Праздник середины осени япония

Праздник любования луной ещё имеет также названия «Фестиваль луны Цукими» или «Праздник середины осени». Его японское название «Tsukimi» переводится как «Просмотр луны». Это не удивительно, так у японцев принято «любоваться окружающим миром». Это и, известное на весь мир, любование цветами сакуры (О-Ханами), а также — любование снегом в горячем источнике (Юкими онсен). Вообще, у японцев вошло в привычку сидеть вместе и любоваться приметами уходящих сезонов. Прочитав статью, вы узнаете историю Праздника любования луной (Цукими), а также познакомитесь с традициями этого необычного праздника.

1. Сказка о кролике на Луне

Считается, что праздник любования луной появился благодаря одной фольклорной сказке о кролике на Луне. Эта история известна не только в Японии, но и в Китае. В таком виде она дошла до наших дней.

Однажды лунный старец спустился на Землю, чтобы испытать доброту трёх друзей — животных (обезьяны, кролика и лисы). Превратившись в нищего, лунный старик захотел узнать, кто из них самый добрый. Он подошел к друзьям, сидевшим у костра, и спросил, нет ли у них лишней еды. Обезьяна собрала много фруктов для нищего. Лис принёс человеку рыбу.

Но кролику нечего было дать, и он предложил принести себя в жертву голодному человеку. Он хотел броситься в костер из зажариться на нём, чтобы нищий поел. Но прежде чем кролик успел это сделать, нищий снова стал лунным старцем. Он сказал, что кролик — очень добрая душа, и взял его с собой на Луну.

Эта история, передаваемая из поколения в поколение, соответствует старому японскому убеждению, что «кролики пришли с Луны». В современном высокотехнологичном мире все тайны, которые когда-то были связаны с Луной, уже давно раскрыты. Тем не менее, полная осенняя Луна всё ещё вызывает чувство радости и удивления у японцев. Когда японские люди смотрят на Луну, они видят форму кролика и верят в «сказку».

2. История праздника любования луной (Цукими) в Японии

Праздник любования луной (Цукими) начал отмечаться очень давно. Фестиваль, как говорят, праздновался сначала в период Нара (710-794 гг. н. э.).
Ещё в те времена восьмой солнечный месяц (соответствующий сентябрю по современному Григорианскому календарю) был лучшим временем для того, чтобы смотреть на Луну. Это связано с тем, что относительное положение главных светил в сентябре «заставят Луну» казаться особенно яркой.

Однако только в период Хэйан (794-1185 гг.) Цукими стал популярным среди аристократов, которые восхищались отражением Луны в воде. Японская придворная знать праздновала Цукими, проводя щедрые банкеты на лодках или рядом с прудом, который отражает лунный свет. Праздник сопровождался музыкальными и поэтическими выступлениями, посвящёнными ночной небесной красавице.

С окончанием периода Хэйан празднества не закончились. До 1683 года по японскому календарю его отмечали в полнолуние, которое приходилось на 13-й день каждого месяца. Однако в 1684 году календарь был изменен таким образом, что новолуние приходилось на первый день каждого месяца, а полнолуние — на пятнадцатый.

В то время некоторые люди в Эдо (современный Токио) перенесли празднование Цукими на 15-й день месяца, другие продолжали его отмечать на 13-й день. Кроме того, в некоторых частях Японии в 17-й день месяца проводились различные региональные обряды, а также буддийские обряды. Некоторые японцы использовали их, в качестве предлогов для частых ночных вечеринок осенью в течение всего этого периода. Этот обычай был быстро прекращен в период Мэйдзи…

Прочитать кратко об истории Японии можно по ссылке ниже:

Читать статью: «Национальные праздники Японии»

3. Традиции Праздника любования луной (Цукими) в Японии

Праздник любования луной (Цукими) в Японии сохранился до нынешнего времени. Цукими означает «просмотр Луны» на японском языке. Согласно лунному календарю, Луна наиболее красива около 15 сентября, когда она находится в самом полном виде и ближе всего к Осеннему равноденствию. Однако каждый год дата празднования меняется, так как она вычисляется по лунному календарю. Например, В 2018 году Цукими отмечался 24 сентября.

В настоящее время праздник,конечно, несколько изменил свою трактовку. Современный праздник Цукими — это не только «любование луной». Это день выражения благодарности и признательности природе за её дары. Поэтому луну в это время ещё называют «Урожайной луной». Также не случайно Цукими называют Праздником середины осени или Осенним фестивалем урожая.

Японцы празднуют Цукими со своими семьями, наблюдая за Луной и наслаждаясь сладостями Моти или Цукими данго. Есть более чем 10 видов Моти. Но те, которые едят в ночь Цукими должны быть особенными! Другие популярные продукты на Цукими: каштаны, тыква, бобы, также саке.

Комнату обычно украшают зерновыми культурами, а также сусуки, японской пампасной травой или серебристой травой. Пампасная трава когда-то использовалась японцами для соломы крыш и кормления животных. Говорят, что она отгоняет плохих духов, и её обычно ставят в вазу у входной двери. Японские мужчины верят, что серебряная трава защитит дом от зла. Она также служит в качестве приношения Богу Луны.

Просмотр Луны является торжественным и тихим делом. Возможно, на это влияет прохлада ночного ветра, ставшего ещё холоднее с переходом с лета в осень. Или, может быть, это глубокое, необъяснимое чувство тоски, которое люди испытывают, глядя на мучительно красивое сияние луны.

В японском языке существуют специальные термины, обозначающие случаи, когда Луна не видна традиционным осенним вечером. Когда не видно Луну совсем, то это Мугецу. Луна во время дождя — это Угецу. Однако даже когда Луна не видна, проводятся вечеринки Цукими.

В некоторых местах Японии имеются возможности отметить праздник, как в эпоху Хэйан. Например, в садах Йокогаме можно насладиться музыкальными выступлениями под Луной. Здесь можно услышать разнообразную музыку от гагаку (старинную придворную музыку), до выступлений кото (фортепианных и саксофонных исполнений японских песен). Подобные концерты обязательно порадует каждую артистическую душу.

Самые популярные места в Японии во время Фестиваля середины осени — святыни и храмы. Люди одеваются в традиционные костюмы и ходят в храмы, чтобы зажечь благовония (джоссы), поблагодарить природу за хороший урожай и попросить о счастье. Почти в каждой святыне Японии проводится большое представление, состоящее из традиционных песен и танцев. А некоторые из них даже проводят экстравагантный парад.

Какова бы ни была причина, наслаждаться фестивалем Цукими в Японии — это чудесный «романтический опыт», который нельзя пропустить!

Вот так отмечается праздник любования луной в Японии!

Читайте также:

Праздник середины осени в Китае

Праздники Японии

Праздники и фестивали разных стран мира

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Mid-Autumn Festival
Festival decorations in Beijing
Also called	Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival
Observed by	Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (similar holidays celebrated in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia)
Type	Cultural, religious, Asian
Significance	Celebrates the end of the autumn harvest
Celebrations	Lantern lighting, mooncake making and sharing, courtship and matchmaking, fireworks, family gathering, dragon dances, family meal, visiting friends and relatives, gift giving
Observances	Consumption of mooncakes Consumption of cassia wine
Date	15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar
2023 date	29 September[1]
2024 date	7 September[1]
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Chuseok (Korea), Tsukimi (Japan), Tết Trung Thu (Vietnam), Uposatha of Ashvini or Krittika (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand)

Mid-Autumn Festival
«Mid-Autumn Festival» in traditional (top) and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	中秋節
Simplified Chinese	中秋节
Literal meaning	«Mid-Autumn Festival»
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngqiū jié Wade–Giles Chung1-ch’iu1 chieh2 IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.tɕʰjóʊ tɕjě] Wu Romanization Tson-tshieu tsiq Hakka Romanization Pat-ngie̍t-chiet, Chûng-chhiû-chiet Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūng-chāu jit Jyutping Zung1-cau1 zit3 IPA [tsóŋ.tsʰɐ́u tsīːt̚] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-chhiu-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-chiŭ-cáik
Min Chinese alternate name
Traditional Chinese	八月節
Literal meaning	«Festival of the Eighth Month»
Transcriptions Southern Min Hokkien POJ Peh-go̍eh-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Báik-nguŏk-cáik

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: 中秋節 / 中秋节), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (Tsukimi), Korea (Chuseok), Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu), and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.

It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival dates back over 3,000 years.^[2][3] The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar.^[4] On this day, the Chinese believe that the Moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.^[5]

Lanterns of all size and shapes, are carried and displayed – symbolic beacons that light people’s path to prosperity and good fortune. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during this festival.^[6][7][8] The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang’e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.

