The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival
ffxi gilwas celebrated on the fifteenth day of the
aoc gold eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".
This day was also
wow goldconsidered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables
maplestory mesosand grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard.
Apples, pears,
maple story mesos peaches, grapes, pomegranates, melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro and water caltrope, a
type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people
maple story meso insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all
these foods, it could
wow gold not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in
aoc gold diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste
and consistency. These cakes were made
wow goldwith melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was
placed at the
wow goldcenter of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete
year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional
wow goldfestivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced
back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets
in. It becomes
wow goldvery prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives
as gifts in
wow gold expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up
wow goldat the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and
Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom
wow goldof Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented
wow goldpopular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such
as burning
wow gold incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not
wow goldso popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less
popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will
wow goldlook up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home,
and extending all of their best wishes to them.
