FESTIVALS

= Chinese Fun = =This website will help you discover and understand three of China's greatest activites. Happy reading! = = The Lantern festival. Martial Arts. Mid-Autumn festival. = =  =

=The first festival that we will be talking about is the Mid Autumn Festival By: Deanna.....=

In America we connect a full moon with howling wolves and vampires, but in China they connect it to moon cakes and the Mid- Autumn festival. The Mid-Autumn festival is also known as the Full Moon Festival and it takes place on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. A lunar month is the average time between the new or full moon. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cakes, of which there are many different varieties. The Mid-Autumn festival originated from the Xia and Shang Dynasties. Dynasties are a time period for chineses. The Mid- Autumn festival is very meaningful to the people of China because of its origin, food, and symbolism.  This is a full moon

Chinese people “believe that the first person on the moon was a beautiful woman” (Chinese Mid). The people in China have a legend about this woman named Chang-o. Legend has it she is married to a great archer named Hou. In the sky there are 10 suns and this caused a drought that killed many people. Hou shoots the nine suns and rain starts to fall. This made everones lives better. Since he had done such a great deed all of the people wanted him to stay alive forever to watch over them. He goes to the Western Queen Mother and asks for eternal life. Since he has helped china so much she gives him elixir. She says that both you and you wife can have eternal life if you drink it together. The couple agrees to drink it together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar cycle. Feng Meng over hears their plans and wants Hou to die so that instead he can be the immortal one. One day while Hou was hunting Feng Meng kills him. Feng Meng hurriedly runs to Chang-o and forces her to give him the elixir. Not wanting it to get into the wrong hands she drinks it all and runs to her dead husband. From then on she lives on the moon for it is the closest to the Earth and watches over the Earth. She is their protector. (Chinese Mid). This is Chang-O

Food has a special place in this very meaningful holiday. Moon cakes are a very important part of the Mid-Autumn festivities. In Chinese history “secret messages were passed along in moon cakes” (Celebration). Now moon cakes are filled with “egg yolk, lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and coconut are common, but walnuts, dates, and other fillings can be found as well” (Celebration). Most people just sit on mountains and gaze at the moon while eating moon cakes. Others will set up barbeques for their friends and family and every one brings a dish of food to share. The mid-autumn festival is like the American Thanksgiving, but instead of turkey you get moon cakes.  Families usually eat together under the moon Not only does the Mid-Autumn festival symbolize food, it also “symbolizes reunion” (Chinese festival) and wishes. When the lunar moon is full Chinese people believe that this symbolizes reunion. On this holiday most people come together with their family and friends and eat and talk about their future. The festival also symbolizes wishes. On the 15th day of the lunar month the moon is full and is the closest to the earth making it seem very big. Many children and adults think that Chang-o will hear their wishes and grant them sooner for the moon is closer.  People united The great stories, foods and symbols make for a very rich holiday for China. They all revolve around the moon and offer a great tradition to the Chinese people. With this having such a big impact on the people of China it is important to learn and understand it. This holiday means a lot to the Chinese and therefore we should be informed about this very special holiday.

=The Chinese Lantern Festival= by Danielle G.  = =

== Another one of china's great festivals is the Lantern Festival. Which is celebrated on the 15th of the first month of the new year. Good food is eaten, and fun activites take place to celebrate the Lantern Festival. On this special day there is always a full moon and to appreciate the moon people put out lanterns. There are many legends on how this festival came to be but none have been proven correct. "Some are based on spiritual practice like honoring Buddha, or Tianguan (the taoist God of Good Fortune), while another popular story traces the festivals origins to a homesick maid named Yuan Xiao."(china tour)

Food is another important part of the of the Lantern Festival. The main food eaten at this time is called Yuan Xiao. . “ Another important part of the Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour” (china). Some times this is made sweet and other times sour depending on how a person likes their dumplings. People of all ages enjoy this part of the celebration. Making lanterns is the most important part of this festival. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Master craftsman will construct multicolored paper lanterns in the likeness of butterflies, dragons, birds, dragonflies, and many other animals; these accentuate the more common, red, spherical lanterns”(Chinese culture). Many enjoy going out at night to see the many different types of lanterns people have made for this day. The Lantern Festival is a very special festival that will continue for many more years for others to celebrate. It has great food, and interesting history behind it, also fun activites to participate in such as making lanterns. These many things are what makes The Chinese Lantern Fesitval one of China's best festivals. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">

