Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Asian Mid-Autumn Festival 2026


China's Mid-Autumn Festival 2026 🏮 Giant Lanterns, Lion Dance, and Spectacular Full Moon Festivities 🔥

Thirteen months of moonshine every year (WQ)
Peaceful Countryside(Peaceful Countryside) Experience the magic of the Mid-Autumn Festival 2026, where giant lanterns, lion dance performances, traditional music, mooncakes, and glowing night celebrations come together under the full moon.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in Chinese culture, associated with family reunion, moon viewing, lanterns, mooncakes, and wishes for happiness and togetherness.

This special presentation captures the beauty and excitement of a festive night filled with color, tradition, and cultural energy.
The Mid-Autumn Festival

Chang'e flies to Moon (Gutenberg)
Also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, this grand celebration is an ancient harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture (throughout the Sinosphere).

It occurs on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which can fall between Sept. 7th and Oct. 8th (inclusive) of the West's Gregorian calendar [1, 2]. On this day, the Chinese believe the Moon is at its fullest and brightest, coinciding with the time of harvest in the middle of autumn [3].

Moon Goddess Chang'e
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays and celebrations in Chinese culture. The history of the festival dates back now over 3,000 years [4, 5]. Similar festivals are celebrated by other cultures in East and Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia.

During the festival, lanterns of all sizes and shapes – symbolizing beacons that light the path toward prosperity and good fortune for the people – are carried, displayed, and set aloft.

Mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet-bean or lotus-seed paste, are eaten during this time of celebration [6, 7, 8].

Tang Dynasty mirror: Moon Goddess, Rabbit
The Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the legend of the Moon Goddess Chang'e (and her trusty Moon Rabbit) in Chinese mythology [9].

It is an official holiday in both mainland China [10] and the island-nation of Taiwan [11]. The day after the Mid-Autumn Festival is an official holiday in both Hong Kong [12] and Macau [13]. More

🏮 Festival Highlights
  • 🌕 Spectacular full moon celebration
  • 🏮 Giant lantern displays and illuminated streets
  • 🦁 Energetic lion dance performances
  • 🥮 Traditional mooncakes and festive food
  • 🎶 Chinese traditional music and drums
  • 🎭 Cultural performances and colorful costumes
  • ✨ Glowing lantern release and magical night scenes
  • 🏯 Beautiful traditional Chinese festival atmosphere
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family reunion and community celebration
  • 🎥 Stunning cinematic festival scenes in 4K
  • 🌕 Celebrating the lunar deity (Goddess Chang'e)
Asian Mooncake Mania
Ultimate Guide to Vegan Mooncakes (six ways!) 純素月餅
From massive lantern displays to powerful lion dances and peaceful full-moon moments, this video utilizes AI to celebrate the beauty, tradition, family spirit, and cultural heritage of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and to watch the festivities from all angles.


Mid Autumn Festival story and how Chinese celebrate it
The Moon Goddess Chang'e (Ming Dynasty)
chinahighlights(chinahighlights) The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which is in late September/early October on the Gregorian calendar. The most famous legend of how the Mid-Autumn Festival began is the romantic love story between HouYi and Chang’e. Learn more at: bit.ly/2k45aza.

See the most popular Mid-Autumn greetings at: bit.ly/2NMPvRC. Ten interesting things about Mid-Autumn Festival:  bit.ly/2Nj0jaQ. Daily updates on FB with interesting things about Chinese culture: bit.ly/3wl2VGO. Learn Chinese: bit.ly/3hgkHGW. To use this video, please contact nora@chinahighlights.com.

Mooncakes and the beauty of autumn in neighboring Japan

📌 NOTE: This video is an AI-generated artistic recreation for documentary, educational, entertainment, and storytelling purposes. It is inspired by Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival traditions, giant lantern celebrations, lion dances, moon-viewing customs, and lantern-release scenes. It does not contain authentic official event footage or represent an official festival, livestream, or broadcast. #MidAutumnFestival #MidAutumnFestival2026 #ChinaMidAutumnFestival #ChineseFestival #GiantLanterns #LionDance #FullMoonFestival #MoonFestival #LanternFestival #Mooncakes #Chinesefullmoon #LanternParade #ChinaFestival2026
  • CC Liu, Crystal Q., Ashley Wells (eds.), Sept. 24, 2026, Wisdom Quarterly; Shen Dan

