(共23张PPT)
Mid-Autumn Festival, or Mid-autumn Day, is the second grandest festival in China after the Chinese New Year. It is named so for that it is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which is always in the middle of the autumn season in China.
Chinese Moon Festival
The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest and Chinese always worship the moon(拜月) and appreciate the full moon(赏月) on that day.
Time for Family Reunion
In Chinese culture, full moon symbolizes reunion, so that they reunite with their families for celebrations. They worship the moon together, appreciate the moon together, enjoy reunion dinner and even share one mooncake to celebrate the reunion.
[V-T]If one thing symbolizes another, it is used or regarded as a symbol of it. 象征
[V-T]If people are reunited, or if they reunite, they meet each other again after they have been separated for some time. 重聚
When is Mid-Autumn Festival
– Sep. 29th, 2023
Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of 8th month in Chinese lunar calendar. In Gregorian calendar, it usually falls in September or early October.
People in mainland China enjoy one day off on the festival day which is usually connected with the weekend to be a 3-day holiday. If it falls adjacent to China National Day on October 1st, the holiday will be 8 days long, celebrated together.
In Hong Kong and Macau, people also enjoy one day off. However, it is not scheduled on the festival day, but the following day and it is usually not connected with the weekend. In Taiwan, the one day holiday falls on the festival day.
How do Chinese celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival – Top Activities & Traditions
Eat Mooncakes– the Most Popular Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Activity
This is the most popular Mid-Autumn Festival activity. Mooncakes are cookies with various fillings like nuts, read bean paste, lotus root paste, egg yolk, meat, and fruit, etc. They are usually round to symbolize the full moon and family reunion.
Appreciate the Full Moon- Symbolizing Family Reunion
In traditional Chinese culture, the moon on the festival night is believed to be the fullest and brightest of the whole year, symbolizing family reunion. Even a family member is not home, he or she is appreciating the same moon with other families, seeming like they are together.
Worship the Moon– 3,000 Years Old Tradition
This tradition has been 3,000 years old. On the night, people set a table with mooncakes and other sacrifices towards the moon, make wishes, offer incense(上香) and kowtow to the moon(向月亮磕头). Afterwards, the families will share the sacrifices.
[N-COUNT]Sacrifice is also a noun. 祭品
[V-T]To sacrifice an animal or person means to kill them in a special religious ceremony as an offering to a god. 献祭
[V-T]If you sacrifice something that is valuable or important, you give it up, usually to obtain something else for yourself or for other people. 舍弃; 牺牲
Enjoy family reunion dinner– a Gathering of All Family Members
During the festival, all families try their best to go home and enjoy a big feast. In addition to mooncakes, other popular dishes for the reunion dinner include osmanthus cake, osmanthus wine, crab, duck, taro(芋头), and pumpkin.
Drink Osmanthus Wine(桂花酒)– a Delight of Mid-Autumn Night
Around the festival, the Osmanthus is always in full blossom, making it a good time to make and drink osmanthus wine. It is light yellow with strong osmanthus fragrance and grape similar flavor, tasting sweet, sour and soft.
[N-UNCOUNT]Delight is a feeling of very great pleasure. 高兴; 欣喜
[PHRASE]If someone takes delight or takes a delight in something, they get a lot of pleasure from it. 以…为乐
[V-T]If something delights you, it gives you a lot of pleasure. 使高兴; 使欣喜
Make and Hang Festival Lanterns– Favorite Mid-Autumn Festival Activity for Kids
This is an activity popular in Guangdong and Hong Kong areas, favored especially by kids. In other places of China, people also set Kongming lanterns to make best wishes.
[V-T]If you favour something, you prefer it to the other choices available. 更喜欢
[V-T]If you favour someone, you treat them better or in a kinder way than you treat other people. 偏袒
Top Places to Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in China
The top places are usually the best sites to appreciate the full moon, like waterside Shichahai and Beihai Park in Beijing, and West Lake in Hangzhou, where the full moon reflects clearly over the water; and high places such as World Financial Center and Jinmao Tower in Shanghai, and the top of Yellow Mountain, where one can gets closest to the moon. The ancient sites like City Wall in Xi’an are also great places to go, where many traditional ways of celebration are held.
[N-COUNT]A site is a piece of ground that is used for a particular purpose or where a particular thing happens. 场地; 场所
Unexpected Fun Facts about Mid-Autumn Festival You don’t Know
1. Mid-Autumn Festival is listed in China’s Intangible Cultural Heritages(中国非物质文化遗产).
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) and flourished in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). It has since become an important festival among Chinese people. On May 20, 2006, the State Council included it in the first batch of China’s intangible cultural heritage for that it is a day for Chinese family reunion; it is widely celebrated by Chinese with many traditional customs such as admiring the full moon, worshipping the moon and eating mooncakes. There are many widely told folktales about the festival.
2. The festival has many other names.
There are many other names for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since it’s on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month in autumn, it is also called “August Festival” and “Autumn Festival”. Other names are “Chinese Moon Festival”, “Autumn Moon Festival”, “Playing the Moon Festival”, “Worship the Moon Festival”, and “Reunion Festival” for that it’s a full moon day which symbolizes family reunion. The festival food is mooncake, so another popular name is "Chinese Moon Cake Festival". In recent years, its Chinese name “zhong qiu jie” also gets more and more popular worldwide.
