中秋节 Mid-autumn Day/ Mid-autumn Festival
To the Chinese, Mid-Autumn Festival means family reunion and peace. The festival is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the biggest and fullest. To the Chinese, a full moon is a symbol of prosperity, happiness, and family reunion. 对中国人来说，中秋节意味着团聚、平安。人们觉得，中秋节的月亮最大、最圆。满月象征着繁荣、幸福和团圆。
Many traditional and meaningful celebrations are held in most households in China, and China's neighboring countries. The main traditions and celebrations include eating mooncakes, having dinner with family, gazing at and worshipping the moon, and lighting lanterns.
大部分中国家庭以及中国的邻国都会举行许多传统的庆祝活动，主要庆祝方式包括吃月饼，吃团圆饭，赏月和点灯笼。
【中秋节起源版本一】
Why Mid-Autumn Festival is Celebrated and How it Started？中秋节起源
Mid-Autumn Festival has a history of over 3,000 years, dating back to moon worship in the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC). It’s such an important festival that many poems were written about it, stories and legends about the festival are widespread, and its origins have been guessed at and explained by generations of Chinese.
中秋节有三千多年历史，可以追溯到商代时对月亮的崇拜。因为中秋节的重要地位，历代诗人都会为中秋节写诗，关于中秋节的故事、传奇在民间广为流传，中秋节的起源也被历代中国人探究。
The term 'Mid-Autumn' first appeared in the book Rites of Zhou (周礼), written in the Warring States Period (475–221 BC). But the term only related to the time and season; the festival didn't exist at that point.
“中秋”一词最早出现在战国时期《周礼》一书中，但是该词只和时间和季节有关，当时还没有中秋节。
In the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), it was popular to appreciate the moon. Many poets liked to create poems related to the moon when appreciating it. There is a legend that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty visited the Moon Palace in his dream and heard a wonderful song.
唐代时赏月风靡，诗人在赏月之时佳作连连。据传，唐玄宗曾在梦中去往月宫并听到优美的歌声。
In the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD), the 15th day of the 8th lunar month was established as the 'Mid-Autumn Festival'. From then on, sacrificing to the moon was very popular, and has become a custom ever since.
北宋时期，农历八月十五才被正式确立为中秋节，从那以后，为月亮献祭盛行，从那以后便成为风俗。
中秋节的习俗和来源视频
【中秋节起源版本二】
每年农历八月十五日，是传统的中秋佳节。这时是一年秋季的中期，所以被称为中秋。在这天，每个家庭都团聚在一起，一家人共同观赏象征丰裕、和谐和幸运的圆月。此时，大人们吃着美味的月饼，品着热腾腾的香茗，而孩子们则在一旁拉着兔子灯尽情玩耍。
中秋节有悠久的历史，和其它传统节日一样，也是慢慢发展形成的，古代帝王有春天祭日，秋天祭月的礼制，早在《周礼》一书中，已有“中秋”一词的记载。后来贵族和文人学士也仿效起来，在中秋时节，对着天上又亮又圆一轮皓月，观赏祭拜，寄托情怀，这种习俗就这样传到民间，形成一个传统的活动，一直到了唐代，这种祭月的风俗更为人们重视，中秋节才成为固定的节日，《唐书·太宗记》记载有“八月十五中秋节”，这个节日盛行于宋朝，至明清时，已与元旦齐名，成为我国的主要节日之一。
中秋节最早可能是一个庆祝丰收的节日。后来，月宫里美丽的仙女嫦娥的神话故事赋予了它神话色彩。
According to Chinese mythology， the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day， all 10 suns appeared together， scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer， Hou Yi， succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from his tyrannical rule， but his wife， Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
传说古时候，天空曾有10个太阳。一天，这10个太阳同时出现，酷热难挡。弓箭手后翌射下了其中9个太阳，拯救了地球上的生灵。他偷了长生不死药，却被妻子嫦娥偷偷喝下。此后，每年中秋月圆之时，少女们都要向月宫仙女嫦娥祈福的传说便流传开来。
说起中秋节你可能还没有老外懂得多？在中国快10年的逗比老外司徒给你讲讲中秋节的来历
中秋节是中国人一年中除春节外最重要的节日。跟许多节日一样，中秋节跟古代传说有关，本篇里就提到了两个流传最为广泛的传说：嫦娥与后羿、天宫玉兔的故事。
Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important Chinese festival of the year (after Chinese New Year). As with many festivals, its traditions and rituals are tied to ancient legends. Here are two of the more popular ones.
