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most popular are about how long ago Chang Èr, lady moon, flew to the moon and how, not quite so long ago, mooncakes saved the day. Chang Èr is also known as Lady Moon and still lives on the moon with a rabbit and a cassia tree. Many mooncakes are stamped with designs of the Moon Lady, the Jade Rabbit, or groves of cassia trees. (Most ground cinnamon sold in the USA is actually cassia.) When you look at the full moon, who or what do you see?
Aywen: Who? I see my mother carrying me inside her womb!!
Aywen: What? And of course, I see my Bday cake!!
Longer version: According to one legend, 10 suns blazed in the sky in ancient times. The heat burned the earth, fields could no longer produce crops, and people were going to die. The emperor asked for archers to shoot all the suns. Brave Hou Yi was the best archer in the land. He shot down nine of the suns and stopped before shooting the last one. For saving the people, Hou Yi became King and was given an immortality pill or elixir (perhaps from Queen of Wang Mu on the Kun Lun Mountain).
Unfortunately, Hou Yi became a tyrant indulging in debauchery and random killing. His subjects were afraid and hated him. His wife, Chang Èr, was heart-broken by her husband’s change and what was happening to the country. She knew that if he took the immortality pill, the country would never recover. So, to save her countrymen, Chang Èr stole the immortality pill and swallowed it herself. Her body became so light that she flew into the air. Chang Er escaped to the bright, full moon on 8/15 of the lunar calendar. She became the Moon Goddess. She still lives there alone except for the Jade Rabbit and cassia trees.
At this special time of year, the Moon Lady will grant your secret wish. If you have a special wish? Don't tell anyone; don't say it out loud! Tell your secret wish to Chang Èr
Aywen: or.. You can tell me!! I'll keep ur secret safe & sound~
*Whoa, Yummy!!!*
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