While Jennifer and I are traveling in China during the Moon Festival others are traveling as well. After our excursing to Korea, coming back to China is really sweet. Its something about High brow vs. Low brow when comparing Korea to China. Jennifer says that Korea is China’s grandchild. If it is, in my book, they are the Black sheap of the family. Korea is not all that bad just different.
I received a note from Karyn and Mike that they had visited the RedWood’s up north. They were on a search for Big Foot but no luck there. They did have a great time and sent some pictures.

Here is her letter:

Hi all –

I am writing to send you pix of our trip this weekend to Northern California where I finally got to see the BIG TREES – I have been waiting years to see these trees and finally (now that school is over and I have a life again) I’ve done it. As you will see from the pix they really are huge – these are the California Redwoods and they grow to be over 2000 years old. I guess it is the fog in the area that supplies most of the moisture that sustains them. Really impressive!! However today I found out that they are considered small when compared to the Giant Sequoia trees that also grow in northern . The Sequoias are much bigger and have branches the size of the Redwoods – apparently some of them are so old they were growing when the Egyptians built the pyramids (no kidding!!) – they are up to 100 feet around and you could drive a bus through them. I will send you pix from that trip when I make it. We did not see “Big Foot” but we’re pretty sure he’s out there somewhere! Enjoy ps the last picture with me and Mark was taken at a place called “The Wedding Rock” – no there was no preacher with us – so it was just a dry run!

Karyn

The Moon festival is being celebrated here in China and all of the Asia countries. This year Jennifer and I are both here and will treat her family to a big dinner – ON US – for a change. I will start work next month and we will finally have some spare money to catch up with the debt collector.

This afternoon we are traveling a bit to Yang Zhan River for lunch and a boat ride. The camera is handly close by and will be put to a work out. So far I have not been able to up-load the pictures to flickr but I am still trying.

Here is a little about the Moon festival that I found on the web at Chinapage.com. There are some legendary stories for the Moon Festival.

1) The Lady – Chang Er

The date of this story is around 2170 B.C. The earth once had ten suns circling over it, each took its turn to illuminate to the earth. But one day all ten suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved by a strong and tyrannical archer Hou Yi. He succeeded in shooting down nine of the suns. One day, Hou Yi stole the elixir of life from a goddess. However his beautiful wife Chang Er drank the elixir of life in order to save the people from her husband’s tyrannical rule. After drinking it, she found herself floating and flew to the moon. Hou Yi loved his divinely beautiful wife so much, he didn’t shoot down the moon.

2) The Man – Wu Kang

Wu Kang was a shiftless fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time. One day he decided that he wanted to be an immortal. Wu Kang then went to live in the mountains where he importuned an immortal to teach him. First the immortal taught him about the herbs used to cure sickness, but after three days his characteristic restlessness returned and he asked the immortal to teach him something else. So the immortal to teach him chess, but after a short while Wu Kang’s enthusiasm again waned. Then Wu Kang was given the books of immortality to study. Of course, Wu Kang became bored within a few days, and asked if they could travel to some new and exciting place. Angered with Wu Kang’s impatience, the master banished Wu Kang to the Moon Palace telling him that he must cut down a huge cassia tree before he could return to earth. Though Wu Kang chopped day and night, the magical tree restored itself with each blow, and thus he is up there chopping still.

3) The Hare – Jade Rabbit

In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit’s sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the “Jade Rabbit.”

4) The Cake – Moon Cake

During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.