中秋節(jié)是中國的傳統佳節(jié)，面對那些對于中國文化非常感興趣的外國朋友，我們應該怎么樣用英文來向他們介紹中秋節(jié)這樣一個對他們來說既神秘又很有趣的節(jié)日呢?我們不妨可以參考這些內容，放到我們的中秋節(jié)黑板報當中哦，我們一起來看看吧。
The Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people and Vietnamese people (even though they celebrate it differently), dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty .It was first called Zhongqiu Jie in Zhou Dynasty . In Malaysia and Singapore , it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
Legend about Mid-Autumn Festival
It is said that the earth once had ten suns circling over it, each taking turn to illuminate the earth. One day, however, all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. Houyi ，a strong and tyrannical archer, saved the earth by shooting down nine of the suns. He eventually became King, but grew to become a despot .
One day, Houyi stole the elixir (xiān dān 仙丹) from a goddess. However, his beautiful wife, Chang'e (嫦娥), drank it so as to save the people from her husband’s tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating, and flew to the moon. Houyi loved his pinely beautiful wife so much, he did not shoot down the moon. Chang'e flew to the moon grabbing a rabbit to keep her company. So the Chinese say that if you look up at the moon to this day you can sometimes see a rabbit making moon cakes.
Customs in Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around mid or late September in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumn and spring equinoxes (春分) of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese New Year, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvest season on this day. Traditionally, on Mid-Autumn Day, Chinese family members and friends will get together to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes ( 月餅) and pomeloes (柚子) together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as eating moon cakes outside under the moon, carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns, burning incense (焚香) in reverence to deities including Chang'e, planting Mid-Autumn trees (樹中秋), collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members and Fire Dragon Dances (舞火龍).
農歷八月十五是中國重要的傳統節(jié)日??中秋節(jié)。 每年農歷八月十五日，是傳統的中秋佳節(jié)。這時是一年秋季的中期，所以被稱為中秋。在中國的農歷里，一年分為四季，每季又分為孟、仲、季三個部分，因而中秋也稱仲秋。八月十五的月亮比其他幾個月的滿月更圓，更明亮，所以又叫做“月夕”，“八月節(jié)”。此夜，人們仰望天空如玉如盤的朗朗明月，自然會期盼家人團聚。遠在他鄉(xiāng)的游子，也借此寄托自己對故鄉(xiāng)和親人的思念之情。所以，中秋又稱“團圓節(jié)”。
相傳，遠古時候天上有十日同時出現，曬得莊稼枯死，民不聊生，一個名叫后羿的英雄，力大無窮，他同情受苦的百姓，登上昆侖山頂，運足神力，拉開神弓，一氣射下九個多太陽，并嚴令最后一個太陽按時起落，為民造福。后羿因此受到百姓的尊敬和愛戴，后羿娶了個美麗善良的妻子，名叫嫦娥。后羿除傳藝狩獵外，終日和妻子在一起，人們都羨慕這對郎才女貌的恩愛夫妻。不少志士慕名前來投師學藝，心術不正的蓬蒙也混了進來。
一天，后羿到昆侖山訪友求道，巧遇由此經過的王母娘娘，便向王母求得一包不死藥。據說，服下此藥，能即刻升天成仙。然而，后羿舍不得撇下妻子，只好暫時把不死藥交給嫦娥珍藏。嫦娥將藥藏進梳妝臺的百寶匣里，不料被小人蓬蒙看見了，他想偷吃不死藥自己成仙。三天后，后羿率眾徒外出狩獵，心懷鬼胎的蓬蒙假裝生病，留了下來。待后羿率眾人走后不久，蓬蒙手持寶劍闖入內宅后院，威逼嫦娥交出不死藥。嫦娥知道自己不是蓬蒙的對手，危急之時她當機立斷，轉身打開百寶匣，拿出不死藥一口吞了下去。嫦娥吞下藥，身子立時飄離地面、沖出窗口，向天上飛去。由于嫦娥牽掛著丈夫，便飛落到離人間最近的月亮上成了仙。
傍晚，后羿回到家，侍女們哭訴了白天發(fā)生的事。后羿既驚又怒，抽劍去殺惡徒，蓬蒙早逃走了，后羿氣得捶胸頓足，悲痛欲絕，仰望著夜空呼喚愛妻的名字，這時他驚奇地發(fā)現，今天的月亮格外皎潔明亮，而且有個晃動的身影酷似嫦娥。他拼命朝月亮追去，可是他追三步，月亮退三步，他退三步，月亮進三步，無論怎樣也追不到跟前。后羿無可奈何，又思念妻子，只好派人到嫦娥喜愛的后花園里，擺上香案，放上她平時最愛吃的蜜食鮮果，遙祭在月宮里眷戀著自己的嫦娥。百姓們聞知嫦娥奔月成仙的消息后，紛紛在月下擺設香案，向善良的嫦娥祈求吉祥平安。從此，中秋節(jié)拜月的風俗在民間傳開了。
我國人民在古代就有“秋暮夕月”的習俗。夕月，即祭拜月神。到了周代，每逢中秋夜都要舉行迎寒和祭月。設大香案，擺上月餅、西瓜、蘋果、紅棗、李子、葡萄等祭品。
在唐代，中秋賞月、玩月頗為盛行。在北宋京師。八月十五夜，滿城人家，不論貧富老小，都要穿上成人的衣服，焚香拜月說出心愿，祈求月亮神的保佑。南宋，民間以月餅相贈，取團圓之義。有些地方還有舞草龍，砌寶塔等活動。明清以來，中秋節(jié)的風俗更加盛行;許多地方形成了燒斗香、樹中秋、點塔燈、放天燈、走月亮、舞火龍等特殊風俗。
