About All Saint's Day

Oct 31th is Halloween, which origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

History of Halloween
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

Today's Traditions

One of the verses about the pumpkins reminded me about pumpkins being used as "Jack-O-Lanterns" on Halloween. October 31, Halloween Day is celebrated by carving face into a hollow pumpkin, and placing a lighted candle in it at night for all to see outside by the front door of everyone's house. Children dress up in costumes of all kinds and go from house to house where there is a pumpkin or porch light on, saying "Trick or Treat!" The idea is that children will be given a candy or other small treat, otherwise they might play a trick on the homeowner, although a real trick is not the modern-day custom.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Peking Duck

If you come to Beijing, the Peking Duck can not been missed.Among China's 1.3 billion people, there's one name that first comes to mind when the words "roast duck" are mentioned: Quanjude. Ask the Chinese what a visit to the nation's capital should involve and they will tell you that two things must be achieved: climb the Great Wall and eat a roast duck at Quanjude.

The first restaurant to bear the name Quanjude opened in 1864 during the reign of the Qing Emperor Tongzhi. Due to its high standards, the restaurant’s fame spread rapidly and for many years the supply of roast ducks could hardly satisfy the demand. For this reason, the restaurant was rebuilt and expanded in 1948. In 1954 a branch (known as Hongbinlou) was opened in West Chang?an Boulevard and another in Wangfujing Street in 1959. These additions, however, still did not solve the problem, and with the opening of the Quanjude at hepingmen in 1979, it was no longer necessary to make a reservation a week in advance to taste Beijing’s most famous culinary delight.


Dietary culture
While many have heard of "Peking Duck," few realize that the Quanjude restaurant has a menu list of over 400 dishes consisting entirely of duck. Of course there are the mainstays, like the famous Quanjude Roasted Duck, Quanjude Mustard Duck Web, Quanjude Boiled Duck Liver, Quanjude Seasoned Duck Gizzard, Quanjude Shredded Duck Wing, and Quanjude Quick Fried Duck Heart. But there are also pages and pages of more unusual duck selections. There's a duck dish for every body part: tongues, livers, skin, gizzards, breasts, and the appetizing duck-feet webs. Even the duck egg is included in the menu as a dish named "Crystal Duck."

With its long history, Quanjude roast duck enjoys a high reputation among domestic and overseas consumers for the peculiar roast technique and outstanding quality. It ranks the first not only in Chinese Famous Dishes, compiled by all-China famous chefs under the organization of Ministry of Commerce in 1958, but also in Elite of Chinese Famous Dishes, published by China and Japan in 1982. In many cases, Quanjude lists the first among famous restaurants.

Chinese Eight Cuisines

China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor. Since China's local dishes have their own typical characteristics, generally, Chinese food can be roughly divided into eight regional cuisines, which has been widely accepted around. Certainly, there are many other local cuisines that are famous, such as Beijing Cuisine and Shanghai Cuisine.

Shandong Cuisine
Consisting of Jinan cuisine and Jiaodong cuisine, Shandong cuisine, clear, pure and not greasy, is characterized by its emphasis on aroma, freshness, crispness and tenderness. Shallot and garlic are usually used as seasonings so Shangdong dishes tastes pungent usually. Soups are given much emphasis in Shangdong dishes. Thin soup features clear and fresh while creamy soup looks thick and tastes strong. Jinan cuisine is adept at deep-frying, grilling, frying and stir-frying while Jiaodong division is famous for cooking seafood with fresh and light taste.

Shandong is the birthplace of many famous ancient scholars such as Confucious and Mencius. And much of Shandong cuisine's history is as old as Confucious himself, making it the oldest existing major cuisine in China. But don't expect to gain more wisdom from a fortune at a Shandong restaurant in the West since fortune s aren't even indigenous to China.

