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All You May Want to Know about Moon Cakes!
今天就是中秋节啦，先祝大家中秋节快乐。
Today is Mid- Autumn Festival. Wish you have a good day.
(But why today ? Why we eat moon cakes? What do Chinese do to celebrate the day?)
Let's take a brief look at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This year,The Mid-Autumn Festival is on Sep 24th.
The date of each year is different because it is based on the Chinese lunar calendar.
It is also regarded as the most important traditional festival except Spring Festival (the Chinese New Year) now.
Custom 1
This activity was originated from the legend of Chang'e.
很久以前，有一个英勇的英雄叫做后羿。他的妻子嫦娥美丽动人。
Long long ago, there was a famous hero whose name is Houyi. Chang'e was his wife .
某一年，天上出现了10个太阳，天气炎热，百姓深受其苦，民不聊生。
One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together,
causing great disaster to people.
后羿不忍心看百姓受苦，于是登上昆仑山，一口气射下了九个太阳。并要求最后一个太阳每天按时升落，为百姓服务。
Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns on the Kunlun mountain and left only one to provide light.
为感激后羿，掌管昆仑山的西王母送他一颗仙药，吃了就可以成为神仙，长生不老。但后羿不舍与妻子嫦娥分开，就把药保存在了家里。
Xiwangmu, who is in charged of the Kunlun mountain admired Hou Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir.
嫦娥吃了仙药，突然飘飘悠悠地飞了起来。她飞出了窗子，飞过了郊野，越飞越高，一直朝着月亮飞去。
For some reason, Chang'e swallowed the elixir and flew into the sky. Since she loved very much her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence.
To commemorate Chang'e , people watch the moon on the day that the moon is biggest in a year (the Mid- Autumn Day).
Custom 2&3
Of course we have another legend of them.XP
南天门的吴刚和月亮里的嫦娥很要好，但他经常与嫦娥相会而疏于职守。
Wu Gang was guarding Nantianmen on the moon. He was a friend of Chang'e but often neglects his duties to meet her.
玉皇大帝知道后非常生气，罚吴刚到月亮里去砍一棵桂树，如果吴刚不砍光这棵树，便不能重返南天门，亦不能与嫦娥相会。
Jade Emperor of Heaven was very angry and asked Wu Gang to cut a osmanthus . Only when he cuts it down , he could return to Nantianmen and see Chang'e again.
但无论吴刚怎么砍，月桂树总会重新长出枝叶，就这样年复一年，吴刚还在辛苦地砍着这棵树。
But no matter how Wu Gang cuts, the tree will always grow up again and again, so year after year, Wu Gang is still cutting the tree hard.
Custom 4
A mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival.
Typical mooncakes are round pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter and 3–4 cm thick. This is the Cantonese mooncake, eaten in the Southern Chinese regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau. A rich thick filling usually made from red bean or lotus seed paste is surrounded by a thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs.
It is said that the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Tang Dynasty.It was first popular in the court, and later spread to the folks. Moon cakes become a common dietary habit of the whole people in the Ming Dynasty.
Moon cakes are integrated with local food customs, and have developed Cantonese-style(广式), Beijing-style(京式), Soviet-style(苏式), tidal-style(潮式), and enamel-style(滇式) mooncakes, which are loved by people from all over the country.
Common Fillings of Yuebing:
Why we eat yuebing?
As you may guessed... one more story.
There is a folk tale about the overthrow of Mongol rule facilitated by messages smuggled in moon cakes.
相传元朝时，中原广大人民不甘受蒙古人的残酷统治，纷纷起义抗元。 According to legend, during the Yuan Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains were not willing to be subjected to the brutal rule of the Mongols, and they fought against the Yuan.
朱元璋欲联合反抗力量，但元官兵搜查严密，苦于无从传递消息。
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to unite with the resistance, but the Yuan officers and men searched closely and suffered from the inability to pass the news.
军师刘伯温便想出一计策，命手下将写有“八月十五夜起义”的纸条藏入月饼并分发给各地军队。
Therefore, the military teacher Liu Bowen came up with a plan. He asked his subordinate to hide the papers with”Uprising on Augest 15th” in moon cakes and send to the army.
起义一举取得成功，因而八月十五吃月饼的习俗也就流传了下来。
The uprising succeeded in one fell swoop, so the custom of eating
mooncakes on August 15 was passed down.
well, those are all the stories about this festival and why Chinese attach such importance to it.
Do you have some traditional festival or old legends in your country to let us know? Tell us in the comments!
看看我们的月饼做得怎么样?
to see our handmade mooncakes →
【EVENTS】Moon Cakes are ready! 中秋节快乐!(月饼也准备好啦XD)
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