月饼吃了这么多年，中秋节到底在庆祝什么？！（内附今日中秋活动）,图南英语微信公众号文章

今天是中秋佳节，首先祝大家节日快乐！隔着网络，不能请大家吃月饼，但我们可以跟大家分享一下关于中秋的故事，用知识填饱你😄！大家可以在文章中找到很多有关中秋的英语表达，今天和 local朋（kao）友（guan）聊起中（jie）秋（ri），就不怕没得说啦~

中秋节的起源和发展

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated by ethnic Chinese. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese Han calendar. Mainland China listed the festival as an "intangible cultural heritage" in 2006 and a public holiday in 2008.

中秋节是一个庆祝丰收的节日，在2006年成为了非物质文化遗产，2008年成为了公共假日。

The Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since the Shang Dynasty.The celebration as a festival only started to gain popularity during the early Tang Dynasty. One legend explains that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang started to hold formal celebrations in his palace after having explored the Moon-Palace.

从商代开始，我们的老祖先就开始过中秋节了。但是直到唐朝中秋节才作为正式的节日开始流行起来。有一个说法是：因为唐玄宗有一个”梦游月宫“的经历，之后就才开始庆祝中秋。

中秋节的别称

除了我们在中小学课本里学到的“Mid-Autumn Festival”，其实中秋节的英文还可以有以下几种。如果你的外国朋友听了名字还不明白，名称的后面还附有解释。

Moon Festival or Harvest Moon Festival, because of the celebration's association with the full moon on this night, as well as the traditions of moon worship and moon gazing.
Mooncake Festival, because of the popular tradition of eating mooncakes on this occasion.（月饼节的来历）

Zhōngqiū Jié, the official name in Mandarin Chinese.
Lantern Festival, a term sometimes used in Singapore and Malaysia, which is not to be confused with the Lantern Festivalin China that occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
Reunion Festival, because in olden times, a woman in China would take the occasion to visit her parents before returning to celebrate with her husband and his parents.

中秋节的意义

月饼吃了这么多年，中秋佳节庆祝的是什么呢？快来跟着小编学起来~

Gathering（聚会）, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival.
Thanksgiving（感恩）, to give thanks for the harvest, or for harmonious unions.
Praying（祈福） (asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good future

Traditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these three concepts, although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion.

虽然过节的形式在不断“与时俱进“，但中秋节的庆祝形式在最初是围绕着以上三方面展开哒。

关于中秋节的传说

著名的嫦娥奔月

Lunar deity, Chang'e, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Chang'e explain the origin of moon worship during this day. One version of the story is as follows:月神嫦娥的故事解释了人们对于月亮崇拜的起源，下面是“嫦娥奔月”故事的一个版本：

英文版：

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang'e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir. But Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the lunar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved very much her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang'e they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.

附古文：《淮南子·外八篇》
昔者，羿狩猎山中，遇姮娥于月桂树下。遂以月桂为证，成天作之合。逮至尧之时，十日并出。焦禾稼，杀草木，而民无所食。猰貐、凿齿、九婴、大风、封豖希、修蛇皆为民害。尧乃使羿诛凿齿于畴华之野，杀九婴于凶水之上，缴大风于青丘之泽，上射十日而下杀猰貐，断修蛇于洞庭，擒封豨于桑林。万民皆喜，置尧以为天子。
羿请不死之药于西王母，托与姮娥。逢蒙往而窃之，窃之不成，欲加害姮娥。娥无以为计，吞不死药以升天。然不忍离羿而去，滞留月宫。广寒寂寥，怅然有丧，无以继之，遂催吴刚伐桂，玉兔捣药，欲配飞升之药，重回人间焉。
羿闻娥奔月而去，痛不欲生。月母感念其诚，允娥于月圆之日与羿会于月桂之下。民间有闻其窃窃私语者众焉。

小编翻译版：

后羿成功射下了九个太阳、救万民于水火之后得到了一个长生不老的灵药。由于不想独享，便将灵药交于妻子嫦娥保管。后羿的徒弟蓬蒙在得知此事之后，趁后羿不在的时候，找嫦娥来夺药。嫦娥敌不过蓬蒙，情急之下吞服药丸，之后立刻飞起、直升至月球。后羿得知此事开始像月亮祭祀表达思念，其他百姓知道之后也加入了纪念。

（不知大家更喜欢看哪个版本呢😄）

以上英文资料来自：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

从昨天开始墨尔本好几个地区都组织了庆祝中秋的活动。如果你错过了昨天的活动也不怕，你们今天还有机会！今天在Victoria Market还有一天的庆祝活动！

具体信息如下：

Join in the celebrations of the traditional Moon Cake Festival, celebrating Chinese culture with theme lanterns and children's activities at the historic Queen Victoria Market.The Moon Cake Festival is a celebration of abundance and togetherness, helping to raise funds for the Kids with Cancer charity. It will be a day filled with entertainment for all, including roving lions, a traditional Chinese orchestra, noodle-making demonstration, moon cake-eating competition, children's dance workshop, face painting, lantern-making workshop and children's lantern parade. There will also be prizes to be won, free show bags for kids (while stocks last) and numerous stalls with food from East and Southeast Asia.

现场有娱乐活动，包括：舞龙舞狮、中国民族乐器演奏、面条制作展示、吃月饼大赛、儿童跳舞教学、面部彩绘、灯笼制作等等。

有奖品、有show bag，还有好次哒！