Etymology[edit]

• The Mid-Autumn Festival is so-named as it is held on the 15th of the 8th lunar month in the Chinese calendar around the autumn equinox.^[3] Its name is pronounced in Mandarin as Zhōngqiū Jié (simplified Chinese: 中秋节; traditional Chinese: 中秋節), Jūng-chāu Jit in Cantonese, and Tiong-chhiu-cheh in Hokkien. It is also called Peh-goe̍h-cheh (八月節; ‘Eighth Month Festival’) in Hokkien.
• Chuseok (추석 / 秋夕; Autumn Eve), Korea festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese and other East Asian lunisolar calendars.^[9]
• Tsukimi (月見; ‘moon viewing’), Japanese variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
  • Moon Festival or Harvest Moon Festival, because of the celebration’s association with the full moon on this night, as well as the traditions of Moon worship and Moon viewing.
• Tết Trung Thu (節中秋 in Chữ Nôm, Mid-Autumn Tet), in Vietnamese.
  • Also known as The Children’s Festival in Vietnam. Most festival songs are sung by the children.^[10]
• Lantern Festival, a term sometimes used in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia,^[11] which is not to be confused with the Lantern Festival in China that occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
  • However, ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’ is more widely used by locals when referring to the festival in English and ‘Zhōngqiū Jié’ is used when referring to the festival in Chinese.^{[citation needed]}
• Bon Om Touk, or The Water and Moon Festival in Cambodian. The festival is held each year in November for 3 days.^[12]

Meanings[edit]

The festival celebrates three fundamental concepts that are closely connected:

• Gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. It is said the Moon is the brightest and roundest on this day which means family reunion. Consequently, this is the main reason why the festival is thought to be important.
• Thanksgiving, to give thanks for the harvest, or for harmonious unions
• Praying (asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good future

Traditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these concepts,^[13] although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion.^[13] It’s about well being together.

Origins and development[edit]

The Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE).^[13][14] The term mid-autumn (中秋) first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE).^[4] As for the royal court, it was dedicated to the goddess Taiyinxingjun (太陰星君; Tàiyīn xīng jūn). This is still true for Taoism and Chinese folk religion.^[15][16]

The celebration as a festival only started to gain popularity during the early Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).^[4] One legend explains that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang started to hold formal celebrations in his palace after having explored the Moon-Palace.^[13]

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid Autumn Festival has become a popular folk festival, and officially designated the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar as the Mid Autumn Festival.

By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mid autumn festival had become one of the main folk festivals in China. The Empress Dowager Cixi (late 19th century) enjoyed celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival so much that she would spend the period between the thirteenth and seventeenth day of the eighth month staging elaborate rituals.^[3]

Moon worship[edit]

An important part of the festival celebration is Moon worship. The ancient Chinese believed in rejuvenation being associated with the Moon and water, and connected this concept to the menstruation of women, calling it «monthly water».^[17] The Zhuang people, for example, have an ancient fable saying the Sun and Moon are a couple and the stars are their children, and when the Moon is pregnant, it becomes round, and then becomes crescent after giving birth to a child. These beliefs made it popular among women to worship and give offerings to the Moon on this evening.^[17] In some areas of China, there are still customs in which «men do not worship the moon and the women do not offer sacrifices to the kitchen gods.»^[17]

In China, the Mid-Autumn festival symbolizes the family reunion and on this day, all families will appreciate the Moon in the evening, because it is the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest. There is a beautiful myth about the Mid-Autumn festival, that is Chang’e flying to the Moon.

Offerings are also made to a more well-known lunar deity, Chang’e, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Chang’e explain the origin of Moon worship during this day. One version of the story is as follows, as described in Lihui Yang’s Handbook of Chinese Mythology:^[18]

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang’e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang’e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang’e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi’s house and forced Chang’e to give the elixir to him. Chang’e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang’e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang’e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

“when people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang’e, now the goddess of the Moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the Moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time.»^[19]

Handbook of Chinese Mythology also describes an alternate common version of the myth:^[18]

After the hero Houyi shot down nine of the ten suns, he was pronounced king by the thankful people. However, he soon became a conceited and tyrannical ruler. In order to live long without death, he asked for the elixir from Xiwangmu. But his wife, Chang’e, stole it on the fifteenth of August because she did not want the cruel king to live long and hurt more people. She took the magic potion to prevent her husband from becoming immortal. Houyi was so angry when discovered that Chang’e took the elixir, he shot at his wife as she flew toward the moon, though he missed. Chang’e fled to the moon and became the spirit of the moon. Houyi died soon because he was overcome with great anger. Thereafter, people offer a sacrifice to Chang’e on every fifteenth day of eighth month to commemorate Chang’e’s action.

Celebration[edit]

The festival was a time to enjoy the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food offerings made in honor of the moon. Today, it is still an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the Moon, a symbol of harmony and unity. During a year of a solar eclipse, it is typical for governmental offices, banks, and schools to close extra days in order to enjoy the extended celestial celebration an eclipse brings.^[20] The festival is celebrated with many cultural or regional customs, among them:

• Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang’e.
• Performance of dragon and lion dances, which is mainly practiced in southern China.^[4]

Lanterns[edit]

For information on a different festival that also involves lanterns, see Lantern Festival

A notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floating sky lanterns.^[4] Another tradition involving lanterns is to write riddles on them and have other people try to guess the answers (simplified Chinese: 灯谜; traditional Chinese: 燈謎; pinyin: dēng mí; lit. ‘lantern riddles’).^[21]

It is difficult to discern the original purpose of lanterns in connection to the festival, but it is certain that lanterns were not used in conjunction with Moon-worship prior to the Tang dynasty.^[13] Traditionally, the lantern has been used to symbolize fertility, and functioned mainly as a toy and decoration. But today the lantern has come to symbolize the festival itself.^[13] In the old days, lanterns were made in the image of natural things, myths, and local cultures.^[13] Over time, a greater variety of lanterns could be found as local cultures became influenced by their neighbors.^[13]

As China gradually evolved from an agrarian society to a mixed agrarian-commercial one, traditions from other festivals began to be transmitted into the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as the putting of lanterns on rivers to guide the spirits of the drowned as practiced during the Ghost Festival, which is observed a month before.^[13] Hong Kong fishermen during the Qing dynasty, for example, would put up lanterns on their boats for the Ghost Festival and keep the lanterns up until Mid-Autumn Festival.^[13]

Mooncakes[edit]

Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. Thus, the sharing and eating of round mooncakes among family members during the week of the festival signifies the completeness and unity of families.^[22] In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.^[23] The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion.^[23] In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.^{[citation needed]}

Although typical mooncakes can be around a few centimetres in diameter, imperial chefs have made some as large as 8 meters in diameter, with its surface pressed with designs of Chang’e, cassia trees, or the Moon-Palace.^[20] One tradition is to pile 13 mooncakes on top of each other to mimic a pagoda, the number 13 being chosen to represent the 13 months in a full Chinese lunisolar year.^[20] The spectacle of making very large mooncakes continues in modern China.^[24]

According to Chinese folklore, a Turpan businessman offered cakes to Emperor Taizong of Tang in his victory against the Xiongnu on the fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunisolar month. Taizong took the round cakes and pointed to the moon with a smile, saying, «I’d like to invite the toad to enjoy the hú (胡) cake.» After sharing the cakes with his ministers, the custom of eating these hú cakes spread throughout the country.^[25] Eventually these became known as mooncakes. Although the legend explains the beginnings of mooncake-giving, its popularity and ties to the festival began during the Song dynasty (906–1279 CE).^[13]

Another popular legend concerns the Han Chinese’s uprising against the ruling Mongols at the end of the Yuan dynasty (1280–1368 CE), in which the Han Chinese used traditional mooncakes to conceal the message that they were to rebel on Mid-Autumn Day.^[21] Because of strict controls upon Han Chinese families imposed by the Mongols in which only 1 out of every 10 households was allowed to own a knife guarded by a Mongolian, this coordinated message was important to gather as many available weapons as possible.

Other foods and food displays[edit]

Imperial dishes served on this occasion included nine-jointed lotus roots which symbolize peace, and watermelons cut in the shape of lotus petals which symbolize reunion.^[20] Teacups were placed on stone tables in the garden, where the family would pour tea and chat, waiting for the moment when the full moon’s reflection appeared in the center of their cups.^[20] Owing to the timing of the plant’s blossoms, cassia wine is the traditional choice for the «reunion wine» drunk on the occasion. Also, people will celebrate by eating cassia cakes and candy. In some places, people will celebrate by drinking osmanthus wine and eating osmanthus mooncakes.^[26][27][28]

Food offerings made to deities are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard, including apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges, and pomelos.^[29] One of the first decorations purchased for the celebration table is a clay statue of the Jade Rabbit. In Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit was an animal that lived on the Moon and accompanied Chang’e. Offerings of soy beans and cockscomb flowers were made to the Jade Rabbit.^[20]

Nowadays, in southern China, people will also eat some seasonal fruit that may differ in different district but carrying the same meaning of blessing.

