Whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, China has the custom of enjoying the moon since ancient times, and enjoying the moon has also become an enduring topic that people relish.

Tracing back to the origin of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to "Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera", "When autumn is here, summer is in winter; August is in autumn, and the season begins and ends in Meng; Fifteen nights in the middle of the month. If you take it from the sky, it will be cold and hot, and if you take it from the number of months, it will be round. " In other words, August 15th is in the middle of August in autumn, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". Why do people like to enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival? A poem says, "There is a bright moon at four o'clock, so why celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival?". Yaotai Baojian should be the supreme head of Yuyu; Release Bai Haoqian feet and scatter into space. Everything comes into my eyes, the stars avoid glory, and the wind dew helps calm down. "

From the seasonal point of view, it is the "Autumn Harvest Festival", and the grain sown in summer sowing in spring should be harvested in autumn. Since ancient times, people have been drinking and dancing in this season to celebrate the harvest with joy, which is described in China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Songs. From the origin, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a "Moon Festival", which originated from the worship of nature by ancient humans. In the ritual system of ancient emperors, there were two festivals in the Spring and Autumn Period: the Spring Festival for the sun and the Mid-Autumn Festival for the moon. At first, the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was at the "autumnal equinox", and August was different every year, so there was not necessarily a moon at the autumnal equinox. Sacrificing the moon without it is a great spoil, and August 15 is gradually established as the day of sacrificing the moon. From the scientific observation, the inclination of the earth and the sun increases in autumn, and the warm and humid air flow over China gradually fades, while the northwest wind is still very weak. In this way, when the moisture has gone and the dust has not yet risen, the air is particularly fresh, the sky is particularly clean and the moon looks round and big, which is the best time to enjoy the moon. Just as the ancient poem said, "Bright and bright, but enjoying the mid-autumn moon in ancient and modern times, I wonder if it is moonlight?" The sky is clear. "

There is a record of "autumn twilight and the moon" in the Book of Rites, that is, worshipping 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 seasonal fruits such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes.

Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was quite popular. According to Song and Zhu Yi's Old News, when did the Mid-Autumn Festival begin? Archaeologists began to write poems in Du Zimei. "Browsing the Tang poetry, there are indeed many Mid-Autumn Festival poems, such as Wang Jianyou's poem:" The moon is like a circle, the color is gradually condensed, and the jade basin is full of water. Let the family sleep through the night. "Xu Ning's poem said:" When the autumn moon is full in August, Chang 'e corrects fresh cassia twig; "A year is not now day and night, and I can't sleep before the Twelve Peaks."

In the Song Dynasty, the folk Mid-Autumn Festival became more prosperous. According to "Tokyo Dream", there is such a description of the grand occasion of enjoying the moon in Kyoto in the Northern Song Dynasty. "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, your family decorated pavilions, people competed for restaurants, played on the moon and sang, and I heard it all the way. I sat together until dawn." "New Notes on Drunken Weng" records: "Children of Qingcheng people can go to the twelfth and thirteenth, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, all dressed as adults. They go upstairs or in Yue Bai in the atrium, each with its own period: men are willing to go to themoon early and climb Xiangui; Women want to look like Chang 'e and round like the bright moon. "On this day, all shops and restaurants in Beijing have to redecorate their facades, tie silk on archways and sell fresh fruits and refined food. The night market is very lively. Many people visit The Upper Terrace, and some wealthy families enjoy the moon in their pavilions and arrange food or family dinners to reunite their children.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival remains the same. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon is full, people will put moon cakes, pomelos, pomegranates, taro, walnuts, peanuts, west paws and other fruits on the courtyard and balcony, enjoy the moon and talk until the moon is in the sky, and then share the fruits for the moon, which is happy. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons. In the minority areas of China, Mid-Autumn Festival also has colorful activities, such as "Yue Bai", "Naughty Moon", "Walking Moon", "Jumping Moon" and "Stealing Moon".

The blue sky is like a wash, and the full moon is like a plate. When people enjoy the moon, they can't help but miss their relatives who have traveled abroad and lived in a foreign land. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival". Many ancient poems expressed people's thoughts at this time. Yin Wengui, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "The Night of August 15": "Wan Li has nine continents without clouds, and the most reunion night is the Mid-Autumn Festival." Wang Jian's poem "Looking at the bright moon and sending it to Du Lang on fifteen nights" says: "I wonder who will be in Qiu Si tonight." China people have always regarded family reunion, relatives and friends reunion, and * * * is extremely precious in enjoying family happiness, which has always been called "reunion of those who spend a good night together".