It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years.
Today is, among other things, the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), falling on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is, save for the lunar New Year, the most celebrated of the traditional festivals, and has been celebrated in one form or another for thousands of years beginning with worship of the moon in during the Xia and Shang dynasties.
It is a time for celebration with friends and family, of feasts and abundance and all that other good stuff. I’m going to break open a few moon cakes, drink a little wine and, most likely, crash early because I have class early tomorrow morning.
Man, I missed it again
Left by David on September 11th, 2003
Haha, that’s cool, back here in Europe summer isn’t even over yet.
Left by Pete on September 12th, 2003
It is still summer there too. Since China is on a lunar calendar, their months rotate around the seasons the same way ours rotate around the lunar phases. This doesn’t change the fact that they are in the Northern hemisphere, and thus Autumn starts on (our) Sept. 21 for them just like everyone else.
Left by Matt on September 15th, 2003
Only the holidays are still on the lunar calendar (for everything else, of course, they use the Western solar calendar). Mid-Autumn Festival falls anywhere from the second week of September to the second week of October. So yes, it’s still the summer, but for a holiday this old I don’t think they’re going to change to please that damn _laowai_ calendar.
Left by John on September 15th, 2003
The Mid- Autumn lunar festival is also celebrated in overseas Chinese communities like Malaysia Chinese.
Left by tuntun on September 13th, 2005