There are many in the world unusual holidays. China with its centuries-old culture became the birthplace of many of them. Here you can attend lantern festivals and dragon boats, Double Seven and Double Nine celebrations. One of the people's favorite holidays is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is saturated with poetry, filled with joy and the radiance of the magical moon.
When is it celebrated?
If the Chinese New Year is about worshiping the sun, then Mid-Autumn is the time to honor the night star. The holiday is celebrated on the night from the 15th to the 16th day of the eighth month according to the lunar calendar. Usually this is the end of September or the beginning of October.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is also called the Moon Festival. It is believed that on this day it is the largest, roundest and most beautiful. The fullness of the luminary symbolizes several important values at once: fertility, unity of a large family, beauty, success, love. And also - longing for the Motherland or loved ones who are far away. There is a very beautiful legend associated with the holiday. This is a romantic story about archer Hou Yi and his lover Chang'e.
Mid-Autumn Festival in China: the legend
In ancient times, there were 10 suns. They went up to the sky one by one, but one day they ascended at the same time. The heat from them almost destroyed everything on the planet, but the brave archer Hou Yi shot down 9 luminaries with arrows. The Empress of Heaven favored him from then on and gave him an elixir that granted immortality and heavenly life as a deity.
The archer had a beloved wife, Chang'e, to whom he gave the magic drink for safekeeping. When Hou Yi was away, a bad man came to the house and wanted to become immortal. He threatened Chang'e, and she was forced to drink the elixir herself so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. Immediately after this, the woman became a deity. She was transported to the Moon, which is closest to Earth, and began to live there alone. With her is only a jade hare, pounding the potion of immortality in a mortar.
Chang'e is forced to miss her husband from afar. Hou Yi also grieved, looking at the night star. One day the moon seemed especially close to him, he ran after it with all his might, but could not catch up. Then the yearning husband began to make offerings to his wife from her favorite dishes and incense in his garden. People who recognized this sad story, also sacrificed food to the goddess Chang'e and asked for her protection. This is how the holiday arose.
History of the Moon Festival
The first written mentions of it date back to the Zhou era. Their age is about three thousand years. In those days, the rulers made sacrifices to the moon every year after the harvest so that it would make the lands fertile in the coming year.
During the times (618-907), the tradition of admiring the moon and making offerings to it was adopted by commoners. She got used to it. In the 10th-13th centuries, when the rules of the holiday were celebrated widely, gradually acquiring magnificent ceremonies and rituals. Starting from the 14th century, it began to be considered one of the main ones and remains so to this day. How is Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated in China?
"Mooncakes"
On this day, all family members gather under the open night sky. The tables are set. Round fruits are displayed on them: watermelons, melons, plums, grapes, apples, grapefruits, etc. Mooncakes (yuebing) are a must-have food for the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. They are round, like the disk of a night star. They depict the goddess Chang'e, the frog into which she turned according to some legends, her palace, the moon hare, or simply beautiful patterns.
They symbolize prosperity and a happy family reunion. On the eve of the celebration, they are sold in all shops and supermarkets. It is customary to give them to friends and acquaintances. After the ritual worship of the moon, gingerbread is eaten.
How is Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated in China?
On this day, city streets are beautifully decorated. Lanterns are burning everywhere, illumination is sparkling. An atmosphere of unity is created. Families try to get together for the holiday. Food is given as gifts. Children are given moon bunnies. Celebrations with songs, dances, and theatrical performances take place on the streets. Everything is dedicated to the moon: they admire it, read poems about it. Lanterns are launched towards her in memory of the love of the goddess Chang'e and the archer Hou Yi.
Particular attention is paid to the older generation. Elderly people are surrounded by attention and care. In villages, families spend the night outdoors under the full moon. The tables are set. Relatives treat themselves, meditate on the bright star, and look for the shadow of Chang'e and the moon hare on it. They remember those who are no longer in this world.
Celebration traditions in different provinces
The Middle Kingdom is a large country with a large population. Mid-Autumn Festival traditions in China vary depending on the area. Each province has its own legends, beliefs, and customs.
