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Show CHINESE HAVE DAY OF THJWKS Tho moon feast la one of the most popular and widely spread of all the Clilntvo iupin festivals. It has ninny of the rhnrncterlstlca of the ancient inooii-worshlp cercinoules of Sjrlu and Phoenicia, nnd It conies ns near to being be-ing n tlinnksglvlng festival as any heathen feast could ever expect to be, celebrating the Ingathering of tho harvest. har-vest. To the nmyses of the Chinese, lion ever, there appears to be but u fnlnt Idea of genuine thnuksgUtng connected with this moon fenst. It Is simply the remnant of nn undent Institution, In-stitution, coming down from the remotest re-motest nntliulty ns n miiiilngless .let of nature uorMilp. It Is possible thnt In the beginning, amoiigtbc early Chinese people, the moon fi-Mlvnl may lmo been less pagan nnd more characterized char-acterized by feelings of tlinliUfnl rejoicing re-joicing than It Is at present. 'However thnt may be, no wiser choco could hnvo been made by the missionaries In China toward establishing u genuine untioiial Tlinnksglvlng feast than the election of the (lay of tho topuhir moon fenst. The moon feast was tlrst proclaimed u thanksgiving festival In 11)00 at Wuchang, Wu-chang, where the large church was tilled vvllli a well-ordered crowd of Chinese, celebrating for the llrst time the newly appointed thanksgiving it ay. The sacred building was beautifully beau-tifully adorned with offerings of' staple articles of Chinese diet, like beans, rice, millet nnd other grains, not to iiealc of pomegranate's, pears, apples, wine, salt and Hour. Wuchang Is n great city ofWarly a million Inhabitants, situated far up tho Yang-tse-Klnng, In the heart of China, Its central position', among the teeming myriads of heathen Chi-nose, Chi-nose, renders It a good point for the "preud of helpful nnd uplifting Ideas anil truths, and In view of the remit-nets remit-nets of the Chinese nt home to adopt the best things presented to them fur their own good. It is expected that the old moon feast will be gradually adopted, In Its newly hnpllred form, im the national thanksgiving day among the 'J.OiUHHHJ or .'1,1X10,000 of I'hlneco nt present under the lutliiencc of Christianity, nud In this way nlso U'laduitlly I me the national thanks- glvliiK day v imng lint votaries of ItuilillilMii. Ciiiifuilunihui, nud Taoism, 'ii the course of their emancipation from the gleaner features of these time-honored religions. |