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当前位置:Unit 3 Autumn festivals
作者：未知来源：中央电教馆时间：2006/4/17 20:29:53阅读：nyq
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扩展资料1
Chinese Moon Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Moon Festival. It is observed by Chinese people and people in some other Asian countries, such as South Korea. The date of Chinese Moon Festival (a.k.a. Mid-autumn Festival) is on the 15th moon day of 8th Chinese lunar month (Chicken month). Since the new moon day is the first day of a Chinese Lunar Month. The first day of 8th lunar month is 9-10-99 in China, the Moon Festival is on 9-24-99. The first day of 8th lunar month is 9-9-99 in EST or PST, the Moon Festival is on 9-23-99 in USA
The Moon Festival
is a holiday in China. It's an occasion for family
reunion. On that day families have a get-together.
Chinese families like to get together to eat the moon
cakes and watch the moon at the Moon Festival night.
For the people are out of town or for Chinese are
from China stay in USA, they miss their family or
the lover at home and share the same moon at the night
of the Moon Festival before the Internet gets popular.
Some legendary stories for the Moon Festival
1)
The Lady - Chang Er
The date of this
story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns
circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate
to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together,
scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was
saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He
succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day,
Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However
his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life
in order to save the people from her husband's tyrannical
rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating
and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his
divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn't shoot down the moon.
2)
The Man - Wu Kang
Wu Kang was a shiftless
fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time. One
day he decided that he wanted to be an immortal. Wu
Kang then went to live in the mountains where he importuned
an immortal to teach him. First the immortal taught
him about the herbs used to cure sickness, but after
three days his characteristic restlessness returned
and he asked the immortal to teach him something else.
So the immortal to teach him chess, but after a short
while Wu Kang's enthusiasm again waned. Then Wu Kang
was given the books of immortality to study. Of course,
Wu Kang became bored within a few days, and asked
if they could travel to some new and exciting place.
Angered with Wu Kang's impatience, the master banished
Wu Kang to the Moon Palace telling him that he must
cut down a huge cassia tree before he could return
to earth. Though Wu Kang chopped day and night, the
magical tree restored itself with each blow, and thus
he is up there chopping still.
3)
The Hare - Jade Rabbit
In this legend,
three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful
old men and begged for something to eat from a fox,
a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both
had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed,
offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing
fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by
the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the
Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit."
4)
The Cake - Moon Cake
During the Yuan
dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian
people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280)
were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set
how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered.
The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon
Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special
cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with
the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon
Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew
the government. What followed was the establishment
of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon
cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.
英语小诗
The Sun And The Moon
The sun is round
and very bright,
He shines and gives us light.
Then he goes to sleep at night
And sends his brother, Mr.
Moon
Who floats on high like a
white balloon.
太阳和月亮
太阳圆又亮，
光照大地上。
晚上他睡去，
派来月亮弟，
好像银气球，
高高天上游。
When is the moon heaviest?
[答案] When is the
moon full.
[分析] 月亮怎么会全装满呢？原来full这个词还有一个意思一即“满月的”，答句语义双关，也可解释成“当它是满月时”。
中国民间主要节日
1.the Spring Festival（农历一月初一）春节
2.the Lantern Festival (农历一月十五)元宵节
3.the Qing Ming Festival
(四月五日)清明节
4.the Dragon Boat Festival
(农历五月五日)端午节（龙舟节）
5.the Mid-Autumn Festival,
or the Moon Festival（农历八月十五）中秋节
6.the Chong Yang Festival,or
the Double Ninth Day (农历九月九)重阳节
扩展资料
2
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family gatherings and holiday meals. A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holiday parades and giant balloons. So here for your entertainment are some fun Holiday things for you and your family. We've got stories of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, turkeys to take home, holiday pictures for the kids to print and color, tasty holiday recipes and e-greeting cards to send your friends and family. We hope you find something you like! So bring your kids and tell your friends. And please stop by again. Don't forget to sign our Guest book before you leave.