Courtship and matchmaking[edit]

The Mid-Autumn moon has traditionally been a choice occasion to celebrate marriages. Girls would pray to Moon deity Chang’e to help fulfill their romantic wishes.^[3]

In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. For example, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd, and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance at romance.^[4] In Daguang, in southwest Guizhou Province, young men and women of the Dong people would make an appointment at a certain place. The young women would arrive early to overhear remarks made about them by the young men. The young men would praise their lovers in front of their fellows, in which finally the listening women would walk out of the thicket. Pairs of lovers would go off to a quiet place to open their hearts to each other.^[17]

Games and activities[edit]

During the 1920s and 1930s, ethnographer Chao Wei-pang conducted research on traditional games among men, women and children on or around the Mid-Autumn day in the Guangdong Province. These games relate to flights of the soul, spirit possession, or fortunetelling.^[20]

• One type of activity, «Ascent to Heaven» (Chinese: 上天堂 shàng tiāntáng) involves a young lady selected from a circle of women to «ascend» into the celestial realm. While being enveloped in the smoke of burning incense, she describes the beautiful sights and sounds she encounters.^[20]
• Another activity, «Descent into the Garden» (Chinese: 落花园 luò huāyuán), played among younger girls, detailed each girl’s visit to the heavenly gardens. According to legend, a flower tree represented her, and the number and color of the flowers indicated the sex and number of children she would have in her lifetime.^[20]
• Men played a game called «Descent of the Eight Immortals» (jiangbaxian), where one of the Eight Immortals took possession of a player, who would then assume the role of a scholar or warrior.^[20]
• Children would play a game called «Encircling the Toad» (guanxiamo), where the group would form a circle around a child chosen to be a Toad King and chanted a song that transformed the child into a toad. He would jump around like a toad until water was sprinkled on his head, in which he would then stop.^[20]

Practices by regions and cultures[edit]

China[edit]

Xiamen[edit]

A unique tradition is celebrated quite exclusively in the island city of Xiamen. During the festival, families and friends gather to play Bo Bing, a gambling sort of game involving 6 dice. People take turns in rolling the dice in a ceramic bowl with the results determining what they win. The number 4 is mainly what determines how big the prize is.^[30]

Hong Kong and Macau[edit]

In Hong Kong and Macau, the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday rather than the festival date itself (unless that date falls on a Sunday, then Monday is also a holiday), because many celebration events are held at night. There are a number of festive activities such as lighting lanterns, but mooncakes are the most important feature there. However, people don’t usually buy mooncakes for themselves, but to give their relatives as presents. People start to exchange these presents well in advance of the festival. Hence, mooncakes are sold in elegant boxes for presentation purpose. Also, the price for these boxes are not considered cheap—a four-mooncake box of the lotus seeds paste with egg yolks variety, can generally cost US$40 or more.^[31] However, as environmental protection has become a concern of the public in recent years, many mooncake manufacturers in Hong Kong have adopted practices to reduce packaging materials to practical limits.^[32] The mooncake manufacturers also explore in the creation of new types of mooncakes, such as ice-cream mooncake and snow skin mooncake.

There are also other traditions related to the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. Neighbourhoods across Hong Kong set impressive lantern exhibitions with traditional stage shows, game stalls, palm readings, and many other festive activities. The grandest celebrations take place in Victoria Park (Hong Kong).^[33] One of the brightest rituals is the Fire Dragon Dance dating back to the 19th century and recognised as a part of China’s intangible cultural heritage.^[34][35] The 200 foot-long fire dragon requires more than 300 people to operate, taking turns. The leader of the fire dragon dance would pray for peace, good fortune through blessings in Hakka. After the ritual ceremony, fire-dragon was thrown into the sea with lanterns and paper cards, which means the dragon would return to sea and take the misfortunes away.^[35]

Before 1941, There were also some celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival held in small villages in Hong Kong. Sha Po would celebrate Mid Autumn Festival in every 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunisolar month.^[36] People called Mid Autumn Festival as Kwong Sin Festival, they hold Pok San Ngau Tsai at Datong Pond in Sha Po. Pok San Ngau Tsai was a celebration event of Kwong Sin Festival, people would gather around to watch it. During the event, someone would play the percussions, Some villagers would then acted as possessed and called themselves as «Maoshan Masters». They burnt themselves with incense sticks and fought with real blades and spears.

Ethnic minorities in China[edit]

• Korean minorities living in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture have a custom of welcoming the Moon, where they put up a large conical house frame made of dry pine branches and call it a «moon house». The moonlight would shine inside for gazers to appreciate.^[17]
• The Bouyei people call the occasion «Worshiping Moon Festival», where after praying to ancestors and dining together, they bring rice cakes to the doorway to worship the Moon Grandmother.^[17]
• The Tu people practice a ceremony called «Beating the Moon», where they place a basin of clear water in the courtyard to reflect an image of the Moon, and then «beat» the water surface with branches.^[17]
• The Maonan people tie a bamboo near the table, on which a grapefruit is hung, with three lit incense sticks on it. This is called «Shooting the Moon».^[17]

Taiwan[edit]

In Taiwan, and its outlying islands Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday. Outdoor barbecues have become a popular affair for friends and family to gather and enjoy each other’s company.^[37] Children also make and wear hats made of pomelo rinds. It is believed Chang’e, the lady in the moon, will notice children with her favorite fruit and bestow good fortune upon them. ^[38]

Similar traditions in other countries[edit]

Similar traditions are found in other parts of Asia and also revolve around the full moon. These festivals tend to occur on the same day or around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

East Asia[edit]

Japan[edit]

The Japanese moon viewing festival, o-tsukimi (お月見, «moon viewing»), is also held at this time. People picnic and drink sake under the full moon to celebrate the harvest.

Korea[edit]

Chuseok (추석; 秋夕; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚]), literally «Autumn eve», once known as hangawi (한가위; [han.ɡa.ɥi]; from archaic Korean for «the great middle (of autumn)»), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in North Korea and South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar on the full moon. It was celebrated as far back as during the Three Kingdoms period in Silla. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns, honor their ancestors in a family ceremony (차례), and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon (송편), tohrangook (토란국), and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Asia[edit]

Many festivals revolving around a full moon are also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Like the Mid-Autumn Festival, these festivals have Buddhist origins and revolve around the full moon. However, unlike their East Asian counterparts they occur several times a year to correspond with each full moon as opposed to one day each year. The festivals that occur in the lunar months of Ashvini and Kṛttikā generally occur during the Mid-Autumn Festival.^[39][40]

Cambodia[edit]

In Cambodia, it is more commonly called «The Water and Moon Festival» Bon Om Touk.^[41] The Water and Moon festival is celebrated in November of every year. It is a three-day celebration, starting with the boat race that last the first two days of the festival. The boat races are colorfully painted with bright colors and is in various designs being most popular the neak, Cambodian sea dragon. Hundreds of Cambodian males take part in rowing the boats and racing them at the Tonle Sap River. When night falls the streets are filled with people buying food and attending various concerts.^[42] In the evening is the Sampeah Preah Khae: the salutation to the moon or prayers to the moon.^[43] The Cambodian people set an array of offerings that are popular for rabbits, such and various fruits and a traditional dish called Ak Ambok in front of their homes with lit incenses to make wishes to the Moon.^[44] Cambodians believe the legend of The Rabbit and the Moon, and that a rabbit who lives on the Moon watches over the Cambodian people. At midnight everyone goes up to the temple to pray and make wishes and enjoy their Ak Ambok together. Cambodians would also make homemade lanterns that are usually made into the shape of the lotus flowers or other more modern designs. Incense and candles light up the lanterns and Cambodians make prayers and then send if off into the river for their wishes and prayers to be heard and granted.^[45][46][47]

Laos[edit]

In Laos, many festivals are held on the day of the full moon. The most popular festival known as That Luang Festival is associated with Buddhist legend and is held at Pha That Luang temple in Vientiane. The festival often lasts for three to seven days. A procession occurs and many people visit the temple.^[48]

Myanmar[edit]

In Myanmar, numerous festivals are held on the day of the full moon. However, the Thadingyut Festival is the most popular one and occurs in the month of Thadingyut. It also occurs around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, depending on the lunar calendar. It is one of the biggest festivals in Myanmar after the New Year festival, Thingyan. It is a Buddhist festival and many people go to the temple to pay respect to the monks and offer food.^[49] It is also a time for thanksgiving and paying homage to Buddhist monks, teachers, parents and elders.^[50]

Singapore[edit]

Informally observed but not a government holiday.

