Newsletter

Learn about the Mid-Autumn Festival by watching Chinese video lessons.

Key Learning Points (Preview):

  团聚 (tuánjù): n. family reunion    

The Mid-Autumn Festival of 2011 is coming! The date this year is September 12th. The Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, which is in September or October on the solar calendar. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivals for Chinese people, second only to the Spring Festival.

Celebration of the Mid-Autumn festival has a history of over 3,000 years, dating back to the worshiping of the moon in ancient times. At that time people made offerings to the moon, and they believed that this practice would bring them a good harvest year.

Nowadays, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become one of the “团聚 (tuánjù) reunion” holidays for Chinese families. Every year, when the festival comes, people return home from every corner of the country and the world to be with their family. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese people usually send moon cakes as gifts to their friends and relatives, and then have a sumptuous dinner together called “团圆饭 (tuányuán fàn) family reunion dinner.” If the weather is nice, families may also sit outside to admire the full moon, eat moon cakes and chat about daily life matters.

Moon cakes play an important role as gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival.They are loved by people for their sweet flavor. Nowadays there are more kinds than ever: egg yolk, lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and coconut are common, but walnuts, dates, and other fillings can be found as well.

Key Learning Point:

  团聚 (tuánjù): n. family reunion     

Example:

Guò jié de shíhou, chī dùn tuányuán fàn shì bìbùkĕshăo de.
 过   节 的    时候，吃   顿      团圆      饭  是    必不可少    的。
  
The family reunion dinner is absolutely necessary at festivals.