The Mid-Autumn Festival ,also known as the Moon Festival or Zhongqiu Festival ,is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people,dating back over 3000 years to moon worship in China’s Shang Dynasty.It was first called Zhongqiu Jie in the Zhou Dynasty.In Malaysia ,Singapore,and the Philippines,it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.

The Mid-Autum Festival is held on the 15^th day of the eighth a month in Chinese lunar calendar,which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar.It is date that parallets the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar ,when the moon is at its fullest and roundest.The traditional food of this festival is mooncake ,of which where are many different varieties .

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar,the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice , and is a legal holiday in several countries.Farmers celebrate the end of the fall harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day,Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumu harvest moon, and eat mooncakes and pomelos under the moon 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

Erect the Mid -Autumn Festival .it is not about planting trees but hanging lanterns on the bamboo pole and putting them on a high point ,such as roofs,trees, terraces,etc.it is a custom in Guangzhou ,Honghong.etc

Moon-Cake

There is this story about the moon-cake , During the Yuan Dynasty (AD1280-1368），China was ruled by the Mongolian people.Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty(AD960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule,and decided to find a way to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered . the leaders of the rebellion ,knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near,ordered the making of special cakes, Baked into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack.on the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today ,mooncakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and were called the Mooncake .

For generations ,mooncakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts,mashed red beans,lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates ,wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert.People compare mooncakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in English holidays seasons.

Nowadays ,there are hundred varieties of mooncakes on sale a month before the arrival of the Moon Festival.

Our company celebrate the Mid-autumn Festival by making the moon-cake and  ikebana flower-arranging together .