Frankfurt Automechanika: Homesick under mid-autumn moon
Steven, the CEO of KingKar participate in Frankfurt International Auto Parts Show in Germany from Sep.13 to Sep.17 in 2016. The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, which is Sep 15 this year. That means Steven will spend his Mid-Autumn Festival in foreign country.
Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates three fundamental concepts which are closely tied to one another:
Gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. It's said the moon is the brightest and roundest on this day which means family reunion.
Thanksgiving, to give thanks for the harvest, or for harmonious unions.
Praying (asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good future.
Poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) captured the emotions of the wanderer pining for home in this famous poem. The feelings he described are truest when the moon is full, but when the mid-autumn moon shines, they can get especially intense:
Moonlight on the bedstead
Lights up like frost on the ground
Lifting my head at the moon
I drop my chin and think of home.
The poem may convey them homesick under German mid-autumn moon.
Traditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these three concepts, although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion. It’s about wellbeing together.
“We will spend my Mid-Autumn Festival in Germany, but I can’t help missing my family.” Beyond, the sales manager said. “Fortunately, we make a lot of friend in Frankfurt Automechanika. Symbolic of the mid-autumn season are mooncakes, those round, sweet pastries that reflect the reason for the festivities. We prepared our new friends these presents from China.”
Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion. Thus, the sharing and eating of round mooncakes among family members during the week of the festival signify the completeness and unity of families.
Although typical mooncakes can be around a few inches in diameter, imperial chefs have made some as large as several feet in diameter, with its surface impressed with designs of Chang'e, cassia trees, or the Moon-Palace. One tradition is to pile 13 mooncakes on top of each other to mimic a pagoda, the number 13 being chosen to represent the 13 months in a full lunar year.
In some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion. In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.
“Actually for us, Frankfurt Automechanika is not only an auto exhibition, but also a culture exhibition.” Steven said, “In the future globalization, Confucius's ghost will return and the ideal off-universal harmony will become human pursuit once more. I advocate the human spirit of humanity, promote universal harmony in the world with a single culture. I hope that companies with large numbers of customers and sincerely cooperate in developing a common future!”
