Autumn Festival in China when is celebrated. Chinese holidays. Institute of Foreign Languages fgbou in "Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University"
In 2019, China's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 13th.
Weekends from 13 to 15 October inclusive, only 3 days off.
(中秋节, Middle Autumn Day) - One of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, also known as the Moon Gingerbread Festival, is one of the favorite holidays of all Chinese and Vietnamese, annually celebrated not only in China, but also in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in Asia and the world.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on October 15 according to the lunar calendar. Due to the peculiarities of this calendar, its celebration falls on different dates every year in 2019 - September 13, in 2020 it will be celebrated on October 1.
In terms of popularity, this festival is second only to the celebration of the New Year according to the lunar calendar. The symbols of this holiday are solemn festivities and moon cakes, which people share with their relatives and friends. Gingerbreads are different: some of them are soft and tasty, but very hard gingerbreads can also be caught. Nevertheless, everyone loves this holiday, as it is an official holiday in China and is celebrated for several days!
The Chinese Lunar Festival is a family holiday, and it is customary to celebrate with family, friends and loved ones, as it is traditionally celebrated on the full moon, during the harvest. On this holiday, you can enjoy the beautiful full moon on the clearest night of the year. The full moon in China symbolizes the reunion of the parts that form the whole circle.
What to Expect During the Chinese Lunar Festival
This holiday is an excellent occasion to take a break from work, spend time with family and friends and enjoy poems dedicated to the beauty of the full moon.
On this day, it is customary to give and exchange mooncakes. Many couples in love spend the evening outdoors, have picnics in parks, admiring the full moon and, of course, eating gingerbread. Various companies give mooncakes to their partners and customers as a way of showing their appreciation.
Tourists can take part in folk festivals taking place in parks and squares, but it is important to remember that on this day many shops and businesses are closed due to the holiday. It is also advised to think over your route in advance, as traffic on some streets is temporarily blocked.
Public parks, where special screens are hung, are decorated with festive Chinese lanterns; some parks set up stages and show festive performances, while others hold parades. This festival is also known for two dances: the lion dance and the dragon dance. Incense is lit in temples to honor the memory of ancestors and appease the goddess of the moon. Bright lanterns are hung on the streets, which are then launched into the sky.
Legends associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Chinese Lunar Festival, which is pronounced Zhong Qiu Jie in Mandarin, literally translates as Mid-Autumn Festival or mid-autumn day, has been celebrated for 3,000 years. Like any celebration with a rich history, this holiday has acquired a large number of legends. Many stories are associated with the goddess Chang'e, who lives on the moon; however, versions of how she ended up on the Moon vary greatly.One of the legends tells that the moon goddess was the wife of the legendary archer, who was ordered to knock down nine suns from the sky, leaving only one. After he completed this task, he was given the elixir of immortality as a reward. But his wife found this elixir and drank it, after which she flew to the moon, where she now lives.
Another legend associated with the Chinese Lunar Festival tells of the reign of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. The people of China were dissatisfied with the government of this dynasty and plotted a coup using mooncakes in order to pass notes to each other with the exact date of the coup. The uprising took place on the night of the lunar festival, and the Mongol dynasty was overthrown. 
Chinese moon gingerbread(moon cake, 月饼) are small culinary products that are traditionally eaten with the hands. They are hugely popular during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they can be found on sale at any time of the year. Usually they are given in special gift wrappings.
Main ingredient of mooncakes- this is an egg or duck yolk, and this delicacy is prepared with various fillings. The most common fillings include: bean paste, lotus seeds, fruit and even meat.
Gingerbread cookies are usually made round, which symbolizes the full moon. Patterns and inscriptions on gingerbread are symbols of prosperity and happiness, and they may vary depending on the city or province. Gift boxes for mooncakes are usually not inferior in beauty to the rich products themselves.
Most mooncakes taste sweet, but not all. There are both salty and spicy gingerbread. Every year, bakers try to diversify the existing assortment and come up with new options. Gingerbread with exotic fillings such as sambal (red pepper sauce), durian, salted duck eggs and golden flakes are often more expensive than regular gingerbread.
Among foreigners living in China, frozen mooncakes filled with ice cream have found the greatest popularity.
Considering the complexity of making real mooncakes and their exotic fillings, the cost of some products is surprisingly high! For example, in stores you can find gingerbread stuffed with shark fins - and this pleasure will cost you a large amount.
Mooncakes suffer the same fate as American cupcakes: they are exchanged and considered a sign of recognition, but in the end no one eats them.
