Transcript Mid-autumn Festival - University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Zhongqiujie 中秋节
19th September 2013
contents
Abstract
Origin
Legend
Mooncakes
Moon
Mid-autumn
Festival
The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated
on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon，
around the time of the autumn equinox（秋分）.
The Mid-autumn Festival is a little like
Thanksgiving. It is celebrated at the end of
the harvest season. This year it falls on the
19th September.
Origins
Mid-autumn festival celebrations date back more
than 2000 years. In ancient times, Chinese
emperors prayed to heaven for a prosperous year.
They chose the morning of the 15th day of the
second lunar month to worship the sun and the
evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month
to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon.
The Legend of Mid-autumn Day
CHANG'E
-
The Moon Goddess
According to legend, in
ancient times, one year,
ten suns appeared in the
sky, the water in the
planet dried, people
couldn’t live any longer.
The earth was saved
when a strong archer,
Hou Yi, succeeded in
shooting down 9 of
the suns.
Yi stole the elixir of
life but to save the
people from his
tyrannical rule, his
wife, Chang-E drank
it. Thus started the
legend of the lady in
the moon to whom
young Chinese girls
would pray at the
Mid-Autumn Festival.
ANOTHER LEGEND
In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes
at "Zhong Qiu Jie" was given a new
significance. The story goes that when Zhu
Yuanzhang, the first Ming dynasty (13681644) emperor, was plotting to overthrow the
Yuan dynasty started by the Mongolians, the
rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn
mooncakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a
commemoration of the overthrow of the
Mongolians by the Han people.
On this day, Chinese families get together.
They tell the story about a lady who lived in
the moon. They give each other small round
moon cake. Some moon cakes have a
yellow egg yolk in the middle. The yolk
looks like a bright, full moon .
mooncakes
It is said "Hou Yi" missed his
wife, so he made mooncakes.
They looked like the moon.
There are many kinds of
mooncakes. They are small
round cakes with meat, nuts
or something sweet inside .
The moon cakes sometimes look
like the round bright moon.
Nowadays, the mooncakes
come in all kinds of shapes .
Different Kinds of Mooncake
The round
shape of
moon
cakes just
symbolize
s not only
the moon
but also
the unity
of the
family.
The most important
thing is looking at
the moon. On that
day, the moon
appears brighter
and rounder. We
call this moon the
full moon.
Mid-autumn
Festival
Family
reunions
Confucius Institute
The end
Thanks