In this September, 2010, Chinese people are going to have a Mid autumn festival that always comes around with Mooncake. The festival itself is originated from the legend of the moon since the other name of the celebration is called Moon cakes festival. This is the legend of the moon that is famous.

Hou Yi ( ¦Z¬ý ) was a great archer and architect, who shot down nine extra suns that had suddenly appeared in the sky and thus kept the earth from being scorched. He also built a palace of jade for the Goddess of the Western Heaven. For this, he was rewarded with a pill containing the elixir of immortality, but with strings attached–he must fast and pray for a year before taking it. His wife, Chang O ( ¹ß®Z ), whose beauty was surpassed only by her curiosity, discovered and swallowed the pill and in no time soared to the moon and became a permanent resident there. Upon reaching the moon, Chang O, in dismay, coughed up the pill, which turned into a jade rabbit that, day and night, pounds out a celestial elixir for the immortals.

Another permanent lunar resident of Chinese origin is Wu Kang ( §d­è ), a shiftless fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time before disappointing his last master, who was an immortal. From him Wu learned to be immortal himself, but he was punished by being required to chop down a cassia tree in the moon, an impossible mission. The cut in the tree heals completely the same day, so Wu Kang is still chopping away for eternity. Some Chinese crave to drink his cassia blossom wine.

The Chinese believe that the moon is at its largest and brightest, and Chang O at her most beautiful, on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month. They are at least half-right, for at that time most of China is in the dry season and the moon looms brightest. It’s also cool then, a perfect time to celebrate the harvest which has just concluded; hence, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Harvest Festival. The festival is a time for family reunions to appreciate the moon ( ½à¤ë , shangyue) and eat moon cakes together. Bathed in bright moonshine and with the company of chrysanthemum and cassia blossoms, poets eat crab meat and moon cake, drink tea and wine, and versify the night away.

Source : http://www.sinica.edu.tw/tit/festivals/0995_MidAutumn.html

Loathed by traditionalists, loved by those who don’t want their blood pressure to resemble a cricket score, Hong Kong’s modern mooncakes have become a Mid Autumn Festival phenomenon.

The Chinese Mooncake is traditionally a belt busting mix of salted egg yolks and sweet lotus paste in a hockey puck sized pastry. Believe or not, and after tasting one you might not, mooncakes are a desert and their dense filling can put a significant bulge in your waistline. So in response to demand from people who don’t want to wobble when they walk, pastry chefs have added some lighter, and better, flavours. Here are our favourites.
1. Snow Skinned
The original modern Moon cakes; snow skinned mooncakes hit the headlines in 1994, when Raffles Hotel in Singapore launched a champagne version of the desert. Since then they’ve taken Asia by storm. Chilled rather than baked and named after their translucent skin, they’re much sweeter than they’re oily counterparts and come in a variety of fruit flavours.

2. Red Bean Paste
If you don’t want to get to far from the Chinese traditions of the Mooncake, red bean paste is a popular filling in Hong Kong and mixes well with the optional egg yolks.
3. Chocolate
Everyone knows that if you really want to get to the business end of a great desert, you skip the beans, pastes and fruits and pick up the cacao. Chocolate covered, chocolate dipped and chocolate stuffed, Hong Kong’s chocolate Mooncakes are best enjoyed by those with gym membership.
4. Durian
Just like the fruit itself, the Durian mooncake packs a pungent punch and if you can tackle the smell, it boasts the best fruit taste around.
5. Cream Cheese
The mooncake meets the Bagel. Experiments with savoury mooncake fillings have thus far been less than convincing; they just weren’t made for a BLT. Cream cheese on the other hand has just the right consistency for a convincing mooncake.
6. Custard Cream
Taking its inspiration from traditional English custard cream biscuits, the custard cream mooncake is one of the few fusion mooncakes that still gets stuffed into the traditional pastry.
7. Ice Cream
Once a novelty, now a firm favourite; Haagen Daazs Mooncakes may only be mooncakes in name, but these chocolate coated, ice cream stuffed pies have established themselves as a Mid Autumn festival must.
8. Green Tea
Ideal for those who want to at least pretend that their desert has health benefits, green tea mooncakes are popular with those who can’t quite stomach the candy covered sweetness in most of the mooncakes above.

Source : http://gohongkong.about.com/od/wheretoeatinhk/tp/mooncakes.htm

By: Roberto Sedycias

Television which now has become lifestyle of humankind is not forever good. There is a bad influence that can be shown in watching television especially for kids.

Since the dawn of television, children have found this an enjoyable and interactive pastime. Visual stimulation is preferred by children in comparison to any other media, and current figures report than children watch an average of four hours of television a day. These figures are much larger than they were almost half a century ago, but changes in lifestyle and technological advances make this inevitable. However, many people question how television is affecting the lives of modern children.

Children`s television programmes began in the 1950s. By 1951 television showed up to 27 hours per week of television programmes aimed at children. The usual time slot was late afternoon and evening with programmes aimed at shorter viewing periods. In the mid 50s the Saturday morning television programme slot was discovered, and since then has long since been kept for children`s viewing. The 1960s saw a switch to animation based television programmes which were cheaper to produce. The lower the cost; the more could be produce and children`s television gained more viewing slots. In the 1970s programmes were made longer to increase viewing figures and in the 80s cable television arrived. This enriched and widened the scope for the provision for children and dedicated television channels were aired.

As the industry grew, so did the concern for the effects of watching television on children. The children`s television act arrived in the 1990s, requiring high levels of research and monitoring in that area. The main concerns centred around health, academic progress and the effects of violence on television. The first testimonial involving the effects of violence on television on juvenile behaviour was brought about in the US as early as 1952. The effects of violence on television have been studied since 1964 when it was officially ruled that television was a factor in children`s behaviour. The main concerns were that levels of violence would increase through copied behaviour, with children becoming desensitised.

So, what has been determined through research with regards to children and television violence? Two outcomes were discovered; catharsis and stimulation which are still the leading theories in this area. Catharsis was found to remove negativity, whereas the stimulation effect increased violent emotions with the latter showing to be the most likely outcome. There is a proven small and consistent link between viewing violence and increased aggression. However, the results were highest amongst children witnessing violence at home rather than non television.

Other studies showed that there are definite cognitive effects when children watch television as they are stimulated by visual movement. This includes the movement of colour, camera angles, and panoramic views. Television aimed at children takes this into account and this is why children seem transfixed. Research shows, however, that attention to the television is in fact fragmentary before the age of two, but it steadily increases until attention peaks at the age of 12 years. The understanding of many concepts is lost until aged 10 in the average child as there is too much information to comprehend and so concentration depends upon pure enjoyment.

In terms of health, the main problem is obesity through a lack of exercise, and so television has been blamed for this in part. This is because watching television distracts the receptors in the brain which let the child know when they are full. However, there is no research to state that this has any more effect than general family eating habits. Television is like any other factor in life; it can have positive effects in moderation. There are no suggested guidelines for television viewing, and so it is down to personal and family choice.

If you have concerns about the effects upon your child, the best advice is to look at family attitudes towards television. This includes the amount of time spent watching television, the type of programmes viewed and even comments made. It is possible to limit the type of programmes viewed, and to reduce the time spent watching by offering it as a reward system. To improve educational elements, discuss issues raised with honesty and interest and your child will be encouraged towards this type of programme.

Source : http://www.floweradvisor.com.sg/lifestyle/technology/television/30735/children_and_the_potential_harmful_effects_of_television/

See Also : Mid autumn festival, Mooncake, Moon cakes