Tang Yuan--Lantern Festival

        Today let's meet another new Chinese traditional food and have a look of  it's story.

        The name of the food  is  Tang Yuan. Also,people called it glue pudding.

We eat this kind of specific food on Lantern Festival.

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival 

because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times 

people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. So 

the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China.

According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, 

when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands 

of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will 

try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) 

and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere. 

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of 

the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made 

of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, 

they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating 

Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then 

became popular during the Tang and Song periods. 

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. 

Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts，sesame, osmanthus flowers, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube.

Chinese people love to create more different flavors because we love that food and the traditional festival. If you have a chance,try ~~ You will love the tastes.

Mooncake—Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Hi everybody,

Today, I'm going to introduce a traditional Chinese desert to you.
It's called the mooncake!

Mooncakes are to Mid-Autumn Festival what mince pies are to Christmas. The seasonal round cakes traditionally have a sweet filling of lotus seed paste or red bean paste and often have one or more salted duck eggs in the center to represent the moon. And the moon is what this celebration is all about. Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month, it is the time when the moon is said to be at its brightest and fullest.

　There are two legends which claim to explain the tradition of eating moon cakes. 

One Tang Dynasty myth holds that the Earth once had 10 suns circling it. One day all 10 suns appeared at once, scorching the planet with their heat. It was thanks to a skillful archer named Hou Yi that the Earth was saved. He shot down all but one of the suns. As his reward, the Heavenly Queen Mother gave Hou Yi the Elixir of Immortality, but she warned him that he must use it wisely. Hou Yi ignored her advice and, corrupted by fame and fortune, became a tyrannical leader. Chang-Er, his beautiful wife, could no longer stand by and watch him abuse his power so she stole his Elixir and fled to the moon to escape his angry wrath. And thus began the legend of the beautiful woman in the moon, the Moon Fairy.

The second legend has it that during the Yuan Dynasty, an underground group led by Zhu Yuan Zang was determined to rid the country of Mongolian dominance. The moon cake was created to carry a secret message. When the cake was opened and the message read, an uprising was unleashed which successfully routed the Mongolians. It happened at the time of the full moon, which, some say, explains why mooncakes are eaten at this time.

Today, mooncake is one of the dessert for Chinese , but we only eat mooncakes at the specific time.We use it to celebrate the festival and commemorate the history, also expecting a nice future.

MY LIFE IN AMERICA~

I came in USA for 9 months. San Francisco is where I live and study right now.

I have so many feelings about this city. Like I said I started my new life here.

So for the friends who never visit SF before I made a VIDEO for you~

Hope you will know more about the city and come to visit it next time~~

DON'T forget I'M here. CALL me for DINNER~~  ^^

https://vimeo.com/106695132

TO ALL

Hi everyone ~

I'm Bella. A young girl from China. Welcome to my blog.

In my first post, I'd like to introduce myself briefly. I came from China and right now I'm studying in USA. I studied Drama directing in my undergraduate school.The center of drama university.

Our school is focus on training drama talents.So when I was in school I had a lot of opportunities to perform on the stage.

Right now I'm doing my graduate degree in America. I left my country, my home,my old life, my friends and came to a new country to start my new life.

I believe if you have dreams, and try your best to go for it. People can have a wonderful life in anywhere.

I want use this blog to meet more friends also share interesting informations with you. So this is me, if you interested in acting, directing, movie, music,traveling,food or any other things. Let's start sharing!