Thanksgiving Day falls on the fourth Thursday of November each year. The story goes like that. In 1662 some European people, mostly religious people, left for America. They went by ship. After a long voyage they arrived in America. It was winter, the weather was very cold. Under the help of the local American Indians, they learned how to grow crops and they survived. On the coming harvest, they invited the local Indians to have a big feast in order to express their thanks to them. Later it was called Thanksgiving Day.
感恩节是在每年十一月份的第四个星期四。不同宗教信仰的美国人都在这一天团聚，通常有一个丰盛的感恩宴。火鸡是感恩节宴会上最具有传统特色的一道菜。感恩宴后，一家人一起围坐下来看感恩节橄榄球赛
Harvest and Thanksgiving Festivals
China
has Mid-Autumn Festival. Canada and the US have Thanksgiving
Day. Many countries around the world have harvest
festivals. This is the best time for the harvest－bringing all
the crops in from the fields.
In
the United States, every year, Thanksgiving Day is
on the fourth Thursday of November. Because Canada
is colder, the harvest comes earlier in the year.
In Canada, people have Thanksgiving Day on the second
Monday in October.
The harvest brings
a lot of food to the people. On Thanksgiving Day,
people in Canada and America like to have a big meal
with their friends and family－just like Chinese people do at Mid-Autumn Festival. Many Canadians
and Americans put flowers, vegetables and fruits around
their homes to say “Thank you” for the harvest.
At a Thanksgiving
Day dinner, many Canadians and Americans will eat
turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. These are foods
like the foods of many years ago. They are saying,
“thank you” for the harvest that comes every year.
Do you know?
Many countries have days
for giving thanks, not always for the harvest.
The West Country has Thanksgiving
Day on October 25th every year. This is the end of
the hurricane season.
国外主要节日
美国人在每年三月下旬的第一个星期日要过复活节（Easter）。复活节是基督教徒纪念耶稣复活的日子。人们要互送和吃染色蛋,彩蛋和免子都是复活节的吉祥物,许多地方的人们在庆祝这一节日时都喜欢搞化妆游行.
万圣节（Halloween）是美国传统的富有戏剧性的孩子们的节日。据说，在10月31日那天晚上，所有鬼都会出现，而且面目丑陋的女巫也会出现，她身后还跟着一群黑猫和一些稻草人,于是过节的人们也把自己打扮成妖魔鬼怪的模样相互逗乐。
感恩节（Thanksgiving）主要在美国，加拿大。感恩节始于1621年。当时，首批来自英国的清教徒在美洲的沃土上迎来了第一个收获季节。这些虔诚的清教徒认为这是上帝的恩赐，于是在收获之后举行了盛大的庆祝活动，以表示对上帝的感谢。11月的第四个星期四为感恩节的通知。感恩节家宴上的主菜是火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
情人节（Valentine’s Day）又称圣瓦伦丁节，是个温馨浪漫的节日。2月14日这天，欧美许多国家都弥漫在节日的气氛中，人们在这一天向自己所爱恋或尊敬的人表达感情，并赠送情人节贺卡等礼物。情人节是以一个基督徒的名字来命名的。
愚人节（April Fool’s Day），每年的四月一日相互开玩笑，因为要么自己fool过别人，要么自己被别人fool 过。让轻易上当的人尝一点苦头。
The Evolution of Thanksgiving Day
The Evolution of Thanksgiving
Day(一)
No other holiday that
is today widely observed in North America has such
a long and curious history as Thanksgiving.
Throughout the Bible, there
are references to the Israelites setting apart days
for special thanksgiving to the Lord. Such days
were common in England before the reformation and
afterwards figured in the lives of the Protestants.
In 1872,February 27 was set aside as a day of thanksgiving
for the Prince of Wales recovery from typhoid fever,
for example.
But these were only days
of thanksgiving, The real, distinctively American
Thanksgiving Day is a legacy of the Pilgrims ----the
English colonists, led by separatists from the Church
of England ----who arrived in America in December
1620 aboard the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony.
