“Zhong Qiu Jie”, which is also known as the Mid-autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon – an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant moon cakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit rabbit lanterns.
农历八月十五日是中国的传统节日——中秋节。在这天，每个家庭都团聚在一起，一家人共同观赏象征丰裕、和谐和幸运的圆月。此时，大人们吃着美味的月饼，品着热气腾腾的香茗，而孩子们则在一旁拉着兔子灯尽情的玩耍。
“Zhong Qiu Jie” probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon.
中秋节最早可能是一个庆祝丰收的节日。后来，月宫里美丽的仙女嫦娥的神话故事赋予了它神化色彩。
According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Ho Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from his tyrannical rule, but his wife, Change-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
传说古时候，天空曾有10个太阳。一天，这10个太阳同时出现，酷热难挡。弓箭手后翌射下了其中的9个太阳，拯救了地球上的生灵。他偷了长生不死药，却被妻子嫦娥偷偷喝下。此后，每年中秋月圆之时，少女们都要向月宫仙女嫦娥祈福的传说便流传开来。
In the 14th century, the eating of moon cakes at “Zhong Qiu Jie” was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn moon cakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people.
在14世纪，中秋节吃月饼又被赋予了一层特殊的含义。传说在朱元璋带兵起义推翻元朝时，将士们曾把联络信藏在月饼里。因此，中秋节后来也成为汉人推翻蒙古人统治的纪念日。
