People in urban and rural areas in China have the custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. As the saying goes, "August 15th is full, and the Mid-Autumn Festival moon cakes are sweet and fragrant". Moon cakes were originally used as sacrifices to the moon god. The word "moon cakes" first appeared in Wu Zimu's Dream of the Liang Lu in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was just a cake-shaped food like Linghua cake. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncake tasting, which symbolizes family reunion.

Mooncakes were originally made at home, and the practice of mooncakes was recorded in Yuan Mei's Sui Garden Food List in Qing Dynasty. In modern times, with workshops specializing in making moon cakes, the production of moon cakes has become more and more elaborate, with exquisite fillings and beautiful appearance. There are also various exquisite patterns printed on the outside of moon cakes, such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "jathyapple on the Milky Way" and "Three Tans Printing the Moon".

It has become the wish of people all over the world to show people's reunion with the full moon, to show people's eternal life with the full moon cake, to pin their thoughts on their hometown and their loved ones, and to pray for a bumper harvest and happiness. Mooncakes are also used as gifts to send relatives and friends and to connect feelings.

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Folk activities of Mid-Autumn Festival

1, enjoy the moon

In the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of enjoying the moon in China since ancient times. In the Book of Rites, there is a record of "autumn dusk and evening moon", that is, worshipping the moon god. In the Zhou dynasty, every mid-autumn night was held to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon. Set up a big incense table and put on seasonal fruits such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, plums and grapes.

2. Eating lotus root box?

Eating lotus root in Mid-Autumn Festival is also a sign of reunion, especially eating "lotus root box". Most people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang slice the lotus root, and the lower ends of each two slices are connected, and the stuffing made of meat and clam is sandwiched in the middle, and the noodles are fried until golden. This is also called lotus root cake, which has the same effect as moon cakes.

3. Yue Bai

There is a custom of Yue Bai in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, mainly for women and children. There is a common saying that "men don't have a full moon, and women don't sacrifice stoves". In the evening, when the bright moon rises, women set up a case in the yard and on the balcony to pray. Silver candles are burning high, cigarettes are lingering, and the table is filled with good fruits and cakes as a sacrifice.

Chinese government network-customs of Mid-Autumn Festival in various places