Phoenix City is as hot as a rainbow: It’s also a time difference

Phoenix City is as hot as a rainbow: It’s also a jet lag My husband and I went to Los Angeles, California for shopping in late August, visiting relatives and friends, and meeting several old friends, two of whom had just returned from Vietnam…

Phoenix is ​​like a rainbow: It’s also jet lag. My husband and I went shopping in Los Angeles, California, in late August. We also visited relatives and met some old friends. Two of them had just returned from Vietnam and were a little tired. They had not yet adapted to the jet lag. Jet lag, a modern term, refers to the time difference between different regions, that is, the time zone where the clocks are separated. As we all know, the earth rotates towards the sun, its longitude and latitude are very different, and the morning and evening hours are different in different places. In the past, there were no airplanes, so few people paid attention, and the impact was not significant. Nowadays, supersonic jets are incredibly fast and have shortened the distance in space. It only takes more than ten hours to reach the eastern and western hemispheres. Traveling and traveling are convenient. The number of tourists and business trips has increased significantly. People are increasingly aware of the jet lag problem; because day here and night there are suddenly reversed, and human physiology cannot adapt in a short period of time, causing jet lag. Jet lag is a temporary condition and will recover quickly. My old friend in California asked me to stay for two more days. When the jet lag goes away, it will be a pleasure to spend the Labor Day holiday with my wife. I had no choice but to decline, because I had to return to Phoenix on September 1st to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival Party held by the Kaiping Hometown Association on the afternoon of September 2nd. As members of the Chinese Writers Association of Alberta were also invited, I had promised President Lao Zhen to accompany Wen Riqiang and Jianci, two Vietnamese and Chinese literary friends, to the meeting and have a feast together. When I explained the reasons, another interesting topic of "jet lag" arose. It’s not the time difference between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, but the time difference between the festival dates. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why is there a Mid-Autumn Festival party the day after tomorrow? My friend was puzzled. His health was troubled by jet lag and he was unable to accompany him on the trip. Listening to my explanation, he actually thought that I was also troubled by jet lag during the festival and could not continue to stay in Los Angeles for tourism. How interesting! It comes to mind. In Vietnam, we used to celebrate on the same day as the festival. Unless there was a special occasion, we had to change it, usually only two or three days apart. In the United States, almost all holidays are celebrated on weekends, sometimes earlier or later, creating a real "time difference". If I hadn't mentioned it this time, I wouldn't have noticed that the Mid-Autumn Festival is four full weeks away from the party. It doesn't matter, anyway, we are all about carrying forward traditional culture, maintaining national festivals, and allowing overseas Chinese to remember their roots and celebrate later or earlier. It's not a big problem. It's just that it is best to keep it on the day of the festival. Even if the time is forced to change, try not to be too far apart. This is in line with the meaning of the festival and allows the next generation to have a clear understanding. The Mid-Autumn Festival is to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Why is it called the Mid-Autumn Festival? Let me briefly explain that it is the festival in the middle of autumn in the lunar calendar. The autumn in the lunar calendar (i.e. the lunar calendar) falls in July, August and September, which are Mengqiu, Zhongqiu and Jiqiu respectively, which are the "three autumns". August 15th happens to be in the middle of autumn, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, there are 24 solar terms throughout the year, and each season has six. July in autumn has the beginning of autumn and the end of heat, August has white dew and autumnal equinox, and September has cold dew and frost. The autumnal equinox is the same as the spring equinox, day and night are equal in time. This solar term usually falls in mid-August, so August 15th is designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to legend, the Tang Dynasty began to have the custom of worshiping the moon. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in order to overthrow the Mongolian rule, the Han people used lanterns as a signal on the Mid-Autumn Festival night to make mooncakes containing secret notes of the uprising. They responded to the call and established the Ming Dynasty. This is the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival jacquard lantern mooncakes. Since the Kaiping Association of Phoenix City took the lead in holding the Mid-Autumn Festival Party, I was honored to be invited to participate, so there was no need to worry about the "alternative jet lag". At about noon that day, Jianci and his son, a literary friend, came to my residence in Glendale. They drove off early and planned to arrive at Fengcheng Restaurant early. They had plenty of time to get together with friends. I took a few copies of the poetry magazine "Bagpipe Collection" with me and gave them to several Chinese writers in Alberta on behalf of the Bagpipe Poetry Society. When I arrived in front of the restaurant, I saw people standing in groups in the east and west. The restaurant was still full of dine-in guests. Apparently the time of the party was wrong, and there was another "jet lag" problem. I met Lu Kanghua, Bao Jialin and other scholars who came from far away from Tucson. They said that half past one had arrived, but it seemed that the situation was not yet settled by half past two. The restaurant is fully responsible for the jet lag problem. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival Party has been held at 2:00 p.m., it is best to make venue arrangements in advance and refuse diners in advance, rather than keeping the party guests waiting. Jet lag caused chaos, but fortunately, the organizers of the Kaiping Association were very cooperative, helping to maneuver the situation, calmly coping, and finally stabilizing the order. The party officially started slowly, with delicious snacks on the table, moon cakes tasting, everyone clapped and cheered! At this time, I received a call from Wen Riqiang, a literary friend, saying that the nail salon was busy and could not find time to attend the meeting. He asked me to convey to President Zhen that he wished the party a success and would like to apologize over tea next time! After all, the Mid-Autumn Festival was finally a complete success, and it was not in vain for the organization to pay a huge price of spiritual power. The conference began with a speech by the president, outlining the significance of the party. He also congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Kwong Tim Kuan for winning the second prize in the Overseas Chinese Federation’s Spring Festival “Family Portrait” photo. There was entertainment to add to the fun, including music performances, singing and dancing, and a compact program. There was also a lucky draw with rich prizes. I was also lucky enough to win a thermos cup, which made my heart warm. The party ended with the accompaniment of famous Cantonese opera masters and the melodious singing of Hua Dan, and everyone enjoyed themselves. When we were leaving, reporter Deng Ling asked me how I felt about the banquet. I said it was very good. The delicious food was mouth-watering. Unfortunately, due to the time difference, it was difficult to taste as much as possible between lunch and dinner. There was too much leftover, which would be a waste. At the end of the conference, I waved goodbye to everyone. On the way back, I hoped that the venue and time for the next gathering would be well arranged so as not to be burdened by "jet lag" again.