Vietnam[edit]

In Vietnam, children participate in parades in the dark under the full moon with lanterns of various forms, shapes, and colors. Traditionally, lanterns signified the wish for the sun’s light and warmth to return after winter.^[51] In addition to carrying lanterns, the children also don masks. Elaborate masks were made of papier-mâché, though it is more common to find masks made of plastic nowadays.^[52] Handcrafted shadow lanterns were an important part of Mid-Autumn displays since the 12th-century Lý dynasty, often of historical figures from Vietnamese history.^[52] Handcrafted lantern-making declined in modern times due to the availability of mass-produced plastic lanterns, which often depict internationally recognizable characters from children’s shows and video games.^[52]

The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as Tết Trung Thu (Chữ Nôm: 節中秋) in Vietnamese. It is also commonly referred to as the «Children’s Festival».^[10] The Vietnamese traditionally believed that children, being the most innocent, had the closest connection to the sacred, pure and natural beauty of the world. The celebration of the children’s spirit was seen as a way to connect to that world still full of wonder, mystery, teachings, joy, and sadness. Animist spirits, deities and Vietnamese folk religions are also observed during the festival.^[51]

In its most traditional form, the evening commemorates the dragon who brings rain for the crops.^[52] Celebrants would observe the moon to divine the future of the people and the harvests. Eventually the celebration came to symbolize a reverence for fruitfulness, with prayers given for bountiful harvests, increase in livestock, and fertility. Over time, the prayers for children evolved into the celebration of children.^[52] Historical Confucian scholars continued the tradition of gazing at the Moon, but to sip wine and improvise poetry and song.^[52] However, by the early twentieth century in Hanoi, the festival had begun to assume its identity as the quintessential children’s festival.^[52]

Aside from the story of Chang’e (Vietnamese: Hằng Nga), there are two other popular folktales associated with the festival. The first describes the legend of Cuội, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree. The tree began to float towards the Moon, and Cuội, trying to pull it back down to Earth, floated to the Moon with it, leaving him stranded there. Every year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội the way back to Earth.^[53] The other tale involves a carp who wanted to become a dragon, and as a result, worked hard throughout the year until he was able to transform himself into a dragon.^[10]

One important event before and during the festival are lion dances. Dances are performed by both non-professional children’s groups and trained professional groups. Lion dance groups perform on the streets, going to houses asking for permission to perform for them. If the host consents, the «lion» will come in and start dancing as a blessing of luck and fortune for the home. In return, the host gives lucky money to show their gratitude.^{[citation needed]} Cakes and fruits are not only consumed, but elaborately prepared as food displays. For example, glutinous rice flour and rice paste are molded into familiar animals. Pomelo sections can be fashioned into unicorns, rabbits, or dogs.^[52] Villagers of Xuân La, just north of Hanoi, produce tò he, figurines made from rice paste and colored with natural food dyes.^[52] Into the early decades of the twentieth century of Vietnam, daughters of wealthy families would prepare elaborate center pieces filled with treats for their younger siblings. Well-dressed visitors could visit to observe the daughter’s handiwork as an indication of her capabilities as a wife in the future. Eventually the practice of arranging centerpieces became a tradition not just limited to wealthy families.^[52]

Into the early decades of the twentieth century Vietnam, young men and women used the festival as a chance to meet future life companions. Groups would assemble in a courtyard and exchange verses of song while gazing at the moon. Those who performed poorly were sidelined until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects.^[52]

South Asia[edit]

India[edit]

Main article: Onam

Onam is an annual Harvest festival in the state of Kerala in India. It falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–September. According to legends, the festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.^{[citation needed]}

Onam is a major annual event for Malayali people in and outside Kerala. It is a harvest festival, one of three major annual Hindu celebrations along with Vishu and Thiruvathira, and it is observed with numerous festivities. Onam celebrations include Vallam Kali (boat races), Pulikali (tiger dances), Pookkalam (flower Rangoli), Onathappan (worship), Onam Kali, Tug of War, Thumbi Thullal (women’s dance), Kummattikali (mask dance), Onathallu (martial arts), Onavillu (music), Kazhchakkula (plantain offerings), Onapottan (costumes), Atthachamayam (folk songs and dance), and other celebrations.

Onam is the official state festival of Kerala with public holidays that start four days from Uthradom (Onam eve). Major festivities take place across 30 venues in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. It is also celebrated by Malayali diaspora around the world. Though a Hindu festival, non-Hindu communities of Kerala participate in Onam celebrations considering it as a cultural festival.

Sharad Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin (September–October), marking the end of the monsoon season.

Sri Lanka[edit]

Main article: Poya

In Sri Lanka, a full moon day is known as Poya and each full moon day is a public holiday. Shops and businesses are closed on these days as people prepare for the full moon.^{[54][better source needed]} Exteriors of buildings are adorned with lanterns and people often make food and go to the temple to listen to sermons.^[55] The Binara Full Moon Poya Day and Vap Full Moon Poya Day occur around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival and like other Buddhist Asian countries, the festivals celebrate the ascendance and culmination of the Buddha’s visit to heaven and for the latter, the acknowledgement of the cultivation season known as «Maha».^[56][57][58]

Israel and Jewish Diaspora[edit]

The harvest festival of Sukkot is a cognate celebration, beginning on the full moon of the lunar month Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar.

North America[edit]

Canada and the United States[edit]

As late as 2014, the Mid-Autumn Festival generally went unnoticed outside of Asian supermarkets and food stores,^[59] but it has gained popularity since then in areas with significant ethnic Chinese overseas populations, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.^[60] Unlike traditions in China, celebrations in the United States are usually limited to daylight hours, and generally conclude by early evening.^[61]

Mid-Autumn Festivals in America

City	District	Since	Ref.
Boston	Chinatown		[62]
Chicago	Chinatown	2005	[63]
Los Angeles	Chinatown	1938	[64]
New York City	Mott Street, Flushing, and Sunset Park	2019	[60][65]
Philadelphia	Chinatown	1995	[66]
San Francisco	Chinatown	1991	[67]
Toronto	Cadillac Fairview shopping areas		[68][69]
Vancouver	Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden		[70]

Dates[edit]

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Han calendar—essentially the night of a full moon—which falls near the Autumnal Equinox (on a day between 8 September and 7 October in the Gregorian calendar). In 2018, it fell on 24 September. It will occur on these days in coming years:^[71]

• 2021: 21 September (Tuesday)
• 2022: 10 September (Saturday)
• 2023: 29 September (Friday)

See also[edit]

• Dragon Boat Festival
• Agriculture in China
• Agriculture in Vietnam
• Chinese holidays
• Vietnamese holidays
• List of harvest festivals

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• San Francisco Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival
• Moon Viewing Festival on YouTube at Sumiyoshi-taisha, Osaka, Japan
• Brief video about the history and traditions of Mid-Autumn Festival on YouTube
• Origin and Development of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival
Festival decorations in Beijing
Also called	Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival
Observed by	Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (similar holidays celebrated in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia)
Type	Cultural, religious, Asian
Significance	Celebrates the end of the autumn harvest
Celebrations	Lantern lighting, mooncake making and sharing, courtship and matchmaking, fireworks, family gathering, dragon dances, family meal, visiting friends and relatives, gift giving
Observances	Consumption of mooncakes Consumption of cassia wine
Date	15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar
2023 date	29 September[1]
2024 date	7 September[1]
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Chuseok (Korea), Tsukimi (Japan), Tết Trung Thu (Vietnam), Uposatha of Ashvini or Krittika (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand)

Mid-Autumn Festival
«Mid-Autumn Festival» in traditional (top) and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	中秋節
Simplified Chinese	中秋节
Literal meaning	«Mid-Autumn Festival»
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōngqiū jié Wade–Giles Chung1-ch’iu1 chieh2 IPA [ʈʂʊ́ŋ.tɕʰjóʊ tɕjě] Wu Romanization Tson-tshieu tsiq Hakka Romanization Pat-ngie̍t-chiet, Chûng-chhiû-chiet Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jūng-chāu jit Jyutping Zung1-cau1 zit3 IPA [tsóŋ.tsʰɐ́u tsīːt̚] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tiong-chhiu-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dṳ̆ng-chiŭ-cáik
Min Chinese alternate name
Traditional Chinese	八月節
Literal meaning	«Festival of the Eighth Month»
Transcriptions Southern Min Hokkien POJ Peh-go̍eh-cheh Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Báik-nguŏk-cáik

The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: 中秋節 / 中秋节), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (Tsukimi), Korea (Chuseok), Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu), and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.

It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture; its popularity is on par with that of Chinese New Year. The history of the Mid-Autumn Festival dates back over 3,000 years.^[2][3] The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar.^[4] On this day, the Chinese believe that the Moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.^[5]

Lanterns of all size and shapes, are carried and displayed – symbolic beacons that light people’s path to prosperity and good fortune. Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean, egg yolk, meat or lotus-seed paste, are traditionally eaten during this festival.^[6][7][8] The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of Chang’e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.

