Chinese Festivals

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Festivals

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Zhongqiu Folk Festival (Mid-Autumn Festival) The Mid-Autumn Festival–also known as the Moon Festival, Zhongqiu Festival, or Zhongqiujie–has been celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people for over 3,000 years!  It is traced back to moon worship in the Shang Dynasty in China, and has some really interesting roots in Chinese legend and folklore. Held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar (late September/early October), this date corresponds with the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, at which time the moon is supposed to be at its fullest and roundest. It is an exceptionally important day on the Chinese calendar, and is even a legal holiday in several countries.  Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the harvest moon, and eat and drink together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as: - Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns - Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e - Planting Mid-Autumn trees - Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members Fire Dragon Dances - In Taiwan, since the 1980s, barbecuing meat outdoors has become a widespread way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. - Haze can usually be seen blocking the moon in Singapore . - Shops selling mooncakes before the festival often display pictures of Chang'e floating to the moon.

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A pedestrian walks by illuminations set up at popular Victoria Park to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

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Illuminated decorations and lighting of small bulbs are set up at popular Victoria Park to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

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Illuminated decorations and lighting of small bulbs are set up at popular Victoria Park to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

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Performers prepare to take part in a Chinese opera celebrating the Chinese mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong on September 22, 2010.

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Female divers dressed like Chang'e, the Chinese goddess in the moon, dance in water at the East Lake Ocean World in Wuhan central China on Wednesday Sept. 22, 2010. Divers of the East Lake Ocean World performed the legend of Chinese goddess Chang'e flying to the moon on Wednesday to greet the Mid-Autumn festival, the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on Sept. 22 this year.

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Taoist priests recite in front of the altars at the City God Temple in Shanghai on the Mid-Autumn Festival Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010.

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Taoist priests recites at the City God Temple in Shanghai on the Mid-Autumn Festival Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010

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A couple prepare for their wedding photos at the Temple of Heaven on the first day of the mid-autumn festival holiday in Beijing on September 22, 2010

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A visitor wears a Chinese mask as she takes pictures at the Temple of Heaven on the first day of the mid-autumn festival holiday in Beijing on September 22, 2010

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In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, for only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs. For example, lanterns are now often made in shapes of animals. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Little New Year since it marks the end of the series of celebrations starting from the Chinese New Year. In some region and countries, this festival is also regarded as the Chinese version of St. Valentine's Day, a day celebrating love and affection between lovers in Chinese tradition and culture. The first month of the Chinese calendar is called yuan month and in ancient times people called night xiao, therefore the day is called Yuan Xiao Festival in China. The fifteenth day is the first night to see a full moon. According to Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve puzzles on lanterns, eat yuanxiao and enjoy a family reunion. The Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival or Shang Yuan Festival in China or Chap Goh Meh iterally "the fifteen night")is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year in the Chinese calendar, the last day of the Lunar Chinese New Year celebration. It is not to be confused with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is sometimes also known as the "Lantern Festival" in locations such as Singapore and Malaysia. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns. It officially ends the Chinese New Year celebrations.

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