咬一口满月，食在中秋_咬上一口月饼

中

秋

节

中秋佳节至，全国各地的人们都期待着与家人和朋友团聚。

人们除了享用最具代表性的月饼，还会吃桂花糕、螃蟹、石榴，饮桂花酒。这些食物都蕴含着美好的祝福，为这个节日增添了丰富的文化意义。

As the Mid-Autumn Festival is around the corner, people across the country are looking forward to reuniting with their families and friends at this traditional festival.

Apart from the most iconic mooncakes, people will also partake in osmanthus cakes, crabs, pomegranates, osmanthus wine, and other time-honored delicacies together, all of which convey auspicious meaning and contribute to the festival's rich cultural significance.

Mooncakes, the bakery product has various rich fillings, including the yolk, pineapple, durian, chocolate, green tea, and cream cheese. The round shape of mooncakes not only symbolizes the moon but also completeness, fulfillment, and perfection.

The round shape of mooncakes not only symbolizes the moon but also completeness, fulfillment, and perfection. /CGTN

Celebratory delicacies

of Mid-Autumn Festival

Osmanthus flowers bloom around the Mid-Autumn Festival and it has a lingering aroma, many festive delicacies use it as an ingredient.

When you blend osmanthus flowers, pure rice wine, and sugar, pack the wine, then leave it in the shade for two months, you can enjoy a cup of sweet-scented osmanthus wine. Osmanthus cake is another delicacy that uses seasonal flowers as the main ingredient.

Sweet-scented osmanthus wine is popular during the Mid-Autumn Festival. /CGTN

Osmanthus cake is a delicacy that uses osmanthus flowers as the main ingredient. /CGTN

Dating back to the Han Dynasty (202BC -220AD), harvested around the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, pomegranates are one of the sacrifices of worshipping the moon to pray for reunion and auspiciousness. It is also one of the most common fruits on people's reunion tables during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

One of the most common fruits on people's reunion tables during the Mid-Autumn Festival is Pomegranates. /CGTN

The custom of eating crabs at the festival is also a time-honored tradition in China. There is an old saying: "Autumn wind, crab feet itch; chrysanthemums bloom, and then delicious crabs arrive," which signifies that the Mid-Autumn Festival is the best time to enjoy crabs.

In mandarin, "crab" has a homophone for the word "Xie," which expresses the meaning of thanks. So sending crabs to relatives and friends as a gift is to express the Chinese people's gratitude and heart.

Mid-Autumn Festival is regarded as the best time to enjoy crabs. /CGTN

The festival around the world

The Mid-Autumn Festival in China originating from old moon worshipping tradition in ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival in China has at least over 3,000 years of history. The festival has been included in China's first national intangible cultural heritage list on May 20th, 2006, and has been a statutory holiday since 2008.

Not just in China, a large number of Chinese emigrants who live in foreign lands also celebrate the festival to express and cherish their thoughts about home and loved ones.

Apart from the aforementioned Chinese food, the Chinese emigrants also have different ways to celebrate the festival in their communities. In the Australian city of Sydney, thematic cocktail parties were held as a part of the celebration. "The party was special, with local people and us Chinese sharing moon cakes, and Chinese colleagues performing traditional instruments zither and erhu," said Bian Jun, the president of Sydney Shanghai Chamber of Commerce.

The atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival around the world is strengthened every year, which reflects Chinese tradition and the influence of Chinese culture worldwide.