- In some areas there is a dragon dance. Tourists can see it, for example, in Hong Kong. A burning dragon with incense sticks stuck into it rushes through the streets of the city, meandering in a bizarre dance.
- In Longyan County, the middle of the mooncake is cut out and given to the older generation of the family. This hints that there are secrets that young people do not yet need to know about due to their age.
- In Wuxi County, where it is customary to burn “Dousiang” incense in the evening for the Moon Festival. The pot with aromatic resin is wrapped in silk, on which the night luminary is depicted.
- In the city of Dongguan, lonely boys and girls burn incense under the moon, asking the spirits for help in finding love.
- In Hejian County, which is located in Hebei Province, rain on the holiday is considered a bad omen. It is called "bitter" because it predicts a bad harvest.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is a vibrant event. Tourists who visit it are immersed in a special atmosphere of warmth, poetry, and joy. Participation in traditional holidays - The best way get acquainted with the culture of a foreign country, feel your belonging with the local residents.
On the 15th day of the 8th month according to the Lunar calendar, China celebrates Autumn Full Moon Festival - Zhongqiujie , which approximately corresponds to the second half of September.
It is believed that on this day the lunar disk is “the brightest and roundest of the year.” Zhongqiujie (Mid-Autumn Festival) is also called the Harvest Festival, since it coincides with the end of harvesting work. This holiday is also called the Moon Goddess Festival.
This day is an official holiday in China. In 2011, the holiday fell on September 12, and in 2012, the Mid-Autumn celebration will fall on September 30.
Ritual tradition idle ika — lighting incense to Chang'e, the mythical inhabitant of the moon.
The image of "fullness" appears in several senses: it is the time of completion of the harvest; the moon is a symbol of the feminine principle, etc. its fullness is also a symbol of fertility. (According to Chinese tradition, Chang'e's satellite on the Moon is a rabbit, which poundes the potion of immortality in a mortar, sitting under a cinnamon tree, as well as a three-legged toad - a symbol of the feminine principle).
Holiday legend
In ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky. Due to a terrible drought, all crops died out, the life of the people became unbearable. In those days there lived a hero named Yi, he had incredible strength. And he climbed to the top of Mount Kunlun, pulled the bowstring, fired arrows at the nine suns, and they fell. He ordered the remaining sun to rise and fall in time. Shooter I, whose heroic deed brought great happiness to people, earned the respect and love of the people. Many admirers of Yi became his disciples, one of them was a man named Pengmeng. I had beautiful wife, whose name was Chang'e. One day Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit his friend there. On the way, he met the heavenly ruler Sivanma. She gave And the elixir of immortality and said that by drinking the elixir, And could immediately ascend to heaven and find eternal life. But Yi did not want to leave his beloved Chang’e, so he gave the elixir of immortality to his wife for safekeeping. Pengmeng accidentally saw Chang'e hiding the elixir of immortality in a jewelry box. One day, when Yi was not at home, Pengmeng came to Chang'e. Threatening with a sword, he began to demand the elixir of immortality from Chang'e. Chang'e understood that she was not Pengmeng's rival. Therefore, she had no choice but to swallow the elixir of immortality herself. Miracles began to happen here. Chang'e took off from the ground, flew through the window and rushed to the moon. Panman ran away with nothing. Shooter And was killed 
grief when he learned about what happened. Peering into the night sky, And calling the name of his beloved. Suddenly he noticed with surprise that that night the moon was especially clear and bright, and a shadow similar to Chang’e flashed across it. And with all his might he rushed after the Moon, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not overtake the Moon. And every day I missed my wife. He ordered a table for an incense burner to be installed in the garden where Chang’e loved to walk, and his wife’s favorite sweets and fruits to be placed on it as a sacrifice. Having learned that Chang'e had gone to the Moon and gained immortality, people, one after another, began to install incense burners under the Moon and ask Chang'e to send them happiness and prosperity. Since then, the custom of worshiping the Moon on Mid-Autumn Day has spread among the people.