Where to find mooncakes
A few weeks before the festival, mooncakes appear in almost every store. This is the standard holiday paraphernalia of the Mid-Autumn Festival, comparable to either Christmas trees or Easter eggs, and therefore finding gingerbread cookies on sale will not be a problem. Mooncakes are sold in any restaurant, shop, any pastry shop. In most hotels, as a rule, there is a separate stand with this holiday treat. During the festival, even in cafes specializing in the sale of ice cream, moon gingerbread or ice cream with their taste appear in the assortment.
If you are going to give mooncakes in gift boxes, please note that Asian gift-giving etiquette is different from Western. Don't expect the person you've given a gift to unwrap it before your very eyes.
Zhongqiujie or mid-autumn festival celebrated on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is also called the harvest festival. On this day, it is customary to eat and give each other "moon gingerbread" yubin ( yuebing, 月饼) round shape with sweet or salty filling.
The history of the holiday originates in the ancient rites of sacrifice: princes and rulers made sacrifices to the Sun in spring, and in autumn to the Moon. The first mention of the Mid-Autumn Festival refers to (approximately XI century BC - 256 BC). Over time, the intelligentsia also adopted the tradition of worshiping the moon, and later ordinary people began to admire the clear and round moon and arrange sacrifices.
The holiday finally took shape by the time (618-907), and in the period (960-1279), the festive events organized in honor of Zhongqiujie became even more solemn. During the period of dynasties and (1368-1911) this festival became one of the most important Chinese holidays.
In modern China, millions of people in the evening during Zhongqiujie go to the shores of reservoirs and release flying rice paper lanterns into the sky, on which wishes are first written. A thousand lanterns fly across the sky, representing an unforgettable, beautiful sight.
An equally romantic legend is associated with this holiday, according to which Chang E, the beautiful wife of the famous hero Hou Yi, lives on the moon.
Tradition says that Chang E was a kind, beautiful, cheerful woman who loved adventure. She was married to Hou Yi, a famous hero who saved people from drought and flood more than once.
At that time, there were ten suns in the sky, which took turns traveling around the earth. However, one day, for unknown reasons, the sequence was broken, and the suns began to simultaneously illuminate the earth during the day, and at night they set over the horizon together. This led to terrible consequences: the heat of the ten suns was so strong that it not only destroyed crops and people, but also threatened to melt stones and metals. Then the men gathered for a council and chose Hou Yi - as the strongest and most dexterous archer - to shoot at the suns from a giant bow made by common efforts. Hou Yi, having climbed the Kunlun Mountains, destroyed nine of the ten suns, sending his arrows into them, leaving only one, which shines to this day.
However, the disasters did not end there. Soon, the god of the Yellow River - Hebo, causing wind and waves, spilled the waters of the river, destroying many villages. Hou Yi decided that Hebo had lost the right to remain a god, bringing misfortune to people. From his long bow, Hou Yi sent an arrow and hit Hebo's eye, punishing him for his cruelty to the people.
The goddess Sivanmu learned about the heroic deeds of Hou Yi. Deciding to thank him for his courage, she gave him a cure for immortality. It was enough to swallow one grain to live forever and not grow old, and two grains to ascend to heaven or the moon.
Returning home, Hou Yi told his wife about the gift, who had long dreamed of visiting the moon. On August 15, according to the lunar calendar, Chang E, having gathered wild berries in the forest, came home and, finding that her husband was not at home, ate two grains of a magic potion. So Chang'e ended up on the moon.
There she saw a palace, next to which grew a huge cinnamon tree, emitting an unusual aroma. A white hare was sitting under a tree.
In such a society, Chang E quickly became bored and homesick. She wanted to return to the earth to people and her husband, but there was no way back. Since then, every year on August 15, according to the lunar calendar, Chang E lights a lamp and brightly illuminates the earth with it in the hope of seeing her husband there, whom she constantly thinks about.
According to another version of the legend, the brave hero Yi had a treacherous student, Pengmeng, who accidentally found out about the elixir of immortality and saw how Chang E put it in a drawer. When Yi was not at home, Pengmen came to Chang E and, threatening with a sword, demanded to give him a magic potion. Frightened, Chang E understood that Pengmeng was stronger than her and she had no choice but to drink the elixir herself. Chang E lifted off the ground, flew out the window and rushed to the moon, and Pengmeng ran away empty-handed.
Left on Earth, Yi was heartbroken when he discovered what had happened. He desperately peered into the sky and called his beloved, and suddenly noticed that on this night the moon was brighter than usual. It seemed to him that a shadow flashed over her, similar to his dear Chang E. The shooter wanted to catch up with the moon, but no matter how hard he tried, his attempts were in vain.