Etymology[edit]

• The Mid-Autumn Festival is so-named as it is held on the 15th of the 8th lunar month in the Chinese calendar around the autumn equinox.^[3] Its name is pronounced in Mandarin as Zhōngqiū Jié (simplified Chinese: 中秋节; traditional Chinese: 中秋節), Jūng-chāu Jit in Cantonese, and Tiong-chhiu-cheh in Hokkien. It is also called Peh-goe̍h-cheh (八月節; ‘Eighth Month Festival’) in Hokkien.
• Chuseok (추석 / 秋夕; Autumn Eve), Korea festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese and other East Asian lunisolar calendars.^[9]
• Tsukimi (月見; ‘moon viewing’), Japanese variant of the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated on the same day in the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
  • Moon Festival or Harvest Moon Festival, because of the celebration’s association with the full moon on this night, as well as the traditions of Moon worship and Moon viewing.
• Tết Trung Thu (節中秋 in Chữ Nôm, Mid-Autumn Tet), in Vietnamese.
  • Also known as The Children’s Festival in Vietnam. Most festival songs are sung by the children.^[10]
• Lantern Festival, a term sometimes used in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia,^[11] which is not to be confused with the Lantern Festival in China that occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
  • However, ‘Mid-Autumn Festival’ is more widely used by locals when referring to the festival in English and ‘Zhōngqiū Jié’ is used when referring to the festival in Chinese.^{[citation needed]}
• Bon Om Touk, or The Water and Moon Festival in Cambodian. The festival is held each year in November for 3 days.^[12]

Meanings[edit]

The festival celebrates three fundamental concepts that are closely connected:

• Gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. It is said the Moon is the brightest and roundest on this day which means family reunion. Consequently, this is the main reason why the festival is thought to be important.
• Thanksgiving, to give thanks for the harvest, or for harmonious unions
• Praying (asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good future

Traditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these concepts,^[13] although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion.^[13] It’s about well being together.

Origins and development[edit]

The Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE).^[13][14] The term mid-autumn (中秋) first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE).^[4] As for the royal court, it was dedicated to the goddess Taiyinxingjun (太陰星君; Tàiyīn xīng jūn). This is still true for Taoism and Chinese folk religion.^[15][16]

The celebration as a festival only started to gain popularity during the early Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).^[4] One legend explains that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang started to hold formal celebrations in his palace after having explored the Moon-Palace.^[13]

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid Autumn Festival has become a popular folk festival, and officially designated the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar as the Mid Autumn Festival.

By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mid autumn festival had become one of the main folk festivals in China. The Empress Dowager Cixi (late 19th century) enjoyed celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival so much that she would spend the period between the thirteenth and seventeenth day of the eighth month staging elaborate rituals.^[3]

Moon worship[edit]

An important part of the festival celebration is Moon worship. The ancient Chinese believed in rejuvenation being associated with the Moon and water, and connected this concept to the menstruation of women, calling it «monthly water».^[17] The Zhuang people, for example, have an ancient fable saying the Sun and Moon are a couple and the stars are their children, and when the Moon is pregnant, it becomes round, and then becomes crescent after giving birth to a child. These beliefs made it popular among women to worship and give offerings to the Moon on this evening.^[17] In some areas of China, there are still customs in which «men do not worship the moon and the women do not offer sacrifices to the kitchen gods.»^[17]

In China, the Mid-Autumn festival symbolizes the family reunion and on this day, all families will appreciate the Moon in the evening, because it is the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest. There is a beautiful myth about the Mid-Autumn festival, that is Chang’e flying to the Moon.

Offerings are also made to a more well-known lunar deity, Chang’e, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Chang’e explain the origin of Moon worship during this day. One version of the story is as follows, as described in Lihui Yang’s Handbook of Chinese Mythology:^[18]

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang’e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang’e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang’e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi’s house and forced Chang’e to give the elixir to him. Chang’e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang’e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang’e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

“when people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang’e, now the goddess of the Moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the Moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time.»^[19]

Handbook of Chinese Mythology also describes an alternate common version of the myth:^[18]

After the hero Houyi shot down nine of the ten suns, he was pronounced king by the thankful people. However, he soon became a conceited and tyrannical ruler. In order to live long without death, he asked for the elixir from Xiwangmu. But his wife, Chang’e, stole it on the fifteenth of August because she did not want the cruel king to live long and hurt more people. She took the magic potion to prevent her husband from becoming immortal. Houyi was so angry when discovered that Chang’e took the elixir, he shot at his wife as she flew toward the moon, though he missed. Chang’e fled to the moon and became the spirit of the moon. Houyi died soon because he was overcome with great anger. Thereafter, people offer a sacrifice to Chang’e on every fifteenth day of eighth month to commemorate Chang’e’s action.

Celebration[edit]

The festival was a time to enjoy the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food offerings made in honor of the moon. Today, it is still an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the Moon, a symbol of harmony and unity. During a year of a solar eclipse, it is typical for governmental offices, banks, and schools to close extra days in order to enjoy the extended celestial celebration an eclipse brings.^[20] The festival is celebrated with many cultural or regional customs, among them:

• Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang’e.
• Performance of dragon and lion dances, which is mainly practiced in southern China.^[4]

Lanterns[edit]

For information on a different festival that also involves lanterns, see Lantern Festival

A notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floating sky lanterns.^[4] Another tradition involving lanterns is to write riddles on them and have other people try to guess the answers (simplified Chinese: 灯谜; traditional Chinese: 燈謎; pinyin: dēng mí; lit. ‘lantern riddles’).^[21]

It is difficult to discern the original purpose of lanterns in connection to the festival, but it is certain that lanterns were not used in conjunction with Moon-worship prior to the Tang dynasty.^[13] Traditionally, the lantern has been used to symbolize fertility, and functioned mainly as a toy and decoration. But today the lantern has come to symbolize the festival itself.^[13] In the old days, lanterns were made in the image of natural things, myths, and local cultures.^[13] Over time, a greater variety of lanterns could be found as local cultures became influenced by their neighbors.^[13]

As China gradually evolved from an agrarian society to a mixed agrarian-commercial one, traditions from other festivals began to be transmitted into the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as the putting of lanterns on rivers to guide the spirits of the drowned as practiced during the Ghost Festival, which is observed a month before.^[13] Hong Kong fishermen during the Qing dynasty, for example, would put up lanterns on their boats for the Ghost Festival and keep the lanterns up until Mid-Autumn Festival.^[13]

Mooncakes[edit]

Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. Thus, the sharing and eating of round mooncakes among family members during the week of the festival signifies the completeness and unity of families.^[22] In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.^[23] The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion.^[23] In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.^{[citation needed]}

Although typical mooncakes can be around a few centimetres in diameter, imperial chefs have made some as large as 8 meters in diameter, with its surface pressed with designs of Chang’e, cassia trees, or the Moon-Palace.^[20] One tradition is to pile 13 mooncakes on top of each other to mimic a pagoda, the number 13 being chosen to represent the 13 months in a full Chinese lunisolar year.^[20] The spectacle of making very large mooncakes continues in modern China.^[24]

According to Chinese folklore, a Turpan businessman offered cakes to Emperor Taizong of Tang in his victory against the Xiongnu on the fifteenth day of the eighth Chinese lunisolar month. Taizong took the round cakes and pointed to the moon with a smile, saying, «I’d like to invite the toad to enjoy the hú (胡) cake.» After sharing the cakes with his ministers, the custom of eating these hú cakes spread throughout the country.^[25] Eventually these became known as mooncakes. Although the legend explains the beginnings of mooncake-giving, its popularity and ties to the festival began during the Song dynasty (906–1279 CE).^[13]

Another popular legend concerns the Han Chinese’s uprising against the ruling Mongols at the end of the Yuan dynasty (1280–1368 CE), in which the Han Chinese used traditional mooncakes to conceal the message that they were to rebel on Mid-Autumn Day.^[21] Because of strict controls upon Han Chinese families imposed by the Mongols in which only 1 out of every 10 households was allowed to own a knife guarded by a Mongolian, this coordinated message was important to gather as many available weapons as possible.

Other foods and food displays[edit]

Imperial dishes served on this occasion included nine-jointed lotus roots which symbolize peace, and watermelons cut in the shape of lotus petals which symbolize reunion.^[20] Teacups were placed on stone tables in the garden, where the family would pour tea and chat, waiting for the moment when the full moon’s reflection appeared in the center of their cups.^[20] Owing to the timing of the plant’s blossoms, cassia wine is the traditional choice for the «reunion wine» drunk on the occasion. Also, people will celebrate by eating cassia cakes and candy. In some places, people will celebrate by drinking osmanthus wine and eating osmanthus mooncakes.^[26][27][28]

Food offerings made to deities are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard, including apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges, and pomelos.^[29] One of the first decorations purchased for the celebration table is a clay statue of the Jade Rabbit. In Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit was an animal that lived on the Moon and accompanied Chang’e. Offerings of soy beans and cockscomb flowers were made to the Jade Rabbit.^[20]

Nowadays, in southern China, people will also eat some seasonal fruit that may differ in different district but carrying the same meaning of blessing.