Shandong is a large peninsula surrounded by the sea to the East and the Yellow River meandering through the center. As a result, seafood is a major component of Shandong cuisine. Shandong's most famous dish is the Sweat and Sour Carp. A truly authentic Sweet and Sour Carp must come from the Yellow River. But with the current amount of pollution in the Yellow River, you would be better off if the carp was from elsewhere. Shandong dishes are mainly quick-fried, roasted, stir-fried or deep-fried. The dishes are mainly clear, fresh and fatty, perfect with Shandong's own famous beer, Qingdao Beer

Sichuan Cuisine
Sichuan Cuisine, known often in the West as Szechuan Cuisine, is one of the most famous Chinese cuisines in the world. Characterized by its spicy and pungent flavor, Sichuan cuisine, prolific of tastes, emphasizes on the use of chili. Pepper and prickly ash also never fail to accompany, producing typical exciting tastes. Besides, garlic, ginger and fermented soybean are also used in the cooking process. Wild vegetables and animals are usually chosen as ingredients, while frying, frying without oil, pickling and braising are applied as basic cooking techniques. It cannot be said that one who does not experience Sichuan food ever reaches China.

If you eat Sichuan cuisine and find it too bland, then you are probably not eating authentic Sichuan cuisine. Chili peppers and prickly ash are used in many dishes, giving it a distinctively spicy taste, called ma in Chinese. It often leaves a slight numb sensation in the mouth. However, most peppers were brought to China from the Americas in the 18th century so you can thank global trade for much of Sichuan cuisine's excellence. Sichuan hot pots are perhaps the most famous hotpots in the world, most notably the Yuan Yang (mandarin duck) Hotpot half spicy and half clear.

Guangdong Cuisine
Cantonese food originates from Guangdong, the southernmost province in China. The majority of overseas Chinese people are from Guangdong (Canton) so Cantonese is perhaps the most widely available Chinese regional cuisine outside of China.

Cantonese are known to have an adventurous palate, able to eat many different kinds of meats and vegetables. In fact, people in Northern China often say that Cantonese people will eat anything that flies except airplanes, anything that moves on the ground except trains, and anything that moves in the water except boats. This statement is far from the truth, but Cantonese food is easily one of the most diverse and richest cuisines in China. Many vegetables originate from other parts of the world. It doesn't use much spice, bringing out the natural flavor of the vegetables and meats.

Tasting clear, light, crisp and fresh, Guangdong cuisine, familiar to Westerners, usually chooses raptors and beasts to produce originative dishes. Its basic cooking techniques include roasting, stir-frying, sauteing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Among them steaming and stir-frying are more commonly applied to preserve the natural flavor. Guangdong chefs also pay much attention to the artistic presentation of dishes.

Fujian Cuisine
Consisting of Fuzhou Cuisine, Quanzhou Cuisine and Xiamen Cuisine, Fujian Cuisine is distinguished for its choice seafood, beautiful color and magic taste of sweet, sour, salty and savory. The most distinct features are their "pickled taste".

Jiangsu Cuisine
Jiangsu Cuisine, also called Huaiyang Cuisine, is popular in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. Aquatics as the main ingredients, it stresses the freshness of materials. Its carving techniques are delicate, of which the melon carving technique is especially well known. Cooking techniques consist of stewing, braising, roasting, simmering, etc. The flavor of Huaiyang Cuisine is light, fresh and sweet and with delicate elegance. Jiangsu cuisine is well known for its careful selection of ingredients, its meticulous preparation methodology, and its not-too-spicy, not-too-bland taste. Since the seasons vary in climate considerably in Jiangsu, the cuisine also varies throughout the year. If the flavor is strong, it isn't too heavy; if light, not too bland.

Zhejiang Cuisine
Comprising local cuisines of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shaoxing, Zhejiang Cuisine, not greasy, wins its reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. Hangzhou Cuisine is the most famous one among the three.

Hunan cuisine
Hunan cuisine consists of local Cuisines of Xiangjiang Region, Dongting Lake and Xiangxi coteau. It characterizes itself by thick and pungent flavor. Chili, pepper and shallot are usually necessaries in this division.

Anhui Cuisine
Anhui Cuisine chefs focus much more attention on the temperature in cooking and are good at braising and stewing. Often hams will be added to improve taste and sugar candy added

About Chinese Wedding Feast

It is ceremonious and busy of Chinese wedding. In the wedding day, the host will prepare abundant cate for the guests.The Wedding Feast is one of the main Wedding Costs in wedding. Certain types of Chinese food are commonly served at the Chinese wedding banquet, which include fish, roast suckling pig, pigeon, chicken cooked with red oil, lobster and desert bun with lotus seeds stuffed inside. The pronunciation of fish is the same as "abundance", meaning the newlyweds will have plentiful of wealth. Roast suckling pig is usually served whole, a symbol of the bride's purity (virginity). Pigeon implies peaceful future. Chicken also means phoenix, cooked in red oil to symbolize the wish for a prosperous life ahead for the newlyweds. Lobster is literally called "dragon shrimp" in Chinese. Having lobster and chicken together at wedding banquet indicates that the dragon and the phoenix are hormones together, and the Yin and Yang elements in this family is balanced.

