大家好，今天是中秋节，the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

For thousands of years it has been celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is the second most important festival in China after the Spring Festival. And you may not know that it’s also celebrated in other Asian countries like Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan. 

中秋节 is a grand time for family reunions. The roundness of the moon 月圆 represents reunion 团圆 to Chinese people. Appreciating the moon is also a tradition as the moon is at its biggest and brightest at this time. So, I’m looking forward to pics of the moon appearing in my Moments. Be ready to get my Likes！

Have you had a mooncake today？As the signature snack of the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncake 月饼 conveys auspicious meanings going back 3,000 years. Mooncake competitions have sprouted up across the land. Those with special fillings like crayfish and Luosifen or shaped like lovely animals and flowers have become popular among Gen Z. 

Have you ever noticed the goddess portrait on mooncake boxes? This is 嫦娥，the Chinese goddess of the moon. 嫦 and 娥 both indicate pretty woman. According to a myth 嫦娥奔月, there used to be 10 suns in the sky, so it was extremely hot all the time. Archer Hou Yi shot down 9 of the 10 suns in the sky. The Queen Mother Goddess of Western Heaven 西王母 gave him an immortality pill as a reward. Hou Yi handed it over to his wife Chang’e. However, someone wanted to steal the pill. Somehow, Chang’e hastily grabbed it and gulped it down. Then she became immortal and her body began to float upwards, directly to the Palace on the Moon. Afterwards, the legend goes that whenever the moon is full on Mid-Autumn Festival, Chang’e can be seen on the Moon. 

Since the myth 嫦娥奔月 is so popular among Chinese, the country’s lunar exploration mission is known as the Chang’e Project 嫦娥工程. Starting back in 2004, a series of robotic missions have been designed and launched to develop a deeper understanding of the lunar surface and eventually establish a lunar research station.

Two days after 中秋节，  秋分，or the Autumn Equinox arrives. On the Autumn Equinox Day, day and night are of equal length. By the way, autumn is the golden season to exercise. 

Still, we’ve got a friendly reminder. In terms of epidemic control, it’s still best if we minimize our trips and avoid gatherings. 

秋风拂面，吹跑烦忧，愿您月圆人圆事事圆。