Chinese Full Moon Festival
China's Moon Festival is a harvest festival. Sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival, the celebration is held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is said to be at its brightest and fullest of the entire year. In the year 2009, the Full Moon Festival falls in October on the third day of the month. It is a traditional family gathering time, and moon cakes are a very special part of the festival dinner.
Lanterns are always a part of the Mid-Autumn Full Moon celebration. They are often lit and set afloat on a river and watching then until they've floated out of sight is thought to ensure good fortune for the coming year. Specially constructed Hung-Ming lanterns are a favorite of young children because they can "fly" due to the heat from the candles burning in them.
The Full Moon Festival is very ancient and many wonderful legends and activities are associated with it. It is second in importance of all Chinese Festivals. Read about the history and traditions here:
October is a month when many traditional festivals are held all over the world ... but mostly, everyone just enjoys contemplating that big, full, Hunters-Harvest Moon!
posted by basicnorth at
8:16 PM
1 Comments:
Ooooh, the mooooon...lanterns...can it get any better? I love it!! I feel so drawn to the moon...and so does the rest of the world, it seems!
Thanks for this great post...I just love, love, love it! And the Harvest Moon...I'm so inspired, and I 'missed' the last full moon while travelling!
The 4th of Oct. was my grandmother's birthday, by the way, she would have turned 106 years old this year...but died 10 years ago!
When my brother last was in China, he brought back mooncakes for my farther...and I was so lucky to taste them (and have the cute tin box that they came in,, ;O)...)
And you're right: 'October is a month when many traditional festivals are held all over the world'....and this makes autumn so great!
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