在香港维多利亚公园庆祝中秋节的“明月”彩灯 'Rising Moon' lantern to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong's Victoria Park (© Bobby Yip/Reuters)

在香港维多利亚公园庆祝中秋节的“明月”彩灯 'Rising Moon' lantern to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong's Victoria Park (© Bobby Yip/Reuters)

An old celebration for a new season

This photo takes us to Hong Kong, where a group of engineers constructed a giant lantern sculpture called 'Rising Moon.' It's made of more than 7,000 recycled plastic water bottles with LED lights inside, to honor one of China's most important holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival. While it's only been an 'official' public holiday in China since 2008, mention of the Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in written historical texts as far back as 3,000 years ago. Families celebrate the holiday by lighting paper lanterns sharing a meal, traditionally at a round table. This reunion is said to bring good luck and happiness.

One of the tastier traditions of this holiday is the eating of mooncakes, which are a type of stuffed pastry served during the festival when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and brightest. These famous cakes can be sweet, stuffed with a sweet bean paste, or savory and stuffed with ham, sausage, or nuts and dried fruit. Mooncakes and are often given as gifts to friends, coworkers and family members, and the holiday is even sometimes called the Mooncake Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a Chinese holiday, but is celebrated across Asia, with each nation observing this family-friendly holiday in their own unique ways.

为新季节举行的旧式庆祝活动

这张照片把我们带到了香港，在那里，一群工程师建造了一个巨大的灯笼雕塑，叫做“Rising Moon”，它由7000多个回收塑料水瓶制成，里面有LED灯，以纪念中国最重要的节日之一中秋节。虽然从2008年起，中秋节在中国只是一个“官方”公共假日，但早在3000年前，历史文献中就首次提到了中秋节。家庭通过点燃纸灯笼共享一顿饭来庆祝节日，传统上是在圆桌上。据说这次团聚会带来好运和幸福。

这个节日的一个更美味的传统是吃月饼，月饼是一种填充糕点，在节日期间，据说月亮是最丰满和最明亮的。这些著名的蛋糕可以是甜的，用甜豆沙填充，也可以是咸的，用火腿、香肠、坚果和干果填充。月饼和月饼通常作为礼物送给朋友、同事和家人，这个节日有时甚至被称为月饼节。中秋节不仅是中国的节日，亚洲各地都在庆祝，每个国家都以自己独特的方式庆祝这个家庭友好的节日。