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Proud to be Irish and Catholic? (Bible)

(Channel 4 Comedy) Sister Michael's Guide to Not Giving a F**k! | Derry Girls | Channel 4
.
The beautiful Black Irish in the US
Now, WoQy, w' don't mind if y' rite 'bout tha beyootifull Catholick Shurch as a wondrous institution of goode in the Emerald Isle that saved it from Snakes under St. Paddy 'n the scallywag Protestant-Royalists up North, but ye best not be sayin nuthin harsh or rude about that holy mother superior Headmistress Sister George Michael of TV's Our Lady Immaculate College (Siobhán McSweeney) on the teen British sitcom Derry Girls. And if'n y' do, we might forgit to pray fer yer eternal Souls during vespers. D'ya understand? An' der might be a knuckle-ruler  waitin' fer yous to halp y'all see da error uv yer wayz, too. Right?
  • Irish beauty from aos sidhe, Tuatha de Danann
    May we post a wee short Family Guy documentary cartoon about our beloved Isle and its traditions?
Well, that should be just fine, Laddys and Lassies. Seth McFarlane is a right good Irish Catholick boy hisself, tizn't he?

A good Christian Bible? Far better to read the original Un-Roman Ethiopian version
Seminarians from Pontifical Irish College, Rome ordained deacons | Irish Catholic Bishops' Con

(Abyss Archive) The final words of an Ethiopian Christian monk (relying on his church's 88-book Ethiopian Bible) about Jesus Christ is raising questions for Western Christians.

Beware the mermaid creatures: Selkies
(Kiki Rockwell) "Selkie" has been spotted in Ireland. Do not ask to marry one, do not consent.
  • Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Standup comedy: Two Kinds of Asians

(Anjelah Johnson) CLASSIC: Mexican Indian becomes a Vietnamese nail salon worker (full)
Asia isn't only China and Japan | Ali Wong
Why are Chinese parents the way they are?

"Positive racism"?

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Greeks and other ancients used 'drugs'?

Roman emperors list: Complete timeline and chronology of rulers for coin buying
(WATIVY) Ancient humans got high on purpose: Scientific evidence is everywhere across continents and has been for a long time. They just didn't want to talk about it.
The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization
Greco-Roman Culture Explained: How Ancient
Greece and Rome Shaped Our World
Dr. D. C. Ammon Hillman has 4.6 out of 5 stars (with 154 reviews). [It's] "The last wild frontier of classical studies," says The Times (UK).

The Chemical Muse uncovers decades of intentional academic misdirection and obfuscation (cover up) to reveal the long history of the widespread drug use in ancient Greece and Rome.
My eyes are red from weeping.
In the city-states that gave birth to Western civilization, drugs were an everyday element of a free society. Often, they were not just available, but vitally necessary for use in spiritual and religious ceremonies, medicine and healing, and war and violence campaigns.

Their proponents and casual users existed in all socioeconomic classes, from the common foot soldier to the emperor.

Citing examples in sacred myths, medicine, and literature, Dr. Hillman shows how drugs (psychedelic gateways to potential creativity or breakdowns) have influenced and inspired artists, philosophers, and politicians whose ideas have formed the basis for civilization as we know it.


Many of these ancient texts may seem well-known, but Dr. Hillman shows how timid, prudish translations have left biblical scholars and readers of the classics in the dark about the reality of drug use in the Classical world.

Dr. Hillman's argument is not simply "pro-drug." Instead, he appeals for an intellectual honesty that acknowledges the use of drugs in ancient societies despite today's conflicting social mores about them.

In our modern world, where academia and university life often get politically charged, The Chemical Muse offers a unique and long overdue perspective on the contentious topic of drug use and freedom of thought. More

Friday, January 16, 2026

The 5 most famous Chinese poems


Li Bai (Chinese 李白, Pinyin Lǐ Bái) (circa 701-762), who is also known by his courtesy name of Taibai (太白), was a Chinese poet acclaimed as one of the best and most important poets of the Tang dynasty, even the whole of Chinese poetry.

