This is a nice article in Shanghai Daily, telling about the different places Chinese people went to on Moon Festival night.

Some went to the parks, some went to resorts, some also toured Taiwan.

The article also mentioned that the young aren't as into moon cakes, but still have it for tradition's sake.

It's a nice read.

I hope next year, your family will also celebrate the Moon Festival outdoors. It can become one of those family routines that our kids can later fondly look back on and share with their own kids as well.

Labels: Moon Festival

Moon Festival, San Francisco



Have you ever attended a Chinese Festival in your area and let the kids wear a Chinese dress or a Kung Fu set?

This year's Moon Festival is on October 3 and for sure there will be a fun Moon Festival event near your area.

Dressing up is always fun and you and the kids can pretend to be a Chinese princess or the Monkey King as you go around the food booths and watch the programs.

Or if your family wants to go out on a night picnic on the night of October 3rd, wearing a Chinese dress or pants set is also fun (Just bring extra jackets in case the night is chilly). We have books with nice poems that everyone can read. Bring moon cake along and other munchies.

ChildBook is continuously updating the Moon Festival Calendar of Events in US states and some Canada areas so please see if there are already posted Moon Festival activities near you.

Labels: Calendar of Events, chinese dresses, Moon Festival

Moon Festival is coming soon (October 3) and we're getting all excited here at ChildBook. (Not too loony, but loony enough heehee.) Gets me frequently thinking about the different Moon festival customs. This time, since I feel my stomach rumbling before blogging, I thought, why not blog about... ehmm... food.

Besides the iconic moon cake, did you know there are a few other food traditionally eaten during the Moon Festival? Here are some:

• Taro - a yummy root crop. It was said to be discovered by starving Ming Dynasty soldiers (brave dudes who lived about 1368-1644 C.E.) IN THE MOONLIGHT. Guess when? On the 15th night of the 8th lunar month! What an interesting coincidence. These days, taro is used in main dishes, breads, even drinks. Remember how I said it's yummy? Try it sometime.
• Pomelo - the Chinese grapefruit. It's yellow, and robustly round. Yup, looks like the moon. But remove the rind and you find a delicious pink citrus flesh inside. It was believed to ward off evil spirits and promote good health. In the Qing dynasty, the leaves were believed to be sacred.
  
• Snails - Hold that "Ew" and "Ick" first. Edible snails are nyom nyom nyom. Don't believe me? In the 1700s, it was said that there were 2 farmers with uncontrollable garden pests (snails). Each one thought it was a bright idea to catch the snails and dump it into the neighbor's yard. Soon, the bickering turned real nasty. (Wouldn't you if your neighbor kept dumping stuff into your yard? Anyhoo,) A wise magistrate attempted to restore the peace by hosting a meal for the nasty neighbors. The 2 neighbors were delighted with the sumptuous meal, only to find out that the menu was ... snails. Yum.

There are a lot of other food that people like to serve on the Moon Festival. Usually these symbolize the moon or other good values. Examples are apples, pomegranates, pears, persimmons,grapes, peaches, melons, peanuts, coconuts, watermelon seeds.

Don't forget your tea service and your moon cakes (!) on your Moon Fest table.

Labels: Chinese Food, Moon Festival

Yes, we still have Chinese Valentines and Hungry Ghosts festival, but

Chinese Moon Festival is coming up!

The Lunar Festival/ mid-autumn festival in the Chinese lunar calendar this 2009 is on October 3.

The moon festival is an important occasion for the Chinese, next to Chinese New Year.
A lot of organizations are celebrating this event. In the past years we have seen different kinds of groups celebrate. Besides Chinese-American associations there are museums, schools, restaurants, performing groups, local governments, even parks.

To help families and kids appreciate the Chinese culture more, ChildBook encourages families to participate in Chinese festivities such as the moon festival. We continually compile the different Moon Festival events across the US states and some selected places in Canada so that you can look up the moon fest activities nearest your area.

Also, some parents are already preparing this early what to do on the Moon Fest with their kids, since it's a nice time to talk about stuff all Chinese for that night. ChildBook is now having a Learn Chinese Moon Festival Sale for those who want to buy Moon-fest related activities.

So please drop by our Weekly Sale area to see the moon-fest related stories or poems you can use with your children.

Labels: Chinese moon festival, Moon Festival

Moon Festival Worksheets that are great for use in the Class Room that are available for free on this page Chinese Moon Festival Teaching Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Games, and more for use in the class room and at home!

• Chinese Moon Festival Game
• Chinese Moon Festival Game traditionally played during the Moon Festival
• Chinese Moon Festival Jumbled Words Work Sheet
• Chinese Moon Festival Match A Word
• Matching Work Sheet related to the Chinese Moon Festival for use in the class room
• Chinese Moon Festival Word Scramble
• Chinese Moon Festival Word Search
• Chinese Moon Festival Game traditionally played during the Moon Festival
• Word Search Work Sheet for the Chinese Moon Festival for use in the class room
• Moon Festival Lesson Plan for grades K-4

Labels: chinese moon festival games, Moon Festival, moon festival for kids, moon festival lesson, moon festival worksheets

Dice Game for Moon Festival

Materials You will need:

6 pieces dice, preferably numbers 1 and 4 in red, other numbers in black

Wide-mouthed bowl
Prizes, prizes, prizes. You still have time to solicit…
Assortment of quietly smiling, or rambunctious, or dancing family members and friends on Moon Festival night. Grandma, Grandpa and little cousins included

Object of the Game:
To get as much prizes by throwing the dice and getting prescribed number combinations.