During the winter after
arriving in the new world.47 of the 103 Mayflower
passengers died, but the remainder did not lose
hope, By spring, each family had a home, and all
were planting grains they had brought with them
and corn given them by friendly Wampanoag Indians.
They were eating fish the Indians had taught them
how to net, along with wild game from the woods.
In gratitude for the plenteous
harvest, Governor Bradford set aside December 13,1621(old
Style calendar)for feasting and celebration.
There was no specific day
of thanksgiving set aside in 1622.But in 1623,Thanksgiving
Day was so devoted to showing gratitude to God,
rather than to social activity, that some authorities
say it was the real beginning of Thanksgiving as
we know it today. After the hard, severe winter
of 1622-23,the Pilgrims planted seeds. Governor
Bradford wrote that they hoped for a large crop.
but suffered a drought from May till July.
The Evolution of Thanksgiving
Day(二)
After discussing the
situation with the worried colonists, Governor Bradford
ordered a day of prayer and fasting, during which
the Pilgrims were to humble themselves before the
Lord.
The crops were saved, and,
after the harvest, "another solemn day was
set apart for returning glory, honor and praise,
with all thankfulness, to our Good God."
During the following years throughout New England,
there were specific days of thanksgiving----sometimes
once a year, sometimes twice. Sometimes a year was
skipped. The part of the day spent in religious
services varied, at least partially in keeping with
the colonists' and the preachers' assessment of
just how much they had to be thankful for at that
particular time.
George Washington was inaugurated
president of the United States on April 30,1789,and
a few months later issued his fist proclamation.
It had to do with Thanksgiving. In September, a
few days before Congress adjourned, Rep. Elias Boudinot
made a motion that the president be requested to
recommend a day of prayer and thanksgiving for the
many blessings of the Almighty God, and particularly
for His allowing them to establish a government
that would provide safety and happiness. The motion
was carried, and President Washington proclaimed
November 26,1789,to be Thanksgiving Day. Washington
included in his proclamation: "It is the duty
of nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey His Will, to be grateful for His benefits,
and humbly to implore His protection and favor."
The Evolution of Thanksgiving
Day(三)
The several presidents after Washington
generally left to the governors of the states the
decision about whether there should be a specified
day for thanksgiving, and, if so, what day it should
be. However, after the War of 1812,President James
Madison did proclaim a special nationwide day of
thanksgiving for peace.
President Abraham Lincoln
in the midst of the Civil War wrote the fist national
Thanksgiving Proclamation since George Washington's
time, designating the last Thursday in November
as Thanksgiving Day.
Lincoln in 1864 issued
another Thanksgiving Proclamation, and most U.S.
presidents who followed him did the same. In 1938,Franklin
D. Roosevelt ended his Thanksgiving message with
"Americans, in our deepest natures, in our
very souls, like all mankind, turn to God. 'In God
we trust.'"
In 1952,Harry S. Truman
included in his proclamation, "We are grateful
for the privileges and rights inherent in our way
of life, and in particular for the basic freedoms,
which our citizens can enjoy without fear. "President
Dwight Eisenhower in 1958 ended his Thanksgiving
Proclamation with these words: "Let us be especially
grateful for the religious heritage bequeathed us
by the Pilgrims, who after gathering their first
harvest set apart a special day for rendering thanks
to God for the bounties vouchsafed to them."
The Mid-Autumn Festival
In Chinese dichotomy, the sun is yang (positive, active, or male) and the moon is yin (negative, passive, or female). According to the book Chou Li, the Chou emperors (1122-249 B.C.) had the custom of praying to the moon on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month. In the Ching dynasty, there were a sun altar in eastern Peking and a moon altar in western Peking; at the time of every autumnal equinox, the emperor offered sacrifices and prayed to the moon at the moon altar.
