"Zhong Qiu Jie", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.

農歷八月十五日是中國的傳統節日——中秋節。在這天，每個家庭都團聚在一起，一家人共同觀賞象征豐裕、和諧和幸運的圓月。此時，大人們吃著美味的月餅，品著熱騰騰的香茗，而孩子們則在一旁拉著兔子燈盡情玩耍。

"Zhong Qiu Jie" probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon.

中秋節最早可能是一個慶祝豐收的節日。后來，月宮里美麗的仙女嫦娥的神話故事賦予了它神話色彩。

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 the 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.

傳說古時候，天空曾有10個太陽。一天，這10個太陽同時出現，酷熱難擋。弓箭手后翌射下了其中9個太陽，拯救了地球上的生靈。他偷了長生不死藥，卻被妻子嫦娥偷偷喝下。此后，每年中秋月圓之時，少女們都要向月宮仙女嫦娥祈福的傳說便流傳開來。

In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at "Zhong Qiu Jie" 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. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.

在14世紀，中秋節吃月餅又被賦予了一層特殊的含義。傳說在朱元璋帶兵起義推翻元朝時，將士們曾把聯絡信藏在月餅里。因此，中秋節后來也成為漢人推翻蒙古人統治的紀念日。今天，人們吃月餅紀念此事。

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（來源：愛詞霸沙龍? 編輯：Julie）