The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. According to the ancient calendar of China, there are four seasons in a year, and each season has three months, which are called Meng Yue, Zhongyue and Yue Ji respectively. Because the second month of autumn is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and because the 15th day of August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of August, it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival.
The Book of the New Tang Dynasty (Volume XV) and Records of Rites and Music contain "Spring and Autumn Period in Wang Wenxuan and Wang Wucheng", and "In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, Taigong Fu Shang Temple was set up, with Sean in Liu Hou as its partner. In the Mid-Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are sacrifices, and the system of sacrificial music is like a text. " According to historical records, the festival that the ancient emperors sacrificed to the moon was the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which happened to be half that of Sanqiu, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". Because this festival is in August in autumn, it is also called Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. There are also beliefs and related custom activities that pray for reunion, so they are also called "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Day". Because the main activities of Mid-Autumn Festival are around the moon, it is also commonly known as Moon Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival and Moon Festival. In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon".
The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. About the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, there are roughly three kinds: from the worship of the moon in ancient times, from the custom of singing and dancing under the moon to find a spouse in ancient times, and from the custom of paying homage to the land god in ancient autumn.
August 15th of the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. In China's lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon on August 15 is rounder and brighter than the full moon in other months, so it is also called "moonlit night" and "August Festival". On this night, people look up at the bright moon like jade in the sky and naturally look forward to family reunion. Wanderers who are far away from home also take this opportunity to pin their thoughts on their relatives in their hometown. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival".
In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.