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2009年10月31日 星期六

Dongzhi(冬至) Festival

Dongzhi(冬至) Festival


TangYuan
The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the winter solstice solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest.

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in.

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓) , which symbolize reunion.

Old traditions also require people with the same surname or from the same clan to gather at their ancestral temples to worship on this day. There is always a grand reunion dinner following the sacrificial ceremony.

The festive food is also a reminder that we are now a year older and should behave better in the coming year. Even today, many Chinese around the world, especially the elderly, still insist that one is "a year older" right after the Dong Zhi celebration instead of waiting for the Chinese New Year.

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節

Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節




The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Zhongqiu Festival, or in Chinese, Zhongqiujie (traditional Chinese: 中秋節), is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people and Vietnamese people (even though they celebrate it differently), dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China's Shang Dynasty.It was first called Zhongqiu Jie (literally "Mid-Autumn Festival") in the Zhou Dynasty.In Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

* Eating mooncakes outside under the moon
* Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
* Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns
* Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e ( 嫦娥; pinyin: Cháng'é)
* Planting Mid-Autumn trees
* Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
* Fire Dragon Dances
* In Taiwan, since the 1980s, barbecuing meat outdoors has become a widespread way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Shops selling mooncakes before the festival often display pictures of Chang'e floating to the moon.

2009年10月28日 星期三

Chinese Calendar

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar.

In most of East Asia today, the Gregorian calendar is used for day to day activities, but the Chinese calendar is still used for marking traditional East Asian holidays , and in astrology, such as choosing the most auspicious date for a wedding or the opening of a building.

Solar term 節氣( jiéqì)


Chinese months follow the phases of the moon. As a result, they do not accurately follow the seasons of the solar year. To assist farmers to decide when to plant or harvest crops, the drafters of the calendar put in 24 seasonal markers, which follow the solar year, and are called jiéqì ( 節氣 ).
























































































































































Chinese name Gregoriandate (approx.) Usualtranslation Remarks
立春 lìchūnFebruary 4start of springspring starts here according to the Chinese definition of a season
雨水 yǔshuǐFebruary 19rain waterstarting at this point, the temperature makes rain more likely than snow
啓蟄 qǐzhé(驚蟄 jīngzhé)March 5awakening of insectswhen hibernating insects awaken
春分 chūnfēnMarch 21vernal equinoxlit. the central divide of spring (referring to the Chinese seasonal definition)
清明 qīngmíng
(Holiday)
April 5clear and brighta Chinese festival where, traditionally, ancestral graves are tended
穀雨 gǔyǔ or gǔyùApril 20grain rainsrain helps grain grow
立夏 lìxiàMay 6start of summerrefers to the Chinese seasonal definition
小滿 xiǎomǎnMay 21grain fullgrains are plump
芒種 mángzhòng or mángzhǒngJune 6grain in earlit. awns (beard of grain) grow
夏至 xiàzhìJune 21summer solsticelit. summer extreme (of sun's height)
小暑 xiǎoshǔJuly 7minor heatwhen heat starts to get unbearable
大暑 dàshǔJuly 23major heatthe hottest time of the year
立秋 lìqiūAugust 7start of autumnuses the Chinese seasonal definition
處暑 chùshǔAugust 23limit of heatlit. dwell in heat
白露 báilùSeptember 8white dewcondensed moisture makes dew white; a sign of autumn
秋分 qiūfēnSeptember 23autumnal equinoxlit. central divide of autumn (refers to the Chinese seasonal definition)
寒露 hánlùOctober 8cold dewdew starts turning into frost
霜降 shuāngjiàngOctober 23descent of frostappearance of frost and descent of temperature
立冬 lìdōngNovember 7start of winterrefers to the Chinese seasonal definition
小雪 xiǎoxuěNovember 22minor snowsnow starts falling
大雪 dàxuěDecember 7major snowseason of snowstorms in full swing
冬至 dōngzhì
(holiday)
December 22winter solsticelit. winter extreme (of sun's height)
小寒 xiǎohánJanuary 6minor coldcold starts to become unbearable
大寒 dàhánJanuary 20major coldcoldest time of year

*extract from wiki


(I will keep filling up this list occasionally)

2009年10月26日 星期一

Holidays In Taiwan

Most of Chinese traditional holidays are holded according to Chinese  calendar,so they are not on specific date in common(Gregorian) calendar.


























































Name

Chi Name



農曆春節

Last about one week Since Jan.1


元宵節

Jan. 15


清明節

Apr. 4 or 5 (in common calendar)


端午節

May 5


農曆七夕

Jul. 7


中元節

Jul. 15


中秋節

Aug. 15


重陽節

Sep. 9


教師節

Sep. 28(in common calendar)


冬至

Dec. 22 or 23(in common calendar)


2009年10月22日 星期四

My favorite movie list _1

English

  • 50 First Dates


  • Alexander


  • A.I. Artificial Intelligence


  • Amistad


  • Apocalypto


  • Back to the future series


  • Batman Begins  &  Dark Knight


  • Beowulf


  • Bicentennial Man


  • Big Fish


  • Borat


  • Bruce Almighty


  • Chicago


  • Click


  • Cloverfield


  • Contact


  • Death Becomes Her


  • Die Hard 3


  • Eurotrip


  • Face Off


  • Family Man , The


  • Fifth Element,The


  • Forrest Gump


  • Frequency


 




AmistadaA