Chinese Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

Monday marks China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the harvest and family reunion festival. The Chinese are celebrating it by observing different traditional folk customs and getting together with their families. CRI's Wei Tong has the details.

 
The Mid-Autumn Festival, dating back thousands of years ago, is celebrated¹ each year on the fifteenth day of the eighth full moon around the time of the autumn equinox.

During the happy occasion, people eat different fresh fruits and nuts as well as mooncakes, thick pastries² with various fillings, which resemble the full moon and symbolize³ happiness and family reunions.

Many folks on the Taiwan island have returned to the mainland for the holiday. For them, traditional local delicacies⁴ are a must to give away to friends and family members.

"I'm carrying one of Taiwan's specialties⁵, pineapple tarts⁶. They are made of very fresh pineapple, and you can see the word 'Taiwan' on the box, so as to show the food is from my hometown."

It is estimated that more than 2,000 Taiwan people will fly across the Straits to Fuzhou alone to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The city has seen a 30-percent increase in Taiwan visitors during the three-day holiday.

Elsewhere in China, lots of people are taking trips for relaxation⁷. A Ba County in southwestern Sichuan Province, which was struck by a severe earthquake in 2008, has been rebuilt as an ethnic⁸ folk culture city. One travel agent says visitors have been flocking into A Ba and other destinations across the province.

"Travelers can enjoy colorful blooming lily flowers in the county. Children can choose to entertain themselves at the newly-opened aquarium⁹ where they can watch the exciting dolphin performance."

Meanwhile, villagers from south China's Guangdong Province are celebrating the festival by burning brick towers.

Each night during the holiday, they build a 3.8-meter-high, cone-shaped brick tower and fill it with straw, hay and wood shavings. Once a fire is lit, villagers poke¹⁰ the burning materials to make the flames spurt¹¹ out of the tower to honor their ancestral heroes.

"Everyone cheers as the flames rise. The higher the flames, the better luck we will have."

In homes, two full plates of mooncakes, water chestnuts¹² and fruits are placed on the table as sacrificial offerings to the Goddess of the Moon. People also use grapefruit "balls" with lighted joss sticks to pray for peace, safety and family reunions during the entire year.

"Parents of my age have almost forgotten the customs like lighting¹³ joss-stick balls and offering sacrifices to the God of Moon. Thanks to this activity, we have got to know these traditions again."

Compatriots living overseas, however, may miss the festive¹⁴ fun this year as more countries including Germany, France, the Philippines and Sudan have refused to allow Chinese mooncakes to be sent through the mail.

Officials say the ban on mooncakes is due to different food inspection¹⁵ standards. For example, Europe's standards for aflatoxins, toxins¹⁶ produced by a mold that grows in nuts, seeds and legumes, are higher than China's.

For CRI, this is Wei Tong.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

3 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

4 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

5 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

6 tarts   

n.果馅饼( tart的名词复数 )；轻佻的女人；妓女；小妞

参考例句：

• I decided to make some tarts for tea. 我决定做些吃茶点时吃的果馅饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They ate raspberry tarts and ice cream. 大家吃着木莓馅饼和冰淇淋。 来自辞典例句

7 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

8 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

9 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

10 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

11 spurt   

v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆

参考例句：

• He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
• After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。

12 chestnuts   

n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马

参考例句：

• A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

13 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

14 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

15 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

16 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》