Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the lunar eighth month, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon". It is also widely known as the Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival, Lantern Festival, etc. In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurred sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October. This year, the Med-Autumn Festival falls on 3 Oct 09.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular East Asian and overseas Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Xia Dynasty.

The moon at the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is said to be at its fullest and brightest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colours and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and pomeloes together, and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common. There are additional cultural or regional customs, such as carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on buildings and towers, floating sky lanterns, burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e, performing Fire Dragon Dances.

The custom of worshipping the moon (called xiyue in Chinese) can be traced back as far as ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 - 1066 BC). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 - 221 BC), people held ceremonies to greet winter and worshiped the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival set in. It became very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts as an expression of their best wishes for family reunion. When it became dark, they looked up at the full moon or went sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular.

Mid-autumn festival is a time to think of and remember people close to us. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.

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欢愉的中秋节是在阴历八月十五，秋分时候庆祝。很多人只把它称为‘八月十五’。其他的称呼还包括：月节，月饼节，灯笼节，等等。在阳历，这个节日大概是在九月的第二个星期与十月的第二个星期之间。今年，中秋节是在十月三日。

中秋节是东亚与海外华人是一个很流行的节日，它可以追溯到三千年前的中国夏朝。

据说中秋时的月最圆最亮。和其他色彩浓厚的中国节日比起来，中秋节算是低调的。传统上，人们在户外月下吃月饼和柚子，同时赏月。现在，一般与家人朋友一起吃烧烤肉。还有其他文化与地方性的风俗，如提灯笼、在建筑物与高塔挂灯笼、飞天灯、烧香拜神（包括嫦娥）、表演火龙舞，等等。

中秋拜月（也叫夕月）的风俗可以追溯到夏商（公元前2000至1066年）。在周朝(1066 - 221 BC)，人们每到中秋节会以仪式来迎接冬天到来与拜月。到了唐朝 (618 - 907)，赏月与祭拜圆月十分盛行。南宋 (1127 - 1279) 人喜爱以圆月饼作为礼物送给亲友，以表他们对团圆的愿望。天暗之后，他们仰天望明月，并到湖边庆祝节日。自明 (1368 - 1644) 清 (1644 - 1911) 以来，庆祝中秋节的风俗达到空前的兴盛。

中秋节是我们思念与怀念我们亲近的人的时候。每到中秋节，人们会仰天望月，饮酒以庆祝他们的美好日子，或怀念在远方的亲友，为他们祝福。