Before switching to the Gregorian calendar officially in 1911, the Chinese had used a lunar calendar since time immemorial; and even today, the Chinese still celebrate their traditional festivals by the lunar calendar. In each lunar month, the first day (the new moon) and the 15th day (the full moon) are major events; and the 15th day of the first month (the Lantern Festival) and the 15th day of the eighth month (Mid-Autumn Festival, September 9th this year on the Gregorian calendar) are the largest celebrations besides the Lunar New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Chinese Cupid is called "the old man
under the moon" ( るρ ) and uses
a red thread to tie a man's and woman's feet together
to make them man and wife--be they from hostile
families or widely separated places.
The most lunatic mortal in Chinese history could have been the great poet Li Po (A.D. 701-762), who once invited the moon to have a drink with him and his shadow to form a band of three. Li finally drowned in a lake in an effort to catch the moon when he was drunk one night. Other Chinese legends about the moon abound.
Legends of the Moon
Moon cakes go best with oolong or jasmine tea.
Hou Yi was a great archer and architect, who shot down nine extra suns that had suddenly appeared in the sky and thus kept the earth from being scorched. He also built a palace of jade for the Goddess of the Western Heaven. For this, he was rewarded with a pill containing the elixir of immortality, but with strings attached--he must fast and pray for a year before taking it. His wife, Chang O ( 惯甖 ), whose beauty was surpassed only by her curiosity, discovered and swallowed the pill and in no time soared to the moon and became a permanent resident there. Upon reaching the moon, Chang O, in dismay, coughed up the pill, which turned into a jade rabbit that, day and night, pounds out a celestial elixir for the immortals.
Another permanent lunar resident of Chinese origin is Wu Kang, a shiftless fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time before disappointing his last master, who was an immortal. From him Wu learned to be immortal himself, but he was punished by being required to chop down a cassia tree in the moon, an impossible mission. The cut in the tree heals completely the same day, so Wu Kang is still chopping away for eternity. Some Chinese crave to drink his cassia blossom wine.
The Chinese believe that the moon is at its largest and brightest, and Chang O at her most beautiful, on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month. They are at least half-right, for at that time most of China is in the dry season and the moon looms brightest. It's also cool then, a perfect time to celebrate the harvest which has just concluded; hence, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Harvest Festival. The festival is a time for family reunions to appreciate the moon ( 洁る , shangyue) and eat moon cakes together. Bathed in bright moonshine and with the company of chrysanthemum and cassia blossoms, poets eat crab meat and moon cake, drink tea and wine, and versify the night away.
Moon Cakes
Moon gazing
The Chinese custom of eating moon cake was first recorded in the reign of the emperor Hsi Tzung (A.D. 874-889) of the Tang dynasty and became popular in the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279) The moon cake is traditionally made in the shape of a full moon, symbolizing union and perfection, is usually about the size of a doughnut, and is stuffed with a variety of fillings such as bean paste, egg yolk, lotus seeds, dates, pineapple, walnuts, almonds, and sesame. The crafty Chu Yuan-chang, founder of the Ming dynasty, instigated a rebellion against the Mongol rulers by concealing a call to revolt in moon cakes, leading to the downfall of the Yuan dynasty.
There are many styles of moon cake in China; the most popular in
Taiwan are the Cantonese, Soochow, and Taiwanese
styles. The Cantonese moon cake is thicker and heavier,
while the Soochow and Taiwanese ones have a crispy
skin. In the last couple of years a new breed of
refrigerated, unbaked moon cake has been gaining
popularity, especially among youngster; and durian,
coconut meat, vanilla, tea, and coffer have added
as ingredients.
Most Chinese consume moon cakes given to them by relatives, friend, employers, or public relations people. Hence, brands matter. Among the most famous are Kee Wah, Maria's and shin Tung Yang. Moon cakes go best with oolong or jasmine tea.
It takes the moon about 29 1/2 days to revolve around the earth, and the Chinese lunar month is either 29 or 30 days. An extra month(called a leap month) is necessary about every three years. There will be a second eight lunar month in 1995. The 15th of the first eight lunar month is celebrated as the Mid-Autumn Festival, which has been designed a public holiday by the Republic of China government. Have a nice holiday, and remember moon cakes taste best when shared by family members or lovers, or both.