Story holiday
dates back to ancient rituals of sacrifice: in the spring, the rulers of the Celestial Empire worshiped the spirit of the Sun, and in the fall they made sacrifices to the Moon. Subsequently, the nobility and intelligentsia, imitating the princes, also began to admire the round and clear moon on Mid-Autumn Day, organize sacrifices and treat this day as a holiday. Zhongqiujie has become one of the main Chinese holidays. In terms of its significance, this holiday is second only to the Chinese New Year, marking the middle of the annual cycle in the minds of the peoples of East Asia.
On Mid-Autumn Festival the most main event in China –this is admiring the moon, visiting relatives and eating food.
On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives and friends gather in the open air, admire the full moon, set tables with all kinds of dishes, have carefree conversations, enjoy the beauty of the moonlit night, and remember those who are far from their loved ones and relatives. Yuebin gingerbread, watermelons, apples, plums, grapes and other seasonal fruits are displayed on a special table. Moreover, watermelons are cut in the shape of a lotus. Gingerbread is shared among everyone, and they also treat each other to pamela (in the southern regions), followed by games with the round skin of this fruit.
Other traditions
China is a vast country with a large population. Different regions of China maintain different customs associated with the Zhongqiujie Festival.
In Pucheng County Fujian Province On Mid-Autumn Festival, women cross the Nanpu Bridge to live long lives. In Jianning County, lamps are hung up on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival to address the Moon God.
In Chaoshan area Guangdong Province There is a custom of sacrifice to the moon. On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, under the moon, women set out tables with candles and incense, fruits and gingerbread in the courtyard or on the balconies.
In Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people burn "Dousiang" incense. The incense pot is lined with silk on which pictures of the moon are painted. There are other decorations for incense pots.
A Shanghai residents On the Mid-Autumn Festival they drink wine with the taste of fragrant osmanthus.
In Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province At the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a pot of straw is burned in every village. After the pot has turned red, vinegar is poured into it, and a pleasant aroma spreads throughout the village.
In Anhui Province children weave braids from straw, and adults dance with a dragon made from straw.
In some places, tangerine lamps are also hung above the gates to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In some counties of Shandong Province, In addition to making sacrifices to the moon, people also make sacrifices to their ancestors.
In Luan County, Shanxi Province On Mid-Autumn Festival, in-laws are invited to banquets.
Residents Hejian County, Hebei Province Rain on the Mid-Autumn Festival is considered “bitter.” If it rains on this day, local residents believe that this year’s vegetables will definitely be tasteless.
Men Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province in the evening on this day they go boating and climb the mountains, women hold banquets. Both rich and poor people always eat watermelons.
In Luochuan County, Shaanxi Province Parents of schoolchildren visit teachers with gifts, congratulating them on the holiday. They usually have lunch at schools.
In the city of Benxi, Liaoning Province, there is another tradition to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival: going to the mountains to admire the autumn foliage.
Materials from the sites “Wikipedia” and “Chinese Internet Information Center” were used.
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Today marks one of the most important traditional holidays China - Mid-Autumn Festival or in Chinese Zhongqiujie (中秋节). It falls on the 15th day of the 8th month according to the lunar calendar and this year falls on September 8th.
The history of this holiday is inextricably linked with the Moon and goes back to ancient rituals of sacrifice: if in the spring in China they worshiped the Sun, then in the fall they made sacrifices to the Moon. The holiday is celebrated on the full moon. In China they believe that the moon on this day is the roundest, brightest and most beautiful.
The fullness of the Moon symbolizes several important concepts for the Chinese - it is a symbol of fertility, family unity, and the completion of a rich harvest.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is surrounded by various legends, various customs and symbolism are associated with it. Mentions of Mid-Autumn celebrations already appear in historical records of the Zhou era (circa 11th century BC - 256 BC). Initially, only rulers made sacrifices to the Moon, but gradually other people on Mid-Autumn Day also began to admire the round and clear Moon, make sacrifices and treat this day as a holiday. A stable tradition of celebrating Zhongqiujie developed during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the holiday gained even greater popularity and was accompanied by magnificent ceremonies and events, and during the reign of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), Zhongqiujie was already one of the main Chinese holidays.
On this day, the Chinese gather with their families and admire the Moon, on which, according to their beliefs, the goddess Chang-E and the moon hare live.
