英文演讲稿

　　A: Hello, everyone! I am very glad to share my topic with you. Then we'd like to talk something about Mid-Autumn festival today. My name is .

　　B: My name is . So, , can you make some introductions about the Mid-Autumn festival?

　　A: Okay. The Mid-Autumn festival is a very important Chinese festival. It falls on the 15th day of August. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon, which is an

　　auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. On the evening there will be a big family dinner. After dinner, people usually taste delicious moon cakes of many varieties with a good cup of hot

　　Chinese tea, while children run around with their brightly-lit lanterns. They can also look back on the past and look forward to the future together. By the way, do you know what the meaning behind this holiday is?

　　B;Mid-Autumn festival probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavor with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon. According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the

　　suns. As his reward, the Heavenly Queen Mother gave Hou Yi the

　　Elixir of Immortality .But his wife, Chang-E drank it. Then she became the Moon Fairy. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray and people would sacrifice at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　A: Referred to legends, there is another one I want to share with all of you. During the Yuan Dynasty, China was ruled by the Mongolian people. The king of them was very cruel. An underground group led by Zhu Yuanzhang 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. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.

　　B: Wow! How clever he is! In my hometown lies in the Minnan area, there is a custom in Mid-Autumn Festival called Moon-cake gambling. All the game requires are six dice and a china bowl. Just throw the dice into the bowl and the different pips you get stand for different ranks of awards you will win. The activity was invented by Zheng Chenggong to help relieve homesickness among his troops during Mid-Autumn Festival. Now, Xiamen people still believe that the person, who wins "Zhuangyuan" in the game, will have good luck that

　　year. And the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second important holiday in Xiamen besides Spring Festival.

　　A: Sounds interesting! The winner of Moon-cake gambling can taste delicious moon cakes! I usually looked forward to the Mid-Autumn Festival during childhood because I could eat various tastes of moon cakes. The custom of eating moon cakes appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Ancient moon cake was eaten as a sacrifice (祭品)in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Due to the passage of time, the moon cake has been changed into the Mid-Autumn Festival’s food and gifts. In the enening, family members worship the moon, and then the housewife cut moon cake by the members of the family. Who shares moon cake more averagely, who will have more good luck.

　　? B: I also enjoy moon cakes. It is believed that the moon is at her brightest on this night. The round shape of moon cakes symbolizes not only the moon but also the unity of the family. By the way, except moon cakes, I also hear that in Chinese Taiwan, barbecuing meat outdoors has become a widespread way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different areas celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in different ways, but the wishes of enjoying the moon and getting together with families are the same. As the moon rises, we share it at the same time no matter we

　　are together or far apart.

　　A: That’s all. Thank you for listening.