Hou Yi desperately missed his wife and ordered to set up a table for an incense burner in Chang'e's beloved garden and put sweets and fruits on it as a sacrifice. The news spread throughout the village and people, having learned that Chang E now lives in the sky, one by one began to install incense burners under the moon and ask her for happiness and prosperity. Since then, the custom has spread among the people on Mid-Autumn Day to worship the Moon.
I will continue the topic of Chinese holidays in the blog. This time I will tell you about the second significant holiday - the Mid-Autumn Festival. As you might guess, the most important for the Chinese is the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), and this holiday is in second place.
It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Its second name is the Festival of the Moon. The Chinese have long noticed that it is in the 8th month that the Moon seems larger to us from the Earth and shines brighter. All the traditions of this holiday are connected with the Moon.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese have one official day off, which they try to do on Friday or Monday. Let me remind you that our Gregorian and Chinese lunar calendars do not coincide, and the date of the Mid-Autumn Festival varies from year to year.
Schedule
2017 - October 4, but it coincides with the Founding Day of the PRC, the day off is scheduled for October 8
2020 - October 1, but it coincides with the Founding Day of the PRC, the day off is scheduled for October 8
A bit of history
The Mid-Autumn Festival dates back 3,000 years during the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC). But initially it was not a holiday for the common people. On this day, the rulers made sacrifices to the moon and ancestors for the benefit of the future harvest. In addition, the autumnal equinox falls at about the same time, and the sacrifices were combined.
Later, this tradition of imperial sacrifice lost its significance, it was replaced by the tradition of sacrifices on the day of the winter solstice, when the emperor went from one to another with the goal of appeasing Heaven and asking for prosperity for the country.
The common people began to celebrate mid-autumn during the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties. This holiday was considered double. On the one hand - the largest moon, on the other - the nearest full moon to the spring equinox. In the Tang era, the holiday became official.
There are many legends associated with this festival, which are worth telling.
The Legend of Chang Yi
In ancient times, 10 suns shone above the earth at once, it was hot and it was very difficult for people. But there was a hero named Hou Yui, who shot down 9 suns with a bow. He became famous, and many people were drawn to him to study. Among these people was a man named Peng Men. Later, the hero Hou Yui fell in love with a girl named Chang Yi, and they got married.
Once, Hou Yui visited his longtime friend, the Empress of Heaven named Wan Mu. She gave him a wonderful elixir, after drinking which a person became an immortal god and flew to heaven. Hou Yui brought the elixir home and gave it to his wife for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the dastardly Stump Men was following them.
When Hou Yui went hunting, Peng Men made his way to Chang Yi and tried to take the elixir. Chang Yi knew that she would not be able to resist Peng Menu and drank the elixir. She became a god, but could not fly to Heaven because she loved her husband too much. She remained on the Moon, since the Moon is the closest celestial body to the Earth.
Upon learning of this, Hou Yui began to sacrifice his wife's favorite dishes to the moon. And other people began to do the same.
Legend of the Jade Hare
Once, three immortals pretended to be beggars and asked for food from a fox, a monkey and a hare. The fox and the monkey shared with them, but the hare had no food. He said: “I have nothing to give you, eat me” and threw himself into the fire. Immortals were shocked, they made the hare jade and sent it to the moon. There he spends time in the company of Chang Yi and crushes the elixir of immortality in a mortar.
Legend of notes in pies
From 1271 to 1368, the Mongols (Yuan Dynasty) ruled China. They were the descendants of Genghis Khan, who broke through and enslaved China. The Chinese rebelled against them, but their actions were unorganized. A way was needed to notify all the rebels and set a day for a general uprising.
The method was invented by Zhu Yuanzhang, the head of the rebels and the first emperor of the next Ming dynasty. He baked traditional moon cakes and put notes in them with the words: "We rise on the night of the 15th day of the 8th month." The uprising ended successfully, the Mongols were overthrown, and their capital Khanbalik (current) was destroyed.
Traditions
All traditions are somehow connected with the Moon. The main tradition is the sacrifice of food to the moon, and the most common sacrifice is the traditional moon cakes. Any edible round-shaped items are also suitable - watermelons, oranges, grapefruits, and so on. I will not explain the symbolism, it is obvious.
It is strange that it is not customary to donate money, because the coins are round. It is even called “yuan”, which translates as “round”.
And of course, moon cakes are eaten. The hostess prepares a round cake, cuts it into several pieces for all family members and distributes it. If someone cannot attend the gala dinner, then a piece of the pie must be left for him.