Courtship and matchmaking[edit]

The Mid-Autumn moon has traditionally been a choice occasion to celebrate marriages. Girls would pray to Moon deity Chang’e to help fulfill their romantic wishes.^[3]

In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. For example, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd, and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance at romance.^[4] In Daguang, in southwest Guizhou Province, young men and women of the Dong people would make an appointment at a certain place. The young women would arrive early to overhear remarks made about them by the young men. The young men would praise their lovers in front of their fellows, in which finally the listening women would walk out of the thicket. Pairs of lovers would go off to a quiet place to open their hearts to each other.^[17]

Games and activities[edit]

During the 1920s and 1930s, ethnographer Chao Wei-pang conducted research on traditional games among men, women and children on or around the Mid-Autumn day in the Guangdong Province. These games relate to flights of the soul, spirit possession, or fortunetelling.^[20]

• One type of activity, «Ascent to Heaven» (Chinese: 上天堂 shàng tiāntáng) involves a young lady selected from a circle of women to «ascend» into the celestial realm. While being enveloped in the smoke of burning incense, she describes the beautiful sights and sounds she encounters.^[20]
• Another activity, «Descent into the Garden» (Chinese: 落花园 luò huāyuán), played among younger girls, detailed each girl’s visit to the heavenly gardens. According to legend, a flower tree represented her, and the number and color of the flowers indicated the sex and number of children she would have in her lifetime.^[20]
• Men played a game called «Descent of the Eight Immortals» (jiangbaxian), where one of the Eight Immortals took possession of a player, who would then assume the role of a scholar or warrior.^[20]
• Children would play a game called «Encircling the Toad» (guanxiamo), where the group would form a circle around a child chosen to be a Toad King and chanted a song that transformed the child into a toad. He would jump around like a toad until water was sprinkled on his head, in which he would then stop.^[20]

Practices by regions and cultures[edit]

China[edit]

Xiamen[edit]

A unique tradition is celebrated quite exclusively in the island city of Xiamen. During the festival, families and friends gather to play Bo Bing, a gambling sort of game involving 6 dice. People take turns in rolling the dice in a ceramic bowl with the results determining what they win. The number 4 is mainly what determines how big the prize is.^[30]

Hong Kong and Macau[edit]

In Hong Kong and Macau, the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday rather than the festival date itself (unless that date falls on a Sunday, then Monday is also a holiday), because many celebration events are held at night. There are a number of festive activities such as lighting lanterns, but mooncakes are the most important feature there. However, people don’t usually buy mooncakes for themselves, but to give their relatives as presents. People start to exchange these presents well in advance of the festival. Hence, mooncakes are sold in elegant boxes for presentation purpose. Also, the price for these boxes are not considered cheap—a four-mooncake box of the lotus seeds paste with egg yolks variety, can generally cost US$40 or more.^[31] However, as environmental protection has become a concern of the public in recent years, many mooncake manufacturers in Hong Kong have adopted practices to reduce packaging materials to practical limits.^[32] The mooncake manufacturers also explore in the creation of new types of mooncakes, such as ice-cream mooncake and snow skin mooncake.

There are also other traditions related to the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. Neighbourhoods across Hong Kong set impressive lantern exhibitions with traditional stage shows, game stalls, palm readings, and many other festive activities. The grandest celebrations take place in Victoria Park (Hong Kong).^[33] One of the brightest rituals is the Fire Dragon Dance dating back to the 19th century and recognised as a part of China’s intangible cultural heritage.^[34][35] The 200 foot-long fire dragon requires more than 300 people to operate, taking turns. The leader of the fire dragon dance would pray for peace, good fortune through blessings in Hakka. After the ritual ceremony, fire-dragon was thrown into the sea with lanterns and paper cards, which means the dragon would return to sea and take the misfortunes away.^[35]

Before 1941, There were also some celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival held in small villages in Hong Kong. Sha Po would celebrate Mid Autumn Festival in every 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunisolar month.^[36] People called Mid Autumn Festival as Kwong Sin Festival, they hold Pok San Ngau Tsai at Datong Pond in Sha Po. Pok San Ngau Tsai was a celebration event of Kwong Sin Festival, people would gather around to watch it. During the event, someone would play the percussions, Some villagers would then acted as possessed and called themselves as «Maoshan Masters». They burnt themselves with incense sticks and fought with real blades and spears.

Ethnic minorities in China[edit]

• Korean minorities living in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture have a custom of welcoming the Moon, where they put up a large conical house frame made of dry pine branches and call it a «moon house». The moonlight would shine inside for gazers to appreciate.^[17]
• The Bouyei people call the occasion «Worshiping Moon Festival», where after praying to ancestors and dining together, they bring rice cakes to the doorway to worship the Moon Grandmother.^[17]
• The Tu people practice a ceremony called «Beating the Moon», where they place a basin of clear water in the courtyard to reflect an image of the Moon, and then «beat» the water surface with branches.^[17]
• The Maonan people tie a bamboo near the table, on which a grapefruit is hung, with three lit incense sticks on it. This is called «Shooting the Moon».^[17]

Taiwan[edit]

In Taiwan, and its outlying islands Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday. Outdoor barbecues have become a popular affair for friends and family to gather and enjoy each other’s company.^[37] Children also make and wear hats made of pomelo rinds. It is believed Chang’e, the lady in the moon, will notice children with her favorite fruit and bestow good fortune upon them. ^[38]

Similar traditions in other countries[edit]

Similar traditions are found in other parts of Asia and also revolve around the full moon. These festivals tend to occur on the same day or around the Mid-Autumn Festival.

East Asia[edit]

Japan[edit]

The Japanese moon viewing festival, o-tsukimi (お月見, «moon viewing»), is also held at this time. People picnic and drink sake under the full moon to celebrate the harvest.

Korea[edit]

Chuseok (추석; 秋夕; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚]), literally «Autumn eve», once known as hangawi (한가위; [han.ɡa.ɥi]; from archaic Korean for «the great middle (of autumn)»), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in North Korea and South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar on the full moon. It was celebrated as far back as during the Three Kingdoms period in Silla. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns, honor their ancestors in a family ceremony (차례), and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon (송편), tohrangook (토란국), and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju.^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Asia[edit]

Many festivals revolving around a full moon are also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Like the Mid-Autumn Festival, these festivals have Buddhist origins and revolve around the full moon. However, unlike their East Asian counterparts they occur several times a year to correspond with each full moon as opposed to one day each year. The festivals that occur in the lunar months of Ashvini and Kṛttikā generally occur during the Mid-Autumn Festival.^[39][40]

Cambodia[edit]

In Cambodia, it is more commonly called «The Water and Moon Festival» Bon Om Touk.^[41] The Water and Moon festival is celebrated in November of every year. It is a three-day celebration, starting with the boat race that last the first two days of the festival. The boat races are colorfully painted with bright colors and is in various designs being most popular the neak, Cambodian sea dragon. Hundreds of Cambodian males take part in rowing the boats and racing them at the Tonle Sap River. When night falls the streets are filled with people buying food and attending various concerts.^[42] In the evening is the Sampeah Preah Khae: the salutation to the moon or prayers to the moon.^[43] The Cambodian people set an array of offerings that are popular for rabbits, such and various fruits and a traditional dish called Ak Ambok in front of their homes with lit incenses to make wishes to the Moon.^[44] Cambodians believe the legend of The Rabbit and the Moon, and that a rabbit who lives on the Moon watches over the Cambodian people. At midnight everyone goes up to the temple to pray and make wishes and enjoy their Ak Ambok together. Cambodians would also make homemade lanterns that are usually made into the shape of the lotus flowers or other more modern designs. Incense and candles light up the lanterns and Cambodians make prayers and then send if off into the river for their wishes and prayers to be heard and granted.^[45][46][47]

Laos[edit]

In Laos, many festivals are held on the day of the full moon. The most popular festival known as That Luang Festival is associated with Buddhist legend and is held at Pha That Luang temple in Vientiane. The festival often lasts for three to seven days. A procession occurs and many people visit the temple.^[48]

Myanmar[edit]

In Myanmar, numerous festivals are held on the day of the full moon. However, the Thadingyut Festival is the most popular one and occurs in the month of Thadingyut. It also occurs around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival, depending on the lunar calendar. It is one of the biggest festivals in Myanmar after the New Year festival, Thingyan. It is a Buddhist festival and many people go to the temple to pay respect to the monks and offer food.^[49] It is also a time for thanksgiving and paying homage to Buddhist monks, teachers, parents and elders.^[50]

Singapore[edit]

Informally observed but not a government holiday.