Some of Chinese wedding banquet menu:
Barbecued Whole Suckling Pig
Braised Stuffed Whelk
Stir Fried Sliced Scallops & Prawns
Braised Shark’s Fin w/ Crab Meat
Braised Sliced Abalone
Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken
Stir Fried Lobsters in Supreme Soup
Steamed Whole Fish
Fried Rice w/ Shrimp & Pork
Braised E-Fu Noodles
Sweet Red Bean Cream w/ Lotus Seed
Fancy Cakes

Some of photos:

Barbecued Whole Suckling Pig


Deep Fried Crispy Whole Chicken


Steamed Whole Fish

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival

Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, Chinese will have a amused festival.The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivities in China, According to Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month is the exact midst of autumn, so it's called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an evening celebration when families gather together to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate the round moon. On that night, the moon appears to be at its roundest and brightest. The full moon is a symbol for family reunion, which is why that day is also known as the Festival of Reunion.

Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival
Also known as the "Full Moon Festival," the Mid-Autumn festival falls on the fifteen day of the eighth lunar month. At this time, the moon's orbit is at its lowest angle to the horizon, making the moon appear brighter and larger than any other time of the year. In the Western tradition, it is also called the Hunter's Moon or Harvest Moon. According to the lunar calendar, it is also the exact middle of autumn (which begins in the seventh month and ends in the ninth).

To the Chinese, this festival is similar to the American Thanksgiving holiday, celebrating a bountiful harvest. Compared to many Chinese festivals that are inundated with vibrant colors and sounds, the Mid-Autumn festival remains more subdued. Traditionally celebrated outdoors under the moonlight, people eat moon cakes and gaze at the moon. In modern times, barbecues with families and friends are also common.


Food of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The indispensability of Chinese food is the moon cake.There is this story about the 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 the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without 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 caked was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake.

For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.

Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.

Legend of mid-autumn festival
Hou Yi ( 后羿) was a great archer and architect, who shot down nine extra suns that had suddenly appeared in the sky and thus kept the earth from being scorched. He also built a palace of jade for the Goddess of the Western Heaven. For this, he was rewarded with a pill containing the elixir of immortality, but with strings attached--he must fast and pray for a year before taking it. His wife, Chang O ( 惯甖), whose beauty was surpassed only by her curiosity, discovered and swallowed the pill and in no time soared to the moon and became a permanent resident there. Upon reaching the moon, Chang O, in dismay, coughed up the pill, which turned into a jade rabbit that, day and night, pounds out a celestial elixir for the immortals.

Another permanent lunar resident of Chinese origin is Wu Kang, a shiftless fellow who changed apprenticeships all the time before disappointing his last master, who was an immortal. From him Wu learned to be immortal himself, but he was punished by being required to chop down a cassia tree in the moon, an impossible mission. The cut in the tree heals completely the same day, so Wu Kang is still chopping away for eternity. Some Chinese crave to drink his cassia blossom wine.

The Chinese believe that the moon is at its largest and brightest, and Chang O at her most beautiful, on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month. They are at least half-right, for at that time most of China is in the dry season and the moon looms brightest. It's also cool then, a perfect time to celebrate the harvest which has just concluded; hence, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Harvest Festival. The festival is a time for family reunions to appreciate the moon and eat moon cakes together. Bathed in bright moonshine and with the company of chrysanthemum and cassia blossoms, poets eat crab meat and moon cake, drink tea and wine, and versify the night away.

Xi'an Cuisines——My Favority

I was born in Xi'an, and had lived there for 20 years.Now I have lived in Nanjing for nearly 7 years.Xi'an is my hometown, I will never forget the land where I was born. I think everyone may not change his appetite easily, one likes eat what decided by where he was born, so people come from the same place like the same food.And so do I. I like Xi'an food, sush as Rou jia mo,Yang rou pao mo, Liang pi etc.