The following legend tells how Chang-E settled on the Moon: once upon a time there were 10 suns, which every day took turns traveling across the sky in a chariot, but one day the sun brothers decided to go out into the sky all together. Their destructive heat threatened to destroy all life on Earth. Then Strelok I came to the aid of people, killing 9 suns, leaving only one alive.
After the accomplished feat, Stelok I went for the elixir of immortality to the Queen of the West, Si-wan-mu. He managed to climb the high Kunlun Mountain and beg the goddess for a magic potion. But Strelok Yi had a wife, Chang-E, who secretly drank this elixir and flew off to the moon. According to one version, there she turned into a three-legged toad. Since then, Chang-E has lived on the Moon in the company of a lunar hare, who sits under a cinnamon tree and poundes the potion of immortality in a mortar, and Strelok Yi is forever separated from his wife and only the beautiful Moon reminds him of her. The Chinese believe that if you look closely at the dark spots on the surface of the moon, you can see the silhouettes of Chang-E and the moon hare in them.
The main delicacy of the holiday - mooncakes (yuebins) - is also associated with the Moon. Gingerbread cookies can be round, diamond-shaped or square shape with rounded corners. They depict hieroglyphs with various wishes and symbols of the holiday - the goddess Chang-e, the moon hare and the three-legged toad. Gingerbread is prepared with a variety of fillings: it can be fruit, a mixture of nuts, sesame, lotus or bean paste and even meat, but the most symbolic filling is egg yolk, which in its shape and color resembles the same Moon.
If the Chinese are unable to reunite with their family during the holiday, they do not lose heart. After all, even when you are separated from your loved ones and family, you can simultaneously admire the Moon with them, feast on the same gingerbread cookies and think about each other.
The beauty and mystery of the Moon, as well as the special atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival, served as inspiration for many great Chinese poets, including Li Bo, Bo Juyi, Su Dongpo.
In addition to the main traditions associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are other local customs in different parts of China, but invariably this day in all corners of China is celebrated in an atmosphere of fun and joy from communicating with loved ones and the confidence in one’s future that a clear day gives Moonlight and a warm autumn night.
Economy
If you work with Chinese suppliers, you will find the schedule of official holidays in China for 2017 useful:
Like most other countries, the Chinese celebrate New Year according to the Gregorian calendar.
Chinese New Year (Spring Day) - January 27 to February 2
January 22 (Sunday), as well as February 4 (Saturday) in 2017 are working days.
Eastern New Year is celebrated every year in different time. It's connected with lunar calendar. In 2017 Chinese New Year will come on January 28th. And although officially holidays will only be from January 27 to February 2; in practice, the Chinese celebrate the New Year for about two weeks, somewhere until February 11-15.
New Year in China is family celebration, which must be celebrated with parents and relatives and always on a grand scale. All business life comes to a standstill, so we advise you to discuss in advance with your supplier if the production time of your products is around these dates. Also, if you purchase goods through the online platforms Aliexpress or Aliebaba, there may be delays in correspondence and in the production of goods.
This ancient holiday On this day, the Chinese go to the graves of their ancestors to clean up the cemetery and decorate the graves with flowers and wreaths. On this day it is also customary to decorate entrance doors willow, and fly kites in the evening. Many Chinese also simply travel to nature to enjoy the spring weather.
The Dragon Boat Festival is considered one of the most ancient festivals in China. On this day, the people of the Celestial Empire organize boat races with dragons on their bows.
Mid-Autumn Festival (October 4) and National Day of the People's Republic of China - October 1 to 8
This year these holidays coincide, so they are celebrated together during the week.
On Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Worship Day, Chinese families gather at a table outdoors and admire the moon. The full moon on this day symbolizes peace and prosperity for the family.
Founding Day of the People's Republic of China is the most important day Public Holiday In China, on this day in 1949 the formation of the People's Republic of China was proclaimed. Usually celebrated from October 1 to October 7, but this year it has been extended by one day for Moon Worship Day. On this day, everything is decorated with flowers and flags, festivities are held in the country's parks, and fireworks are set off in the evening.