The Story of Chang’é and Hou Yi
In the days of long ago, the Earth had nine suns. The suns blazed so brilliantly that they scorched everything on Earth. Trees and plants withered, rivers dried up, and no crops could grow. The people began to starve. The Jade Emperor summoned the best archers in the land to shoot down the suns.
A young archer named Hou Yi raised his bow to the sky, and one by one, shot down each of the suns until only one remained. For his success in saving the Earth, the Jade Emperor awarded him the Pill of Immortality. Although he appreciated the Jade Emperor’s reward, Hou Yi didn’t want to take the pill and become immortal. It would mean he would have to leave his wife, Chang’é, whom he loved very much, and live up in the Heavens. So he asked Chang’é to hide the pill. Hou Yi had an archery student named Peng Meng. Peng Meng found out about the Pill of Immortality and wanted it for himself. One day when Hou Yi was out hunting, Peng Meng went to Chang’é and demanded the pill. She refused to give it to him, but knowing that she could not defeat him, swallowed the pill so he could not have it. Immediately, she became light as a feather and rose higher and higher into the sky until she reached the moon. Because she could not return to Earth, the Jade Emperor made her the Moon Goddess.
When Hou Yi returned home and found out what had happened to Chang’é, he was heartbroken. He gathered all her favorite fruits, and laid them on an altar to worship her. People in the village heard about Chang’é’s fate, and they also began to worship the moon. This is how moon worship became a Chinese tradition.
However, it is said that the Jade Emperor took pity upon this young couple. Once a year, on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, he allows Hou Yi to cross the Milky Way to be with Chang’é.
The Jade Rabbit
Three immortal beings descended from the heavens and transformed themselves into three old men. They met a fox, a monkey, and a rabbit, and begged them for food. The fox and the monkey had some food that they gave to the old men. The rabbit had nothing.
Ashamed that he didn’t have any food to give, the rabbit offered himself saying, “You can eat me.” The immortals were very touched by his gesture. They made him immortal and sent him to live on the moon as the Jade Rabbit. He became Chang’é’s faithful companion and grinds her Pill of Immortality. The Jade Rabbit is often seen in the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival, along with the Moon Goddess, Chang’é.
ritual [ˈrɪtʃʊəl] n. (宗教等的) 仪式
blaze [bleɪz] vt.&vi.（使）燃烧，（使）冒火焰
scorch [skɔːtʃ] vt. 把…烧焦；使枯萎
wither [ˈwɪðə] vi. 干枯，枯萎；失去生气
Jade Emperor 道教神话传说中的天地的主宰. 犹如人间的皇帝，上掌三十六天，下辖七十二地，掌管神、仙、佛、圣、人间、地府的一切事，权力无边，有穹苍圣主、诸天宗王之称
Pill of Immortality长生不老药；仙丹
altar ['ɔːltə] n. 祭坛，圣坛
Milky Way古希腊将银河称为“乳之路”因为他们认为这是天后赫拉喂婴儿时流淌的乳汁形成的。在古代中国，银河又称天河、星河
descend [dɪˈsend] vi. 降临；突然造访
In the 14th century， the eating of mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians， the rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn mooncakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people.
在14世纪，中秋节吃月饼又被赋予了一层特殊的含义。传说在朱元璋带兵起义推翻元朝时，将士们曾把联络信藏在月饼里。因此，中秋节后来也成为汉人推翻蒙古人统治的纪念日。
During the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1206-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung Dynasty (A.D.960-1279) 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. Packed into each mooncake 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 event.
在元朝，蒙古人统治中国。前朝统治者们不甘心政权落入外族之手，于是密谋策划联合起义。正值中秋将近，起义首领就命令部下制作一种特别的月饼，把起义计划藏在每个月饼里。到中秋那天，起义军获取胜利，推翻了元朝，建立明朝。今天，人们吃月饼纪念此事。
中秋绘本故事视频
【各种常见月饼的英文】
鲜肉月饼 pork mooncake
【中秋节英文祝福】
中秋快乐！
祝中秋佳节快乐，祝您合家欢乐，好事连连。
愿您的生活就象这十五的月亮一样，圆圆满满。
Though far apart， we all share the beautiful moment when the bright moon rises above the sea.
海上生明月，天涯共此时。
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