Chinese Moon Festival
How to Enjoy a Chinese Moon Festival
In United States there are some holidays that are celebrated together with family, like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Independence Day. In China, we also have family reunion days and the Moon Festival is one of them. The Moon Festival is also known as Mid-Autumn Festival or the Zhongqiu Festival. Of course, this festival has equivalents in other countries, such as Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea. If you are not familiar with the Chinese Moon Festival then here are some suggestions to get you started that will help you to enjoy it. Knowing more of history and knowledge of making lanterns and moon cakes will increases your enjoyment of Moon Festival.
Here are the steps before the day arrives. First, you should know what the Moon Festival is about. The Mid-Autumn festival is an important event on the Chinese calendar, a time for family reunion and celebration. It began as a moon harvest festival and has rituals that started 3,000 years ago at Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 771 BCE) until 1300 years ago in Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) it became a national holiday. The festival is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, falling close to the autumnal equinox. It is a time of lanterns, story-telling, moon cakes, dragon or lion dancing and matchmaking.
Second, you need several things for the celebration, so visit your local Chinatown to purchase authentic Chinese tea leaves, lanterns, incenses and moon cakes. You can also make your own lanterns and moon cakes. These are important parts of the celebration. If you enjoy baking, you might like to make your own moon cakes for the celebration. For details on making your own, check on the internet by using Google or YouTube there are many different recipes from all over the world, so it is your call what flavors to choose other than the traditional Chinese one. Give yourself plenty of time to practice making them if you've never tried
In United States there are some holidays that are celebrated together with family, like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Independence Day. In China, we also have family reunion days and the Moon Festival is one of them. The Moon Festival is also known as Mid-Autumn Festival or the Zhongqiu Festival. Of course, this festival has equivalents in other countries, such as Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea. If you are not familiar with the Chinese Moon Festival then here are some suggestions to get you started that will help you to enjoy it. Knowing more of history and knowledge of making lanterns and moon cakes will increases your enjoyment of Moon Festival.
Here are the steps before the day arrives. First, you should know what the Moon Festival is about. The Mid-Autumn festival is an important event on the Chinese calendar, a time for family reunion and celebration. It began as a moon harvest festival and has rituals that started 3,000 years ago at Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 771 BCE) until 1300 years ago in Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) it became a national holiday. The festival is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, falling close to the autumnal equinox. It is a time of lanterns, story-telling, moon cakes, dragon or lion dancing and matchmaking.
Second, you need several things for the celebration, so visit your local Chinatown to purchase authentic Chinese tea leaves, lanterns, incenses and moon cakes. You can also make your own lanterns and moon cakes. These are important parts of the celebration. If you enjoy baking, you might like to make your own moon cakes for the celebration. For details on making your own, check on the internet by using Google or YouTube there are many different recipes from all over the world, so it is your call what flavors to choose other than the traditional Chinese one. Give yourself plenty of time to practice making them if you've never tried