The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which is usually around late September or early October, usually when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. (However, in 2011 it will on September 12.) The traditional food of this festival is the bean-paste and egg-filled mooncake, and in Japan round white rice cakes called dango.

Want to make your own moon cakes? Check out these adorable piggy-shaped moon cakes from House of Annie. She has a video too!

The name Diwali, which is derived from the Sanskrit “row of lamps,” involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas) (or Deep in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. During Diwali celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

While Diwali is popularly known as the “festival of lights”, the most significant spiritual meaning is “the awareness of the inner light”. Central to Hindu philosophy is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman.

Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one’s true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (joy or peace).

Diwali $16.50 Diwali $11.36 Diwali: Hindu Festival Of Lights $27.95 Diwali $6.99 Diwali: The Hindu Festival Of Lights, Feasts, And Family $26.95 Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Diwali $15.96 Holidays Around The World: Celebrate Diwali $31.95 Celebrate Diwali $29.85 Lighting a Lamp: Diwali $5.99 Diwali lamp – Card $3.35 Diwali Card $2.45 Happy Diwali – Card $3.35 Ganesh Gift – Ganesha Diya Holder $42.00 Hindu Gift Set of Laxmi Ganesh Diya / Incense Holder $38.00 Ganesh Gift Terra-cotta Ganesh Statue with Diya Holder $38.00

Behind Blend is a husband & wife team: graphic designer Eric Jean-Louis and and industrial designer Vivian Cheng. Together they combine their divergent design approaches to create a contemporary jewelry line that is clean and modern in aesthetic, yet also blends their respective cultures in East meeting West.

Check out Vivian’s tv interview below the banner!

Good Orient has the perfect selection of Chinese apparel to help complete the Halloween costume of any trick-or-treater of any age. Choose from sexy cheong-sam dresses, flowing silk kimonos, heroic kung-fu outfits or adorable ensembles for children. Add a hat, parasol or fan and you’re set! Also available are Peking Opera masks.

This exotic paper is created from woven yarns of rope and straw which are laminated to a base paper. Excellent for lampshades, wall coverings and decorative uses.

From Unicefusa.org:

NEW YORK (May 5, 2008) — A category-3 cyclone struck the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar on Friday, devastating the coastline and urban centers. After making landfall in the Irrawaddy delta region, the storm tracked inland, directly hitting the capital Yangon late the same night.

Thousands are reported dead, and the number of survivors in need of assistance will number in the hundreds of thousands. This is the largest natural disaster to hit the region since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

UNICEF is one of the few humanitarian organizations that has a permanent presence in Myanmar, and emergency assistance is already underway. Today, UNICEF has deployed five teams to the worst affected regions of Myanmar to get an accurate assessment of survivors’ immediate needs.

UNICEF and WHO both have field officers positioned throughout the country to ensure that assistance reaches those children and women for whom it is intended. Emergency medicine, nutrition, shelter, child protection and reunification efforts are already underway.
Limited information

Detailed information on the impact of the cyclone has not been available due to downed communications and blocked roads. Information on the situation outside Yangon is even more limited. What we do know is that many villages in the hardest hit areas have been completely flattened.

The cyclone caused widespread devastation in Yangon. Winds of over 120 mph tore down trees and power lines, while accompanying rain caused flooding in many areas. Telecommunications lines were cut. Buildings have been badly damaged throughout the city, and it expected that significant numbers have been left without adequate shelter.

Electricity is not likely to be restored for several days. Water supplies will also be a major problem. Many roads remain impassable, either due to flooding or fallen debris and the airport has been closed until further notice.
A devastating impact

“The confirmed number is 3,934 dead, 41 injured and 2,879 missing within the Yangon and Irrawaddy divisions,” according to a recent government broadcast. It is expected that hundreds of thousands of people have, in fact, been rendered homeless and food and water are reported to be running short.

Urgent needs are expected to be plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, cooking sets, mosquito nets, emergency health kits and food. Fuel shortages have also already been reported. Determining the impact in areas outside Yangon has been even more difficult, though it can be assumed to be critical, with shelter and safe water being the principal immediate needs.

• Donate now to support UNICEF’s emergency response efforts for children in Myanmar.