In ancient China, moon worship was tied closely to fertility and the harvest. So the full moon that happened closest to the fall equinox became the holiday now called Mid-Autumn Festival, also called Moon Festival by some. Originally a celebration of the harvest and a plea to the gods for rains to ensure a good harvest next year, the festival has become a more secular bit of autumn fun, with children and adults alike eating sweet mooncakes, lighting lanterns, and giving thanks for all they have. Really, they had us at ‘mooncake.’
Mooncake time
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Yosemite National Park anniversary
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
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A bite of ancient history
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Women s suffrage at 100
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Lavender fields in Plateau de Valensole, France
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Travels to the Oregon deep
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Craters of the Moon centennial
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A crush in Lavaux
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Celebrating migrations
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Wildebeests in Maasai Mara, Kenya
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Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
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Humpbacks return to the Inside Passage
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Tufa formations in Mono Lake, California
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The story of the poinsettia
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Central Highlands of Vietnam
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Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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Giving Tuesday
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Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
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Moving as one
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Happy Holi!
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International Day of Human Space Flight
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Macro photograph of a migrant hawker dragonfly
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Mountain goats
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World Water Day
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Terraced fields of green
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National Find a Rainbow Day
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Happy Easter!
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A treaty for science
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Beavers Bend
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Turning darkness into light
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