3. The full moon may not occur on Mid-Autumn Day.
One of the interesting facts about Mid-Autumn Festival is that the full moon doesn’t always show on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. In fact, it is possible that the full moon is on the 14th, 16th, or 17th day of the 8th lunar month.
According to the astronomical rule, the new moon may show up in different times of the first day of each lunar month and it takes less than 15 days for a new moon to become a full moon. If the new moon shows at early morning of the first day of 8th lunar month, the full moon may show up on the 14th or 15th day of 8th lunar month; while it shows at night, the full moon may show up on the 16th day or even 17th day.
This full moon may not always be the Harvest Moon of western custom because the Harvest Moon may at times occur in October.
4. Romantic! It was once the Valentine’s Day in ancient China.
People now widely consider Qixi Festival as Chinese Valentine’s Day. However, a fun fact is that the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a valentine’s day at the beginning. In Chinese mythology, the God of the Moon is in charge of love and marriage. He creates love between boys and girls by tying them together with a magic silk line that cannot be seen by ordinary people. So the festival to worship the moon is originally a festival to pray for love and happy marriage. Till today, in west Hunan, there is a special custom that girls “steal” vegetables from the vegetable garden of their loved boys when the full moon shows, and the boys will be invited to girls‘homes to have a bowl of oil-tea. This custom gives chances for unmarried boys and girls to have a date.
5. The festival’s origin may relate to the imperial examination in ancient time.
One of Mid-Autumn Festival fun facts is that Mid-Autumn Festival has a subtle relation with the ancient imperial examinations. In the feudal society, imperial examinations were arranged in the eighth lunar month. People would celebrate with examinee who pass the exam. This custom has gradually evolved into the important festival that has prevailed over the ages.
6. The “mooncake” was named by Concubine Yang of the Tang Dynasty.
Another Mid-Autumn Festival fun fact is that the mooncake was once called “Hu Cake”. One year of Mid-Autumn Festival night, Li Longji, an emperor of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and his Concubine Yang were eating Hu cakes. Li Longji thought that the name of “Hu Cake” was not good. The bright moon in the sky inspired Concubine Yang, and then she said “mooncake” was better. From then on, the name “mooncake” gradually spread in the folk.
7. The mooncakes were once used to deliver military messages.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), led an uprising to fight against the crucial royal court. They decided to uprise on the 15th day of 8th lunar month. For safety and secrecy, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered soldiers to wrap the notes with “uprise on 15th night of 8th month” into mooncakes and sent them to various resistance forces. On the Mid-Autumn night, many resistance forces responded to the note.
8.It is the time particularly efficacious(有效的) to pray for a happy marriage.
In the old days, unmarried men and women would quietly pray under the full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and plead to the matchmaker, God of Moon, to find a spouse and have a happy marriage. What an interesting fact about Mid-Autumn Festival!
语法填空(Frida原创！)阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
As the Mid-Autumn Festival was originally derived from the worship of the moon god, many interesting 1.______ (story) and legends are told and spread among folklore 2.______ (explain) the purpose of the worship. The most famous one is the ‘Chang E Flying to the Moon'. The legend goes like this:
Chang E’s husband, Hou Yi 3.______ (reward) the elixir of immortality 4.______ shooting down the extra nine suns 5.______ tortured people a lot. But he would not like become immortal alone and left his wife to live in the heaven, 6.______ he gave the elixir to Chang E to keep it well. 7.______ (unfortunate), one of Hou Yi’s followers got to know it. One a 15th day of the 8th lunar month when Hou Yi went out hunting, that follower sneaked into Hou Yi and Cheng E’s home and forced Chang E 8.______ (hand) over the elixir. Unhelpfully, Chang E 9.______ (eat) the elixir, became an immortal and uncontrollably left the earth for the heaven. As she didn’t want to leave her husband, she flew to the moon, the 10. ______ (close) place to the earth in the heaven. Hou Yi, in hope of reunion, presented the mooncakes on every 15th day of the 8th lunar month since then.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival was originally derived from the worship of the moon god, many interesting 1.______ (story) and legends are told and spread among folklore 2.______ (explain) the purpose of the worship. The most famous one is the ‘Chang E Flying to the Moon'. The legend goes like this:
Chang E’s husband, Hou Yi 3.______ (reward) the elixir of immortality 4.______ shooting down the extra nine suns 5.______ tortured people a lot. But he would not like become immortal alone and left his wife to live in the heaven, 6.______ he gave the elixir to Chang E to keep it well. 7.______ (unfortunate), one of Hou Yi’s followers got to know it. One a 15th day of the 8th lunar month when Hou Yi went out hunting, that follower sneaked into Hou Yi and Cheng E’s home and forced Chang E 8.______ (hand) over the elixir. Unhelpfully, Chang E 9.______ (eat) the elixir, became an immortal and uncontrollably left the earth for the heaven. As she didn’t want to leave her husband, she flew to the moon, the 10. ______ (close) place to the earth in the heaven. Hou Yi, in hope of reunion, presented the mooncakes on every 15th day of the 8th lunar month since then.
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