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Traditions you may not know about Mid-Autumn Festival

By Zhou Bing | (chinadaily.com.cn) | 2021-09-18

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Children like to play with clay rabbits at Mid-Autumn Festival. [Photo/VCG] 

5. Playing clay rabbit

The clay rabbit is a traditional handicraft in Beijing at Mid-Autumn Festival. Based on an image of of the Jade Rabbit from the story of Chang'e in the Moon Palace, a clay rabbit is personalized and made in an artistic form.

Some people imitate opera characters and carve the rabbit in a stylized way, such as a warrior with a golden helmet and armor, riding lions, elephants and other beasts of prey, or some riding peacocks, cranes and other birds.

The rabbit figure once was an offering to worship the moon, but later, it became a popular children's toy.

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A quiet night is suitable for women and girls to steal vegetables. [Photo/VCG] 

6. Stealing vegetables

Among the Dong ethnic group in Central China's Hunan province, it is the custom for young ladies to steal vegetables on Mid-Autumn Festival night.

There is a legend that during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the fairy in the Moon Palace will go down to the human world to spread sweet dew on the vegetables. Whoever eats vegetables with sweet dew on this night will be healthy and happy.

Also, women and girls express their adoration to their favorite young men by this way.

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People eat fat river snails in the Mid-Autumn Festival. [Photo/IC] 

7. Eating river snails

People believe that eating river snails in the Mid-Autumn Festival can make the eyes clear. River snails are rich in vitamin A, which is an important substance in visual pigments.

Around the festival, there are no small river snails in the abdomens of larger river snails. Therefore, their meat is especially fat and delicious. It is the best time to eat river snails.

Nowadays, many families in Guangzhou eat fried river snails during the festival.

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Osmanthus-flavored wine is a gift in autumn. [Photo/VCG] 

8. Drinking osmanthus-flavored wine

Osmanthus flowers open and spread a sweet scent in autumn. Osmanthus-flavored wine is a gift during this season.

Osmanthus fragrance is a symbol of prosperity and auspiciousness. Drinking Osmanthus fragrance wine at Mid-Autumn Festival implies sweetness, wealth and auspiciousness, and prosperity of the family.

People gather together to appreciate the moon in which Wu Gang, who chases Chang'e, is cutting a sweet-scented osmanthus tree outside the Moon Palace, according to a legend. They drink the sweet osmanthus-flavored wine to echo the festival atmosphere.

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A reunion dinner at Mid-Autumn Festival draws the family together. [Photo/VCG] 

Nowadays, some traditional customs are disappearing, and the younger generation have their own ways to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as shopping, going to a party, or traveling, seemingly forgetting the traditional customs of the festival.

This is because many in the post-80s and 90s generations are working and studying in other cities and some of them have many pressures in life.

However, if they had chance, they would come back home to have a reunion dinner with their families.

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