Modern Chinese in cities usually do not make the cake themselves, but buy it ready-made in the store. And in the cities, small round-shaped pies are more popular.
Like the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a family holiday. Everyone should be together. Many Chinese people try to reunite with their families on this day. Therefore, on the eve of this holiday it will be more expensive, the demand for tickets increases, the price of tickets increases.
Each province has its own traditions. In Xian, in honor of the Moon, dancing fountains are played and sung next to. It is considered very prestigious to dine that day in restaurants on the upper floors of skyscrapers -, and. In Wuhan, you can look at the moon from the top floor - it is considered good luck.
Mid-Autumn Festival for Tourists
There are no single traditions of celebration, and in each city of tourists we are waiting for our own set of entertainment. Mass events are mandatory, but you need to be interested in the place and time of their holding in advance. The celebration in Hong Kong is especially interesting - dances of the Fire Dragons are held here.
And of course, moon cakes are sold everywhere. They differ greatly in filling in different provinces. They are very tasty, do not miss the chance to try them.
Have a nice Chinese holidays, and read other interesting articles about China on the blog ( links below).
Today is one of the most important traditional holidays in China - Mid-Autumn Festival or in Chinese Zhongqiujie (中秋节). It falls on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar and this year falls on September 8th.
The history of this holiday is inextricably linked with the Moon and goes back to the ancient rites of sacrifice: if in the spring in China they worshiped the Sun, then in the fall they made sacrifices to the Moon. The holiday is celebrated on the full moon. In China, they believe that the moon on this day is the most round, bright and beautiful.
The fullness of the moon symbolizes several important concepts for the Chinese at once - it is a symbol of fertility, family unity, the completion of a rich harvest.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is covered with various legends, various customs and symbols are associated with it. Mentions of the celebration of Mid-Autumn appear already in the historical records of the Zhou era (approximately XI century BC - 256 BC). Initially, only the rulers made sacrifices to the Moon, but gradually other people on Mid-Autumn Day also began to admire the round and clear Moon, arrange sacrifices and treat this day as a holiday. A stable tradition of celebrating Zhongqiujie developed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the holiday gained even greater popularity and was accompanied by magnificent ceremonies and performances, and during the reign of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), Zhongqiujie was already one of the main Chinese holidays.
On this day, the Chinese gather with their families and admire the moon, on which, according to their beliefs, the goddess Chang-e and the moon hare live.
The following legend tells how Chang-E settled on the moon: once upon a time there were 10 suns that daily took turns making their way across the sky in a chariot, but one day the sun brothers decided to go out into the sky all together. Their destructive heat threatened to destroy all life on Earth. Then Arrow I came to the aid of people, who killed 9 suns, leaving only one alive.
After the perfect feat Stelok I went for the elixir of immortality to the lady of the West Si-van-mu. He managed to climb the high mountain Kunlun and beg the goddess for a magic potion. But Shooter Yi had a wife, Chang-e, who secretly drank this elixir and flew away to the moon. According to one version, there she turned into a three-legged toad. Since then, Chang-E has been living on the Moon in the company of a moon hare, who sits under a cinnamon tree and crushes the potion of immortality in a mortar, and Shooter Yi was forever separated from his wife and only the beautiful Moon reminded him of her. The Chinese believe that if you peer into the dark spots on the surface of the moon, you can see the silhouettes of Chang-e and the lunar hare in them.
The main delicacy of the holiday is also associated with the Moon - moon cakes (yuebins). Gingerbread cookies can be round, diamond-shaped or square with rounded corners. They depict hieroglyphs with various wishes and symbols of the holiday - the goddess Chang-e, the moon hare and the three-legged toad. Gingerbread is prepared with a variety of fillings: it can be fruit, a mixture of nuts, sesame, lotus or bean paste, and even meat, but the most symbolic filling is egg yolk, which in its shape and color resembles the same Moon.
If the Chinese fail to reunite with their families during the holiday, they do not lose heart. Indeed, even being separated from loved ones and relatives, you can simultaneously admire the Moon with them, enjoy the same gingerbread and think about each other.
The beauty and mystery of the moon, as well as the special atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival served as inspiration for many great Chinese poets, including Li Bo, Bo Juyi, Su Dongpo.
In addition to the main traditions associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are other local customs in different parts of China, but invariably this day in all corners of China is celebrated in an atmosphere of fun and joy from communicating with loved ones and confidence in one's future, which gives clear moonlight and warm autumn night.