Xi'an cuisine has a good, hearty style that should never let you leave the table hungry.Some outlander come to Xi'an not only for it's long history and cultural atmosphere, but also it's delicious food. I will give you some tips about xi'an's cuisines.

Food integrant tasted in Xi'an


1.Roujiamo(finely chopped pork stuffed in baked pancake)
It looks like a hamburger, but tast it you will find they are complete different.Roujiamo is made of mincemeat wrapped by griddle steamed bread. Meat used in Roujiamo is a kind of cured meat stewed with assorted sauces in a kettle. This makes the meat soft, eay to chew and taste with a lasting flavor. HIgh culinary skill is required to produce this kind of meat.

2.Yang Rou Pao Mo---Bread and Mutton Soup
Yang Rou Pao Mo is a tasty Xi'an specialty that consists of mutton soup served with wheat flour flat bread. The hard bread is broken up and added to the soup and the mixture is eaten along with pickled garlic cloves.

3.Liangpi
Liangpi(cold noodles) is a famous summer snack (also sold in winter) in Xi’an.This snack is made from wheat flour (or other starch). It looks translucent and tastes cold, and known for its white color, thin shape, smooth surface, pliable texture, tender and savory taste. It is eaten along with garlic, ginger, pepper, sauce, vinegar, bean sprouts, capsicum flour, salt, sliced cucumber, caraway, chicken essence, sesame oil etc. Male is not so interested in this delicious snack, but female is crazy about it, especially the nice girls and the elder women who have past their prime.

These are the delegate of xi'an snacks.Besides, there are many delicious snack, such as Qishan Noodles, Chopped Buckwheat Noodles, Hulutou, Frying Persimmon Paste , Kettle oil tea, Honey Jelly Cake and so on. Most of them are made of wheat powder.

Where do you go to taste these snack?
If you are travelling in Xi'an, and want to eat the authentic Xi'an sancks, you have to go to the Muslim street, which including all snacks of XI'an. It is said that the street of xi'an sanck.

Chinese Tea Culture in My Eyes

I am a traditional Chinese, So I like Chinese culture all the while. Chinese tea culture is one of them.Today, I will tell you something about chinese tea culture.To be honest, Chinese tea culture is a wide field and has very rich content. It not only has the embodiment of spiritual civilization, but also the extension of ideological form. I just give you a simple introduction.

The Chinese have a saying:"'Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", They are the most important things in everyone's life. If you notice that, you will find the tea is the seventh necessities to begin a day， Yes, we still can see the importance of tea in daily life.

Cassification by processing:
Chinese tea may be classified into five categories according to the different methods by which it is processed.

1.White Tea 10% to 20% fermentation process, whitish coloured tea leaves but the tea is light yellow in colour when brewed. Examples: White Peony, Shou Mee.

2.Green Tea No fermentation has taken place, the ferment and enzymes remaining in the tea after wilting are destroyed by high temperature steaming before curing process, and the leaves remain olive green. Examples: Long Jin, Chu Cha.

3. Black tea, known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China, is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong of Anhui , Dianhong of Yunnan, Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and Huhong of Hunan.

4.Wulong tea: This represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, being made after partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan.

5.Scented tea: This kind of tea is made by mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course of processing. The flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a well-known favourite with the northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.

Tea drinking customs：

There are several special circumstances in which tea is prepared and consumed.
1.a sign of respect: generally, we always show our respect and fealty to the older by offering a cup of tea.
2.to apologize: if Someone make a mistake, he want to show his regret and ask for other's understanding, he may give that people a cup of tea.
3.To express thanks .
4.To pass on the tradition
and so on.

Tea drinking and Tea Tasting:
Chinese tea culture not only expressing on drinking, but also in tasting.Tea drinking is for refreshment and tonic effect. but Tea tasting is a higher level drinking. it is not for satisfy one's thirst, but a enjoying course.Tea tasting has cultural meaning. Tea and tea wares should match surrounding elements such as breeze, bright moon, pines, bamboo, plums and snow. All these show the ultimate goal of Chinese culture: the harmonious unity of human beings with nature.