He and his friends such as Du Fu (712–770) were among the prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry of the Tang dynasty, often called the "Golden Age of Chinese Poetry." The expression "Three Wonders" denotes
  1. Li Bai's poetry,
  2. Pei Min's swordplay, and
  3. Zhang Xu's calligraphy [1].
Around 1,000 poems attributed to Li are extant. His poems have been collected into the most important Tang dynasty collection, Heyue yingling ji [2], compiled in 753 by Yin Fan.

Thirty-four of Li Bai's poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century [3].

Around the same time, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. In Ezra Pound's famous work Cathay (1915), Li Bai's poems enjoy the lion's share (11 out of 19) [4]. Li Bai's poems became models for celebrating the pleasures of... More
  • Skritter; Learn Chinese Now; CC Liu, Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Friday, July 25, 2025

Poetry events in Los Angeles (7/26)

This week is the end of Love's Labour's Lost and start of Doctor Faustus at Griffith Park

The Bard: Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
This town is full of rebellious writers, standing up to Trump's fascist agenda with his Gestapo ICE. But LA does it differently, with flare and pizzazz, poetry and spoken word. Come out to Santa Monica's historic Rapp Saloon inside the Youth Hostel to see it live. There's more going on. On Sunday, the Village Poets have a regular reading at Bolton Hall in Sunland/Tujunga, right in the foothills. Next weekend, the Eagle Rock Library hosts an open mic with that this month features Lynda Crawford. The SPARC (South Pasadena Arts Council) has a reading every Third Thursday. For anyone looking for the Bard himself, IndieShakes.org is at Griffith Park all summer with FREE Shakespeare in the Park. Or, if Hollywood is your bag, the Emmys are coming up soon.
Eagle Rock is on the Eastside of Hipsterville
Next weekend, in the afternoon, Eagle Rock Library (part of LA County's system) has its bimonthly Open Mic: Open Mic Poetry | Los Angeles Public Library
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: Share your original poems, lyrics, spoken word, or just enjoy listening. Each poet will have five (5) minutes to read an original work. To read, sign up on arrival.

Poetess Lynda V. E. Crawford (Poets & Writers)
The featured speaker will be Lynda V. E. Crawford, who says of her poetry, "I write poems to sneak behind eyes, blow through ears, and stretch voices." Crawford was born and raised in Barbados and now lives in California. Both home countries sway her writing. The Pushcart Prize nominee's work has appeared in national and international journals including Prairie Schooner, ArtsEtc Barbados, The Caribbean Writer, The Galway Review, The Bookends Review, California Quarterly, and Exposition Review. Crawford is the author of the poetry collection Washing Water (World Stage Press, October 2024).

For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event. Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento. More

What happened?
3rd Thursday Poetry: SPARC (7/17)
It's every third Thursday (except December). Tonight's show put the spotlight on two artists featured on Wisdom Quarterly, an environmentalist and a poet dealing in race and esteem issues as a Vietnamese American poet. We discovered a new talent that stole the show, painter Ekaterina Sky. She was performing Earthcentric slam poetry, passionate about restoring nature from all of our manmade disasters.

What else you got?
There is no ART without ARTists who share.
Poetry is running rampant across the city, spreading culture and resistance, saying "no" to Trump and ICE, fascism and racism, Tinsel Town excesses and the dumbing down of a digitally-addicted society. There's more. Tonight (Friday, July 17, 2025) is Rapp Saloon's 14th anniversary with Hostess Elena Secota at the Youth Hostel in Santa Monica.
  • The Rapp Saloon (historical 1st brick building)
  • Hostelling International, Santa Monica
  • 1436 2nd Street, Santa Monica
  • FREE/all ages (donations appreciated)
Sunday inside historic Bolton Hall
Poetess Maja Trochimczyk
Village Poets of Sunland/Tujunga is happy to welcome poets Hilda Weiss and past Poet Laureate Maja Trochimczyk on the Third Sunday (July 20th), 4:30 pm at Bolton Hall Museum. There is also an open mic where poets are invited to participate in the open reading segment of the event. It is hosted by Alice Pero.
Bolton Hall is a Los Angeles Historical Landmark built in 1913. Reading starts at 4:30 pm and goes to 6:30 pm. Refreshments served. Free street parking available and at Elks Lodge, 10137 Commerce Ave. Park, behind the building, a short walk from Bolton Hall, across the street and down the block.