中秋节知识英文介绍(英文版)

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was __lebrated on the fi

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival, the third and last festival for the living, was __lebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. __ny referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week ofOctober. This day was also considered aharvest festival sin__ fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival ,it was atime for relaxation and __lebration. Food offerings were pla__d on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates ,melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or ri__ pad___s cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, atype of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival. The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and ahalf inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were __de with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, min__d meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. Agolden yolk from asalted duck egg was pla__d at the __nter of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in apyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon. Origin The Mid-Autumn Festival is atraditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon (called xi yue in Chinese) can be tra__d back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold __remonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to __lebrate the festival. Sin__ the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. )and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival __lebration becomes unpre__dented popular. Together with the __lebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning in__nse, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dan__s. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so