TRADITION 傳統習俗
| August 15th of lunar calendar.(農曆八月十五日) September 24 in 2018 |
| What does traditional mooncake look like? |
| Round 圓形 |
| One of the food served during the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| Mooncakes 月餅 Pomelo 柚子 Duck 鴨子 Starfruit 楊桃 Taro 芋頭 Chestnut 栗子 Chinese Water Chestnut 菱角 Persimmon柿子 |
| What animal is associated with this festival? |
| Rabbit 兔仔 |
| 3 activities that people do to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
| Eat mooncakes吃月餅 Families gathering 回到家中一起吃飯、團聚，並且會祭祖 Hang up lanterns - under the full moon 提燈籠,賞月 |
| What is usually placed in the middle of the moon cake? |
| Egg Yolk 蛋黃 |
| What is the best drink to compliment mooncake? |
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| Who lives on the moon? |
| Chang E (the moon goddess) 嫦娥 |
| The lanterns vary by color, shape, form, size, material and complexity. What is the most complex form of lanterns involves revolving panels that turn when lit? |
| Galloping horse lantern The "zou-ma deng" (走馬燈), had candles or light within. When lit, the candle heat up the air causing a hidden wheel to spin, which in turn causes the attached panels to revolve. Panels usually have picture depicting history, fables, and myths. As the panel turns, a whole story can be played out over and over again. |
| Traditionally what is used as filling for the mooncakes? |
Lotus paste 蓮蓉
| Many fruits are eaten during the festival. One special fruit is eaten as well as given as gifts as a symbol of prosperity. Which native fruit is that? |
| Pomelo The pomelo symbolizes prosperity because the Cantonese for pomelo is "yow", which sounds like "to have" or "to own". |
| How did "the moon goddess" get to the moon? |
| She ate an immortal pill 吞下不死藥成仙 |
| What are the similarities and differences between mid autumn festival and thanksgiving? |
| Similarities 相似: 1. Celebrate in autumn 秋季慶祝. 2. Celebrate harvest 慶祝秋季豐收. Differences 不同: 1. Traditional food 傳統食物. |
The meaningfulness of eating mooncake.
| The rounding shape symbolizes: Family reunion 寓意家人團圓 Missing hometown or relatives and love ones 寄託思念故鄉，思念親人之情 Wishing for harvest and happiness 祈盼豐收、幸福 |
| The round fruits like pomegranates, oranges, peaches, grapes etc. symbolize not only the full moon but also the unity of the family. Which particaular fruit is excluded in some areas? |
| Pear 梨: is a homonym to the word for "separation". It is therefore considered "consuming the separation" when eating pear, symbolizing reunion and "staying together". |
| What are the three famous legend characters who live in the moon? |
| Chang e 嫦娥奔月 , Jade rabbit 玉兔搗藥 Wu gang cutting the laurel tree 吳剛折桂 |
| The special meaning of this festival in the Chinese culture? |
| Family reunion 一家團圓 |
| What were the mooncakes originally used for? |
| Messages used to be smuggled in mooncakes to help overthrow the Mongolian rule during the Yuan dynasty 把藏有“八月十五夜起義”的紙條藏入餅子裏面 |
| What started the tradition to eat Taro for Mid autumn? |
| Harvest season for Taro. A legend: As the Mongolian destroyed the Song dynasty, they carried out a brutal rule against the Hu people. In order to remember the suffering of the Hu people, the descendants ate Taro (芋頭) to pay homage to their ancestors. |
| What is Wu Gang doing as a punishment on this festival? |
| Chopping a tree 砍伐桂樹 |