Vietnam[edit]

In Vietnam, children participate in parades in the dark under the full moon with lanterns of various forms, shapes, and colors. Traditionally, lanterns signified the wish for the sun’s light and warmth to return after winter.^[51] In addition to carrying lanterns, the children also don masks. Elaborate masks were made of papier-mâché, though it is more common to find masks made of plastic nowadays.^[52] Handcrafted shadow lanterns were an important part of Mid-Autumn displays since the 12th-century Lý dynasty, often of historical figures from Vietnamese history.^[52] Handcrafted lantern-making declined in modern times due to the availability of mass-produced plastic lanterns, which often depict internationally recognizable characters from children’s shows and video games.^[52]

The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as Tết Trung Thu (Chữ Nôm: 節中秋) in Vietnamese. It is also commonly referred to as the «Children’s Festival».^[10] The Vietnamese traditionally believed that children, being the most innocent, had the closest connection to the sacred, pure and natural beauty of the world. The celebration of the children’s spirit was seen as a way to connect to that world still full of wonder, mystery, teachings, joy, and sadness. Animist spirits, deities and Vietnamese folk religions are also observed during the festival.^[51]

In its most traditional form, the evening commemorates the dragon who brings rain for the crops.^[52] Celebrants would observe the moon to divine the future of the people and the harvests. Eventually the celebration came to symbolize a reverence for fruitfulness, with prayers given for bountiful harvests, increase in livestock, and fertility. Over time, the prayers for children evolved into the celebration of children.^[52] Historical Confucian scholars continued the tradition of gazing at the Moon, but to sip wine and improvise poetry and song.^[52] However, by the early twentieth century in Hanoi, the festival had begun to assume its identity as the quintessential children’s festival.^[52]

Aside from the story of Chang’e (Vietnamese: Hằng Nga), there are two other popular folktales associated with the festival. The first describes the legend of Cuội, whose wife accidentally urinated on a sacred banyan tree. The tree began to float towards the Moon, and Cuội, trying to pull it back down to Earth, floated to the Moon with it, leaving him stranded there. Every year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, children light lanterns and participate in a procession to show Cuội the way back to Earth.^[53] The other tale involves a carp who wanted to become a dragon, and as a result, worked hard throughout the year until he was able to transform himself into a dragon.^[10]

One important event before and during the festival are lion dances. Dances are performed by both non-professional children’s groups and trained professional groups. Lion dance groups perform on the streets, going to houses asking for permission to perform for them. If the host consents, the «lion» will come in and start dancing as a blessing of luck and fortune for the home. In return, the host gives lucky money to show their gratitude.^{[citation needed]} Cakes and fruits are not only consumed, but elaborately prepared as food displays. For example, glutinous rice flour and rice paste are molded into familiar animals. Pomelo sections can be fashioned into unicorns, rabbits, or dogs.^[52] Villagers of Xuân La, just north of Hanoi, produce tò he, figurines made from rice paste and colored with natural food dyes.^[52] Into the early decades of the twentieth century of Vietnam, daughters of wealthy families would prepare elaborate center pieces filled with treats for their younger siblings. Well-dressed visitors could visit to observe the daughter’s handiwork as an indication of her capabilities as a wife in the future. Eventually the practice of arranging centerpieces became a tradition not just limited to wealthy families.^[52]

Into the early decades of the twentieth century Vietnam, young men and women used the festival as a chance to meet future life companions. Groups would assemble in a courtyard and exchange verses of song while gazing at the moon. Those who performed poorly were sidelined until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects.^[52]

South Asia[edit]

India[edit]

Main article: Onam

Onam is an annual Harvest festival in the state of Kerala in India. It falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–September. According to legends, the festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.^{[citation needed]}

Onam is a major annual event for Malayali people in and outside Kerala. It is a harvest festival, one of three major annual Hindu celebrations along with Vishu and Thiruvathira, and it is observed with numerous festivities. Onam celebrations include Vallam Kali (boat races), Pulikali (tiger dances), Pookkalam (flower Rangoli), Onathappan (worship), Onam Kali, Tug of War, Thumbi Thullal (women’s dance), Kummattikali (mask dance), Onathallu (martial arts), Onavillu (music), Kazhchakkula (plantain offerings), Onapottan (costumes), Atthachamayam (folk songs and dance), and other celebrations.

Onam is the official state festival of Kerala with public holidays that start four days from Uthradom (Onam eve). Major festivities take place across 30 venues in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. It is also celebrated by Malayali diaspora around the world. Though a Hindu festival, non-Hindu communities of Kerala participate in Onam celebrations considering it as a cultural festival.

Sharad Purnima is a harvest festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin (September–October), marking the end of the monsoon season.

Sri Lanka[edit]

Main article: Poya

In Sri Lanka, a full moon day is known as Poya and each full moon day is a public holiday. Shops and businesses are closed on these days as people prepare for the full moon.^{[54][better source needed]} Exteriors of buildings are adorned with lanterns and people often make food and go to the temple to listen to sermons.^[55] The Binara Full Moon Poya Day and Vap Full Moon Poya Day occur around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival and like other Buddhist Asian countries, the festivals celebrate the ascendance and culmination of the Buddha’s visit to heaven and for the latter, the acknowledgement of the cultivation season known as «Maha».^[56][57][58]

Israel and Jewish Diaspora[edit]

The harvest festival of Sukkot is a cognate celebration, beginning on the full moon of the lunar month Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar.

North America[edit]

Canada and the United States[edit]

As late as 2014, the Mid-Autumn Festival generally went unnoticed outside of Asian supermarkets and food stores,^[59] but it has gained popularity since then in areas with significant ethnic Chinese overseas populations, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.^[60] Unlike traditions in China, celebrations in the United States are usually limited to daylight hours, and generally conclude by early evening.^[61]

Mid-Autumn Festivals in America

City	District	Since	Ref.
Boston	Chinatown		[62]
Chicago	Chinatown	2005	[63]
Los Angeles	Chinatown	1938	[64]
New York City	Mott Street, Flushing, and Sunset Park	2019	[60][65]
Philadelphia	Chinatown	1995	[66]
San Francisco	Chinatown	1991	[67]
Toronto	Cadillac Fairview shopping areas		[68][69]
Vancouver	Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden		[70]

Dates[edit]

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Han calendar—essentially the night of a full moon—which falls near the Autumnal Equinox (on a day between 8 September and 7 October in the Gregorian calendar). In 2018, it fell on 24 September. It will occur on these days in coming years:^[71]

• 2021: 21 September (Tuesday)
• 2022: 10 September (Saturday)
• 2023: 29 September (Friday)

See also[edit]

• Dragon Boat Festival
• Agriculture in China
• Agriculture in Vietnam
• Chinese holidays
• Vietnamese holidays
• List of harvest festivals

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• San Francisco Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival
• Moon Viewing Festival on YouTube at Sumiyoshi-taisha, Osaka, Japan
• Brief video about the history and traditions of Mid-Autumn Festival on YouTube
• Origin and Development of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Если ты знаешь хотя бы что-то о китайской культуре, то, скорее всего, ты в курсе, что в сентябре или октябре в этом регионе проходит особенный праздник – Праздник середины осени. Главный праздник в большей части Азии наступает на 15 день восьмого месяца по лунному календарю – в полнолуние. Именно поэтому его часто называют Лунным фестивалем. И это второй по величине праздник после Китайского Нового года.

В этом году праздник состоится 1 октября, и мы заранее попросили наше комьюнити рассказать о его истории и традициях. Ниже ты найдёшь 8 фактов, которые необходимо узнать до того, как ты погрузишься в один из самых популярных праздников Восточной Азии.

Приложение Tandem создано не только для того, чтобы обмениваться языковыми навыками, оно и для культурного обмена, чтобы помогать людям по всему миру выстраивать конструктивные и интересные беседы. Разрушай барьеры и погружайся в разнообразие, скачивай приложение прямо сейчас!

1. Когда Праздник середины осени состоялся впервые?

Этот праздник действительно древний. Можешь верить, можешь нет, но Праздник середины осени отмечали более 1000 лет назад! Впервые он был учреждён династией Сун (960-1279 гг.), но считается что изначально Праздник середины осени возник в традиции поклонения Луне при династии Чжоу более 3000 лет назад.

В Древней китайской империи в этот день было принято молиться за урожай, хорошую погоду и мир. Поскольку урожай был связан с лунным циклом, Праздник состоялся только в полнолуние. Некоторые правители относились к этому действу невероятно серьёзно. Например, вдовствующая императрица Цыси (конец 19 века) уделяла целых 5 дней сложным ритуалам поклонения Луне, несмотря на свой напряжённый график.

2. Кто такая Чанъэ?