Autumn has begun, and along with this incredible time, the time to prepare for one of the most significant celebrations of Chinese culture - the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is held according to the Chinese calendar on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. This year the celebration will take place on October 4 - very soon. Jongchiujie (中秋节 - Mid-Autumn Festival) dates back to ancient times, but in the modern world, this event is very significant for the Chinese people. Even now, during the celebration, no one works, everyone walks and has fun. Preparations for the celebration are carried out in advance, as this is one of the most beloved holidays of Heaven.
Let's dive into the history of the origin
The Mooncake Festival, as it is commonly called, originated about 3,000 years ago during the reign of the Zhou Dynasty. Not surprisingly, this holiday is shrouded in various myths and legends. Ancient Chinese emperors worshiped the Moon, brought offerings to her and her ancestors, for the benefit of the future harvest. Therefore, this celebration is also considered a harvest festival. It is also known that earlier this event was inaccessible to ordinary working people. Around the same holiday, the autumn solstice falls, and many offerings are combined.
A little later, the tradition of offerings was transferred to the day of the winter solstice, at the time when the ruler, leaving the Forbidden City, went to the Temple of Heaven to ask for prosperity for the country from Heaven. For commoners, the celebration of the festival became available during the Sui and Tang dynasties. For many, this is a double holiday, since at this time the closest full moon occurs, as well as the equality of day and night.
As mentioned earlier, there are many myths about the origin of the Holiday. The most romantic story about the girl Chang Yi tells that in the old days people had a very difficult time, as 10 suns shone above the earth at once. This made life very difficult for the common people. And there was a guy named Hou Yui, who managed to destroy 9 luminous discs from the bow at once, leaving only one that gives warmth. This act attracted many people to the young man who wanted to learn such a gift.
A little later, the archer fell in love with the beautiful Chang Yi and they sealed the union by marriage. One day, the guy visited Wan Mu (Empress of Heaven), who was his old girlfriend. She presented him with a gift of a miraculous elixir that gives eternal, divine life and provides life in the kingdom of heaven. Hou Yui gave the drug to his wife, and he went hunting. At this time, a bad man named Pen Menu came to their house, who intended to take away the elixir in order to receive eternal life. The poor girl understood that she could not defeat the villain and took the drug. After that, Chang Yi became a deity, but she could not reach heaven, because she loved her husband so much. The girl stayed on the moon, because this is the closest planet located to the Earth. In this way, she could be closer to her beloved husband.
Hou Yui learned about the incident and wept bitterly. Looking longingly at the pale disk, he said the name of his beloved. At that moment, the moon flared brightly. Hou Yui saw the silhouette of Chang Yi sadly looking at her husband. After that, the grief-stricken young man began to make offerings to the moon, which consisted of the most favorite dishes of his beloved. Other people followed suit. Thus was born a new tradition that lives on to this day.
And now I would like to tell you about the traditions and rituals of this wonderful celebration.
The most important dish of this holiday are cakes, they are also called "moon cookies". They come in a wide variety of flavors, and the recipe for making cakes is the most diverse. Each town has its own cooking secret. This dish is baked in a round shape, small diameter. May be with or without filling, sweet or savory. For every taste, you can taste the symbol of this wonderful holiday. Surprisingly, each small cookie is imprinted on top in the form of a beautiful pattern or ornament. Even eating such a beauty is a pity. Cookies are sold on every corner in abundance.
Long before the festival itself, the shops are filled with a festive atmosphere - the sale of cookies, beautiful packaging materials and other attributes begins.
Everything that happens on this day is related to the moon. Residents of towns decorate the streets with lanterns, all kinds of bright decorations. Cities are immediately filled with incredible warmth, bright light and immersed in an incredible atmosphere of peace. People unite and bring offerings not only in the form of symbolic moon cakes, but also in the form of various round-shaped fruits and vegetables. After all, they are also outwardly somewhat similar to the moon and symbolize the harvest.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is accompanied by folk festivals with songs and dances. The traditional Chinese dragon dance is a mesmerizing sight. This dance is very significant for the Chinese people, but not in all corners on this day you can see it. The celebration lasts all night. Everyone gives each other nice gifts, eat cakes and look at the full moon. An indescribable atmosphere of love and unity. The older generation especially loves this day, because they are given special attention and honor. However, the entertainment program in different cities may differ, but they are all combined into one - the worship of the majesty of the moon. In Chinese villages, it is a spiritual tradition to gather all relatives in the fresh air. The hostess sets the festive table with all kinds of treats. Relatives can have long conversations, remember those who could not be with them that evening and admire the full moon. Very warm and welcoming.
