Ni Hao! That means "Hello" in Chinese. So excited to learn about China this week. So let's start with the basics. China, officially known as the People's Republic of China, has the largest population in the world, with over 1.3 billion people! China
is the 3rd largest country by area and belongs to the continent of Asia. Its border countries include Afghanistan,
Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia,
Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and
Vietnam.
China is one of the main birth places of Eastern martial arts. Chinese martial arts are collectively given the name Kung Fu.
Festivals are very big in China. Thank you to my dear friend Nicole Ryan, native of Beijing, for sharing the following information with us about the Spring and Mid-Autumn Festivals:
The biggest holiday is the spring festival. Everyone gets an entire week off. On that first eve the whole family gets together to have a big meal together and watch a special TV show called "Chun Jie Wan Hui" to celebrate the holiday. That night people cook some dishes but must also make dumplings for that tradition. So I would say "JiaoZi (translate English is dumpling) " is the most special thing. But if there is any common thing we cook it is stir fry. You pretty much can stir fry any meat or veggies for couple dish then make some steamed rice. Then there is your main meal for the day.
The Mid-Autumn festival
is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month in the
Chinese Calendar during a full moon which is in late September or early
October. Moon cake is one of the holidays less special compare to spring
festival. People usually just get one day off then visit a family bring box of
moon cake as a gift then have a meal together.
A notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floating sky lanterns. One tradition involving lanterns, dēng mí is to write riddles on lanterns and have other people try to guess the answers. Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and unity. Thus, the sharing of round mooncakes among family members signify the completeness and unity of families. In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion. In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.
A notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floating sky lanterns. One tradition involving lanterns, dēng mí is to write riddles on lanterns and have other people try to guess the answers. Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and unity. Thus, the sharing of round mooncakes among family members signify the completeness and unity of families. In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion. In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.
Sources: Nicole Ryan, http://www.cultural-china.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_culture
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