Mid-AutumnFestival

　　ThejoyousMid-AutumnFestivalwascelebratedonthefifteenthdayoftheeighthmoon,aroundthetimeoftheautumnequinox（秋分）.Manyreferredtoitsimplyasthe"FifteenthoftheEighthMoon".

　　Thisdaywasalsoconsideredasaharvestfestivalsincefruits,vegetablesandgrainhadbeenharvestedbythistimeandfoodwasabundant.Foodofferingswereplacedonanaltarsetupinthecourtyard.Apples,pears,peaches,grapes,pomegranates（石榴）,melons,orangesandpomelos（柚子）mightbeseen.Specialfoodsforthefestivalincludedmooncakes,cookedtaro（芋头）andwatercaltrope（菱角）,atypeofwaterchestnutresemblingblackbuffalohorns.Somepeopleinsistedthatcookedtarobeincludedbecauseatthetimeofcreation,tarowasthefirstfooddiscoveredatnightinthemoonlight.Ofallthesefoods,itcouldnotbeomittedfromtheMid-AutumnFestival.

　　Theroundmooncakes,measuringaboutthreeinchesindiameterandoneandahalfinchesinthickness,resembledWesternfruitcakesintasteandconsistency.Thesecakesweremadewithmelonseeds（西瓜子）,lotusseeds（莲籽）,almonds（杏仁）,mincedmeats,beanpaste,orangepeelsandlard（猪油）.Agoldenyolk（蛋黄）fromasaltedduckeggwasplacedatthecenterofeachcake,andthegoldenbrowncrustwasdecoratedwithsymbolsofthefestival.Traditionally,thirteenmooncakeswerepiledinapyramidtosymbolizethethirteenmoonsofa"completeyear,"thatis,twelvemoonsplusoneintercalary（闰月的）moon.

　　TheMid-AutumnFestivalisatraditionalfestivityforboththeHanandminoritynationalities.ThecustomofworshippingthemooncanbetracedbackasfarastheancientXiaandShangDynasties(2000B.C.-1066B.C.).IntheZhouDynasty(1066B.C.-221B.C.),peopleholdceremoniestogreetwinterandworshipthemoonwhenevertheMid-AutumnFestivalsetsin.ItbecomesveryprevalentintheTangDynasty(618-907A.D.)thatpeopleenjoyandworshipthefullmoon.IntheSouthernSongDynasty(1127-1279A.D.),however,peoplesendroundmooncakestotheirrelativesasgiftsinexpressionoftheirbestwishesoffamilyreunion.Whenitbecomesdark,theylookupatthefullsilvermoonorgosightseeingonlakestocelebratethefestival.SincetheMing(1368-1644A.D.)andQingDynasties(1644-1911A.D.),thecustomofMid-AutumnFestivalcelebrationbecomesunprecedentedpopular.Togetherwiththecelebrationthereappearsomespecialcustomsindifferentpartsofthecountry,suchasburningincense（熏香）,plantingMid-Autumntrees,lightinglanternsontowersandfiredragondances.However,thecustomofplayingunderthemoonisnotsopopularasitusedtobenowadays,butitisnotlesspopulartoenjoythebrightsilvermoon.Wheneverthefestivalsetsin,peoplewilllookupatthefullsilvermoon,drinkingwinetocelebratetheirhappylifeorthinkingoftheirrelativesandfriendsfarfromhome,andextendingalloftheirbestwishestothem.

　　Thereisthisstoryaboutthemoon-cake.duringtheYuandynasty(A.D.1280-1368)ChinawasruledbytheMongolianpeople.LeadersfromtheprecedingSungdynasty(A.D.960-1280)wereunhappyatsubmittingtotheforeignrule,andsethowtocoordinatetherebellionwithoutbeingdiscovered.Theleadersoftherebellion,knowingthattheMoonFestivalwasdrawingnear,orderedthemakingofspecialcakes.Backedintoeachmooncakewasamessagewiththeoutlineoftheattack.OnthenightoftheMoonFestival,therebelssuccessfullyattached