2007.11.02
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TSUKIMI FESTIVAL at Burleson Hall at 5:00pm TSUKIMI?????  In autumn, the air is clear and the moon looks especially beautiful. People enjoy gazing at the full moon on Moon Viewing Night, or JYUGO-YA. Originally, O-TSUKI-MI was held on the night of August 15th according to the lunar calendar. In present days, JYUGO-YA is on a night in September or October. The date on which JYUGO-YA is celebrated depends on the year. People offer dumplings to the moon, called TSUKI-MI-DANGO. The ingredients, shape, size of the dumplings, and the number of the dumplings offered, depend on the region. Newly harvested fruits and other foods from the years crops are also offered to the moon. Popular examples of such offerings include taros, sweet potatoes, and chestnuts. Japanese pampas grasses are also added for decoration. The way JYUGO-YA is celebrated varies between regions and generations. O-TSUKI-MI may also include a prayer to the moon for a beautiful crop. The origin of O-TSUKI-MI is not certain, but it was probably introduced to Japan from China. In China, people eat GEPPEI, instead of the moon dumplings. GEPPEI is a flat and round cake containing AN (sweetened bean-paste), nuts, sesame, dried persimmons, and so on. In Japan, it is said that there is a rabbit pounding steamed rice with KINE (a wooden mallet) in USU (a big mortar for rice cake) to make MOCHI on the moon. This is because Japanese think that the craters of the moon look like a rabbit making rice cake. McDonald's Tsukimi hanburger 
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