==Movies often feature a type of faulty reality in which Chinese men rush at each other killing fifty or so men then bending a two-inch steel pole in an S shape simply for the fun of it, As incredible as the martial are of china may be it involves much more then brute force. Chinese Martial is a practice that goes back to the founding of China, ancient and great the practice involves many different styles, different weapons and is a historically and modernly useful practice. Katana== ==There are many different types of Chinese martial arts. Some are simply variations of each other, while others are unique. When teachers combine styles they make a new martial art and thus the number rises. “ Depending on school and master, the number of prescribed forms varies from 24 to 108 or more.” (HOMA) Some schoolmasters are reported to teach several forms of Chinese martial arts. ==

Shuriken ==For every form of martial art there are at last three weapons. Weapons are the basis of Chinese martial art. The most common weapon chosen is often the bare feet and hands (especially in beginner students). But when students become more skilled and advanced, they dawn a weapon. “ There are more than four-hundred different types of ancient Chinese weapons and many usages of each” (ITCM) There are estimated to be over four hundred ancient Chinese weapons and many more modern weapons. Weapons are almost ancient as Chinese martial arts and are constantly changing just as the uses for Chinese Martial art does in the modern world. Chinese Martial arts are undoubtedly a useful practice, both modernly and in ancient times. “The base of martial art goes back the begging of the dynasties where soldiers were taught to fight.” (CMA). Martial arts began as a way to marshal soldiers to fight in the arms. It evolved later into more individualized use. Chinese Martial Arts military uses died with the gun’s appearance yet today we use it as a meditation practice and an interesting competitive sport, involving graceful combat. Chinese Martial art is an ancient and great practice, involving many different styles, a great selection of weapons and is a historically and modernly useful practice.== <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Works Cited <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(38,42,44); line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial;"> "AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE MARTIAL ARTS." __Terry Chan's Home Page: Urban Folklore and Taijiquan__. 24 Feb. 2009 <http://www.nardis.com/~twchan/liang.html>. (ITCM) "Chinese Lantern Festival, Chinese Festivals, chinese lantern festival history." __China Tours, China Travel Agency, China Trips, China Private Tour__. 23 Mar. 2009 []. "Celebration of the MId-Autumn Festival." __Chinese Culture Center » Home__. 28 Feb. 2009 <http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/zhongqiu/zhongqiu.html>. "Chinese Festivals - mid-autumn festival." __Chinavoc.com__. 28 Feb. 2009 <http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/Midautumn.htm>. "Chinese Mid Autumn Festival or Moon Cake Festival." __Welcome to REGIT's Homepage__. 28 Feb. 2009 <http://www.regit.com/hongkong/festival/mooncake.htm>. "Chinese martial arts -." __Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia__. 24 Feb. 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts>. (CMA) Dragon: [|imgresK]atan: [|jt_katana.jpgS]hurieken: [|ShurikenTemplate.gif] Dumplings: [] Family eating: [] March 22, 2009 Food of lantern festival: http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/feature_2/Traditional_Fesitival/Lantern_Day/Cuisine_LD/W020090212500697276716.jpg Mach 22, 2009 "History of Martial Arts - Tai Chi Chuan | Chinese Boxing." __ALL MARTIAL ARTS .com - Martial Arts Supplies | Martial Arts History | Martial Arts Videos & Books__. 24 Feb. 2009 <http://www.allmartialarts.com/KIXCO/History/taichichuan.htm>. (HOMA) Lady with moon: [] March 22,2009 Lanterns: [] March 13, 2009 Man practicing martial arts: http://www.warriormonks.com/conflicts/martial-arts-4x5.jpg March 22, 2009 Martial Arts: [] March 13, 2009 Moon: [] March 22,2009 moon cakes: [] March, 13, 2009 People holding hands in a circle: [] Red lanterns at night: [] Man with red lanterns: [] Castle lanterns: []

March 22, 2009