Возможно, ты слышал от своих китайских друзей, что некто по имени Чанъэ «живёт на Луне». Это один из самых распространённых мифов о Празднике середины осени. Чанъэ – китайская богиня Луны и бессмертия, именно ей делают подношения во время Праздника. Десятки разных мифов рассказывают о том, как Чанъэ пришла посмотреть на Луну. В самом известном Чанъэ глотает таблетки, принадлежащие её мужу, которые дают ей бессмертие и возможность летать, поэтому она решает жить одна на Луне.

3. Символы Праздника середины осени

Это сама Луна, конечно же, самый большой символ Праздника. В некоторых местностях люди всё ещё поклоняются Луне, как и 3000 лет назад. Обычно они кладут еду и фрукты на стол под Луной, молясь об удаче. Ещё один символ, который ассоциируют в Китае с Луной и праздником – Нефритовый кролик. Говорят, что пятна на Луне напоминают кролика, держащего ступку и пестик, и этот кролик сопровождает Чанъэ на Луне.

4. Что такое «лунный пряник»?

Делиться лунными пряниками и есть их – это самый важный способ праздновать. Хотя в разных частях Китая люди могут праздновать по-разному, лунные пряники или «юэбины» едят в это время везде.

Округлость лунных пряников символизирует полноту и воссоединение, единство семьи. Часто члены одной семьи угощают лунными пряниками друг друга или даже делятся одним пряником друг с другом. Однако в разных регионах делают пряники с разными начинками. Например, в Гонконге ты сможешь попробовать вкусный лунный пряник с «ледяной кожей» и пастой из красной фасоли. В Северном Китае чаще в качестве начинки использую ореховое ассорти. Ещё лунные пряники бывают с пастой из семян лотоса, ветчиной и орехами или заварным кремом из яиц.

5. Как ещё можно отмечать Праздник середины осени?

Праздник середины осени посвящён воссоединению с семьёй. В это время очень важно побывать дома и встретиться с самыми близкими людьми. В китайской литературе образ Луны всегда связан со скукой по дому, поэтому можешь не удивляться, если увидишь кого-то кто ходит рука об руку весь Праздник. Семьи часто собираются вместе, чтобы почтить Луну.

Помимо лунных пряников к столу на этом Празднике принято подавать также традиционные продукты – яблоки, груши, персики, виноград, гранаты и помело. Кстати, в этот день одиноким людям предоставляется прекрасный шанс найти партнёра, и танцы на Празднике часто устраиваются именно с этой целью.

6. Все ли в Китае отмечают Праздник середины осени одинаково?

Как и большинство традиционных праздников, Праздник середины осени отмечается в разных регионах Китая по-разному. В Нанкине, одном из крупных городов Китая, люди будут есть утку, запечённую с душистым османтусом. В Шанхае будут пить традиционный алкогольный напиток из османтуса. Во многих регионах украсят дома фонариками.

7. Как отмечается Праздник середины осени в других азиатских странах?

Этот Праздник отмечают в Японии, Южной Корее, Вьетнаме, Таиланде, Сингапуре, Малайзии и на Филиппинах. Обычаи празднования в разных странах, конечно, различаются. Например, в Южной Корее Праздник называют Днём благодарения и отправляют в этот день подарки родственникам и друзьям, вместо лунных пряников едят пироги в форме персика. Но в целом, во всех азиатских странах Праздник середины осени – это отличный повод собраться с семьёй и почтить Луну.

8. Какие слова и фразы я должен знать, чтобы праздновать?

Если прямо сейчас ты изучаешь китайский язык, мы подготовили для тебя несколько фраз, чтобы ты мог удивить своих китайских друзей!

中秋 – это название Праздника середины осени, причём переводится оно буквально, потому что «中» означает «середина», а «秋» – осень. То есть праздник был просто назван по времени, когда он обычно происходит.

月饼 – это лунный пряник. Обязательно расспроси своего Tandem-партнёра о вкусе этого лакомства и поинтересуйся, какая начинка ему больше нравится. Возможно, он даже отправит тебе попробовать лунный пряник 😄

А если ты хочешь кого-то поздравить, то используй фразы «中秋 快乐» (упрощенный китайский) или «中秋節 快樂» (традиционный китайский), что означает «Счастливого Праздника середины осени!»

И для продвинутых…

Если ты уже хорошо владеешь китайским языком, в качестве поздравления цитируй стихи! Например, 但愿人长久 ， 千里 共 婵娟. Что означает «пусть близкий человек останется с вами/мной навсегда, чтобы мы могли делить лунный свет вместе, независимо от того, находимся ли мы рядом или нет». Это стихотворение известно почти каждому китайцу и часто используется в качестве поздравления во время Праздника середины осени.

В этот день все собираются вместе и смотрят на луну, весело празднуя с родными и близкими. Под влиянием китайской культуры праздник Середины осени стал традиционным праздником некоторых стран Юго-Восточной Азии и Северо-Восточной Азии. Несмотря на то, что название праздника одинаковое, традиции во всех странах разные, в разнообразных способах празднования воплотилась безграничная любовь людей к жизни и их стремление к прекрасному будущему.

Японцы едят тефтели из клейкого риса

В Японии, где праздник Середины осени приходится на 15 августа по лунному календарю, его называют “ночью 15-го числа” или “лунным праздником Середины осени”, в этот день японцы тоже имеют привычку любоваться луной, на японском языке это называется “любование луной”. Традиция любоваться луной пришла в Японию из Китая, 1000 с лишним лет назад в Японии возникла традиция наблюдать луну и устраивать банкет, что называли “лунным банкетом”. В отличие от китайцев, которые в праздник Середины осени едят лунные пряники, японцы во время любования луной едят рисовые тефтели, которые называются “лунными тефтелями”.

Праздник середины осени (кит. трад. 中秋節, упр. 中秋节, пиньинь: zhōngqiūjié, палл.: чжунцюцзе, Тет чунг тху (вьетн. Tết Trung thu)) — один из праздников Юго-Восточной Азии, широко отмечается в Китае и Вьетнаме.

Описание

В современной городской традиции это вечер любования полной луной, сопровождаемый угощением «лунными пряниками». Ритуальная сторона празднества наиболее широко отображена в возжигании благовоний Чан-э — мифической жительнице Луны. По своей значимости этот праздник уступает только Китайскому новому году, знаменуя собой середину годичного цикла в представлении народов Восточной Азии. Приходится на 15-й день 8-го месяца (полнолуние) по китайскому календарю, что примерно соответствует второй половине сентября. Считается что в этот день лунный диск «самый яркий и круглый в году». Образ «полноты» фигурирует в нескольких смыслах: это время завершения сбора урожая; луна является символом женского начала, и т.о. её полнота — также символ плодородия. (Согласно китайской традиции, спутником Чан-э на луне является кролик, который толчет в ступе снадобье бессмертия сидя под коричным деревом, а также трёхногая жаба — символ женского начала). Кроме того, праздник отмечают всей семьёй, и семантика «круга семьи» присутствует как в разделении пряников на всех, так и в употреблении в пищу помел (в южных регионах), с последующими играми с круглой кожурой, легко снимающейся с этого фрукта.

Легенды, связанные с праздником

Хоуи и Чаньэ

Хоуи— легендарный лучник, живший в древнем Китае со своей красавицей-женой Чаньэ. В то время существовало десять солнечных воронов, однажды вышедших на небосвод одновременно, что привело к возникновению огромного пожара. Император Китая попросил Хоуи сбить девять звёзд. Хоуи успешно справился с заданием и получил в награду эликсир жизни. Император посоветовал не принимать эликсир сразу, а сначала подготовиться и провести год в молитвах. Хоуи принёс эликсир домой, спрятал его на стропилах и начал готовиться. Но через некоторое время император вновь призвал его. В отсутствие мужа Чаньэ обнаружила эликсир и выпила его. Она стала подниматься в воздух и улетела на луну. После смерти Хоуи вознёсся на солнце. Раз в год 15-го дня 8-го месяца Хоуи и Чаньэ встречаются, и в этот день Луна особенно красива.

Свержение династии Юань

Существует легенда, что в XIV веке с помощью лунных пряников удалось поднять восстание против династии Юань. Китайское население было недовольно правлением династии. Правительство запрещало проводить собрания, поэтому согласовать план восстания было невозможно. Тогда Лю Футун (кит. 刘福通), который был активистом Общества Белого лотоса, испёк большое количество лунных пряников и попросил разрешения распространить эти пряники среди китайцев в честь праздника середины осени. В каждом прянике лежала записка с призывом восстать против монголов 15-го числа 8-го месяца. Восстание способствовало свержению династии Юань и приходу к власти династии Мин.

Даты празднования

• 30 сентября 2012
• 19 сентября 2013
• 8 сентября 2014
• 27 сентября 2015
• 15 сентября 2016
• 4 октября 2017
• 24 сентября 2018
• 13 сентября 2019
• 1 октября 2020

Ссылки

• Праздник «Середины осени» в 2008 году
• Stories of the Moon Festival  (англ.)