Mooncaks ar to Mid-Autumn Fstival what minc pis ar to Christmas. Th sasonal round caks traditionally hav a swt filling of lotus sd past or rd ban past and oftn hav on or mor saltd duck ggs in th cntr to rprsnt th moon. And th moon is what this clbration is all about. Mid-Autumn Fstival falls on th 15th day of th 8th month，it is th tim whn th moon is said to b at its brightst and fullst.Thr ar two lgnds which claim to xplain th tradition of ating mooncaks. On Tang Dynasty myth holds that th arth onc had 10 suns circling it. On day all 10 suns appard at onc，scorching th plant with thir hat. It was thanks to a skillful archr namd Hou Yi that th arth was savd. H shot down all but on of th suns. As his rward，th Havnly Qun Mothr gav Hou Yi th lixir of Immortality，but sh warnd him that h must us it wisly. Hou Yi ignord hr advic and，corruptd by fam and fortun，bcam a tyrannical ladr. Chang-r，his bautiful wif， could no longr stand by and watch him abus his powr so sh stol his lixir and fld to th moon to scap his angry wrath. And thus bgan th lgnd of th bautiful woman in th moon，th Moon Fairy.Th scond lgnd has it that during th Yuan Dynasty，an undrground group ld by Zhu Yuan Zang was dtrmind to rid th country of Mongolian dominanc. Th moon cak was cratd to carry a scrt mssag. Whn th cak was opnd and th mssag rad，an uprising was unlashd which succssfully routd th Mongolians. It happnd at th tim of th full moon，which，som say，xplains why mooncaks ar atn at this tim. Mooncaks ar usually stampd with Chins charactrs indicating th nam of th bakry and th typ of filling usd. Som bakris will vn stamp thm with your family nam so that you can giv prsonalisd ons to frinds and family. Thy ar usually prsntd in boxs of four which indicat th four phass of th moon. Traditional mooncaks ar mad with mltd lard，but today vgtabl oil is mor oftn usd in th intrsts of halth. Mooncaks ar not for th dit-conscious as thy ar loadd with caloris. Th bst way to wash down on of ths sticky caks is with a cup of Chins ta，spcially Jasmin or Chrysanthmum ta，which aids th digstion.

中秋节吃月饼就像西方人圣诞节吃百果馅饼一样，是必不可少的。圆圆的月饼中通常包有香甜的莲子馅或是红豆馅，馅的中央还会加上一个金黄的咸鸭蛋黄来代表月亮。而月亮正是中秋节庆祝的主题。每年农历8月15日人们一起庆祝中秋，据说这一天的月亮是一年中最亮最圆的。关于吃月饼这个传统的来历有两个传说。一个是唐朝的神话故事，说的是当时地球被10个太阳包围着。有一天10个太阳同时出现在天空中，巨大的热量几乎把地球烤焦了。多亏一位名叫后羿的神箭手射下了9个太阳，地球才被保住。为了奖励后羿，王母娘娘赐给后羿一种长生不老药，但是王母警告他必须正当使用。然而后羿没有理会王母娘娘的警告，他被名利冲昏了头脑，变成了一个暴君。后羿美丽的妻子嫦娥对他的暴行再也不能袖手旁观，于是她偷走了后羿的长生不老药，飞到月亮上逃避后羿的狂怒。从此就有了关于月宫仙子嫦娥，这个月亮上的美丽女人的传说。第二个传说讲的是在元朝，朱元璋领导的起义军计划起义来摆脱蒙古族的统治。他们用月饼来传递密信。掰开月饼就可以找到里面的密信，起义军通过这种方式成功的发动了起义，赶走了元朝的统治者。这场起义发生在八月十五之时，于是中秋节吃月饼的习俗便在民间传开来。