CHINESE TRANSLATION SPECIALISTS

In 2011, the Moon Festival will be celebrated on 12 September

The Chinese Moon Festival, or Zhongqiu Jie, which translates literally to Mid-Autumn Festival, is an annual event and the second most important Festival in Chinese culture (after the Chinese New Year). It happens to fall in spring time in Australia!

The Chinese Moon Festival occurs on the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. The date is parallel to the autumn and spring Equinoxes when the moon is at its fullest and roundest.

How People Celebrate

The festival is a holiday in China and several other countries. Farmers traditionally use the holiday as a celebration of the end of the summer harvesting season. Chinese families will use the occasion to organize family reunions. When the full moon has risen the family members will gather to watch the moon and eat moon cakes.

Other celebratory customs include carrying brightly lit lanterns, bringing incense to pay respect to deities, planting trees, collecting and distributing dandelion leaves, and performing Fire Dragon dances. Eating red foods during the Mid-Autumn festival is said to bring good luck. Salmon, lobsters, apples, pomegranates, cooked soy beans and roasted peanuts are just some of the foods typically enjoyed during the festival.

Where do Moon Cakes come from?

Legends around the Moon and Moon Festival abound. One that I like tells of the origin of Moon Cakes.  During the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1280 to 1368 AD), the Mongolians conquered the majority Han Chinese and ruled China. A rebel Han leader called Liu Fu Tong wanted to overthrow the Mongolians and return China to Chinese rule.  He gave gifts to honour the Mongolian emperor.  The gifts, you guessed it, were round moon cakes.  Inside Liu’s moon cakes were secret messages with the details of the planned rebellion to take place at mid-Autumn.  The rebellion was successful, of course, and the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan. The tradition continues today, minus the secret messages.

There are many types of moon cakes but the most traditional are made with lotus seed paste. Other moon cakes can be made with traditional ingredients such as red bean paste or black bean paste but today you can find moon cakes with nuts, fruits, icecream, Chinese sausage and ham and even ingredients for western cakes. For Cantonese style moon cakes, the inner part of a moon cake is very salty and considered to be an acquired taste. The yolk is present to represent the moon. Other versions of the moon cake may contain four egg yolks which represent the four phases of the moon.  They are typically about the size of the palm of your hand and can be very filling and are very high in calories. They are cut in quarter sections diagonally and are meant to be shared with family. In the past, it may have taken up to four weeks to make a moon cake but today, many prefer to buy them instead.

What gifts should I give?

Before the Moon Festival, it is customary for Chinese to give gifts to relatives, including at least one box of moon cakes per family. The moon cakes with the most yolks are considered to be the better, more expensive, and most presentable gifts in the south of China. For other parts of China there are hundreds of varieties with prices ranging from a few yuan to a few thousand yuan per box with other delicacies like wine, wine glasses and watches thrown in. Other gifts include food items such as meat and seasonal fruit.

Moon Festival in Australia

There are many countries that celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival around the world. Australia is one that embraces the tradition and every year over 600,000 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese descendants celebrate. Moon cakes are sold at prominent places as well as Asian grocery stores. In Chinatowns, there are many celebrations in the weekends leading up to the Festival that include fireworks, dragon and lion dancing. Local businesses often sponsor celebrations that feature street markets, craft tables, and stages for traditional entertainment. In addition to the plentiful public celebrations, people also celebrate at home with smaller groups of family and friends where moon cakes and fruits are served.

Doing Business with China or Chinese People

If you are already building relationships or doing business in China or with Chinese people anywhere, don’t forget to acknowledge the Moon Festival. Your staff and business contacts and their families will appreciate your wishes. You can even give a traditional Moon Festival gift to honour the traditions, such as Moon Cakes. Some of our clients hold Moon Festival receptions for their clients and staff. We also translate Moon Festival greetings for clients into Chinese to show respect.  Just take care with those ice cream varieties, won’t you!