Procedure:
Preparations before Moon Festival:

1. Look for a wide mouthed bowl.
2. Prepare 6 dice with number 1 and 4 in red. If you can only find dice with only the number 1 in red, improvise for number 4.
3. Solicit for prizes among family.
4. Prepare the following prizes

* 32 pcs 6th place prizes
* 16 pcs 5th place prizes
* 8 pcs 4th places prizes
* 4 pcs 3rd place prizes
* 2 pcs 2nd place prizes
* 1 pc 1st place prize

Value of prizes may vary. May be simple or extravagant. Others raffle off moon cake, candies, gadgets, ChildBook gift certificates (ehem:-) … Be creative.
Game Proper on Moon Festival night:

5. Place wide-mouthed bowl on a table. Gather everybody around the table. Appoint the first player.
6. First player throws all 6 dice into the bowl. Take note of the numbers face-up on the dice.
7. Certain combination of numbers on the dice entitles the player to a prize. See combinations and corresponding prizes below.
8. Pass the bowl to the next person. S/he will also throw the dice and get a prize if certain number combinations land face up on the dice. Etc. etc. until all the prizes run out.

Special rules:

* If any of the dice fall outside the bowl, you lose your turn for that round.
* If all the prizes for a given configuration have run out, then future appearances of that configuration win no further prizes.
* "Ultimate throw" – The best combination is composed of either 6 fours, or 6 ones. If you get this combination, you will ALL prizes, even those already won. Some families just give the 1st prize to ensure everybody gets to take home a prize.
* Other rules you can make up as you go along as long as it is fair and everybody gets to have fun.

Dice combinations and corresponding prizes:

The game is actually primarily based on occurrences of the "4" value -- the more fours you roll, the better the prize.

Sixth-place prizes - Awarded to people who roll 1 four

Fifth-place prizes - Awarded to people who roll 2 fours:

Fourth-place prizes - Awarded to people who roll 3 fours:

Third-place prizes - Awarded to people who roll 4 of any number except four:

Second-place prizes - Awarded to people who roll either a full sequence of all six numbers, or 3 of one number and 3 of another:

And finally, the first-place prize (zhungyuan) is given to the lucky soul who manages to roll four fours, five of any single number, or better:

Have fun and good fortune on Moon Festival! Gift your child Chinese Moon Festival books, coloring pages and help them learn more about moon festival through different resources available at childbook.com.

Source: “Of Dice and Moon Cakes” by Sean - http://lengthofwords.blogspot.com/2006/10/of-dice-and-mooncakes.html

Labels: Chinese moon festival, Moon Festival, moon festival books, moon festival dice game, moon festival events, moon festival for kids, moon festival games

I have created a section that has everything you need for the Moon Festival! I do need to copy some Moon Festival coloring pictures over...

Chinese Moon Festival Calendar of Events for the United States and Canada					Chinese Moon Background
			Chinese Moon Calendar of Events for the United States and Canada					Chinese Moon Background including on the Moon Goddess, Jade Rabbit, Traditional Foods, and Moon Cakes.
Moon Festival Lesson Plan					Chinese Moon Festival Books and Stories
			Moon Festival Lesson Plan for grades K-4					Chinese Moon Festival Books including stories about Moon Cakes and the origin of the Autumn Festival that is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month.
Chinese Moon Festival Links					Moon Cakes - Where to Buy/Purchase
			Chinese Moon Festival Links					Moon Cakes are available from Chinese Bakeries and Chinese Markets. Some Moon Cakes are imported from Taiwan and China, and others are made fresh locally. There are also a few sites that sell them on the Internet.

Labels: Moon Festival

I have put together the most complete list of Chinese Moon Festival events with over 50+ events across the US and Canada. The Moon Festival is one of the major Holidays celebrated by Chinese and is a time for families to gather is on the 15^th day of the 8^th Lunar Month per the Chinese calendar, this year is on September 25, 2007. The Moon or Autumn Festival events listed range from festivals to dinners to parades for 20 states and vary in dates.

Mei Mei Hu had kind words - she has great Chinese language learning videos that I sell:
"This is a great list for all of those seeking to find information about local Moon Festival events".

Locations include from California at the Joss House in Weaverville to the giant festival in San Francisco to Washington DC to New York City. Celebrations range from Dances to performances to parades.

Chinese Moon Festival Information including recommended books, calendar of events, lesson plans, and more. Traditional activities are eating moon cakes with your family, while enjoying the brightest moon of the year when the Moon and Earth are closest. The Moon Festival is also called the mid-Autumn Festival.

And yes, luckily Childbook.com does have a few books on the Moon Festival or visit my wifes site for some beautiful children's Chinese Dresses at www.elitedresses.com

Labels: Calendar of Events, Chinese Festivals, Chinese moon festival, moon cakes, Moon Festival