The Legend of the Moon Maiden is one of the stories told to children during Moon Festival is of the fairy living in a crystal palace. She comes out to dance on the shadowed surface of the moon. Legend says the “lady living in the moon” dates back to ancient times when ten suns appeared in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous but mean archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill of immortality. But his wife, wishing to save people from his bad disposition, took the pill herself. She has been banished to the moon ever since. They say her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon Festival. (What is Autumn moon cakes?)

The date of our Festival Mooncake was about a week after the real Moon Festival date. But because our student leaders need time to organize 200 school volunteers, it has become our tradition to select the third Sunday of every September to be this community’s Chinese Moon Festival. We wish to acknowledge these young people for their spirit, hard work and dedication. Our event would not be as fun and wonderful without them, and we hope they come to fill their lives with the same joyfulness they present here today.

The Mid autumn festival is celebrated by billions of people. They celebrate it with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Delicious moon cakes are a traditional enjoyment. But on this day, we offer you the pleasure of sharing arts, crafts and creative activities in a Chinese garden setting. Culture is fun! Without art, music, poetry or dance – what would imagination do? We hope you enjoy what we’ve had fun planning for you. Have a Great Time!!!!!

We would like to thank the City of San Jose, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services for their support, and express our appreciation to Ranger Valeri Heyberger. We would also like to acknowledge the infinite patience and encouragement of Pauline Lowe, one of the original founders of the Chinese Cultural Garden. We would especially like to express our gratitude to the years of support by Arts Council Silicon Valley, and the generosity of Resources for Families and Communities in Santa Clara County.

Source : http://chineseculturalgarden.com/moonfestival.htm

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival or Mid autumn festival. But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought,storms, fafmine or pestilence upon human beings.Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC,he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival boes like this. Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However, it did not exert any great influence among the Chinese people. one day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures. After joumeying thousands of miles,the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to house a statue of Buddha and serve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness.

So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival which is also known as Festival Mooncake where people usually has Autum moon cakes to celebrate with family and friends..

Source : http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/lantern.htm

By: Sam Thomas

Three women who realize that they are witches that have to work together to fight bad while living their normal lives. That is what happened in Charmed serial TV.

Charmed season 1 was first broadcast in 1998 to 1999, on the now defunct Warner Brothers network and was hugely popular even from the very first episode, which pulled in over 7 million viewers.

The first season of Charmed is based on the life of three sisters; Phoebe Halliwell, Piper Halliwell and Prue Halliwell. The first series is remember for the vast diversity in plot lines and has a very different feel to the following seven seasons.

The series commences with the sisters moving into their late grandmothers San Francisco manor, discovering the ancient Book of Shadows in the attic and consequently realising that they are the last in a long line of powerful good witches, whose destiny is to fight evil entities and protect the innocent.

Prue, played by Shannen Doherty, is the elder of the Halliwell sisters and is often portrayed as the most powerful sister. Many of the early plotlines focus on Prue and her struggle to adapt to the life changing turn of events and gain control of the powers that have bestowed her.

Piper and Phoebe in the early days, are featured very much in a supporting role, although the sisters do often come together to call on The Power of Three, making them the most powerful good witches on the earth.

Charmed season 1 concentrates mainly on the sisters coming to terms with the discovery of their heritage and experimenting with their new found powers, often with hilarious consequences.

The darker element of battling with demons and other evil beings is largely absent in the early writings, with the exception of their encounters with Rex Buckland (Neil Roberts) and Hannah Webster (Leigh-Allyn Baker). Towards the end of the season, a few episode also focus on the charmed ones battles with the demon who masquerades as SFPD Internal Affairs Inspector Rodriguez (Carlos Gomes).

During Charmed season1, the sister’s magical opponents were often unorganised and whose nature had yet to be clearly defined. During this period there was much experimentation from the writers and directories of Charmed, particularly in regards to the delivery of vanquishing potions used by the sisters to destroy their enemies.

The visual effects routinely needed, how these affects were filmed, character reaction etc had yet to be clearly established and so this experimentation also continued into the second season of Charmed.

Source : http://www.floweradvisor.com.sg/lifestyle/technology/television/130945/charmed_season__/

See Also : Festival Mooncake, Mid autumn festival, Autumn moon cakes