August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival in the history of China. The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the traditional festivals in China, which was as famous as the Spring Festival. Influenced by China culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese.

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival, Moon Appreciating Festival, Daughter's Day or Reunion Festival, is a popular traditional cultural festival in many ethnic groups and countries in the Chinese character cultural circle in China, and falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Because its value is only half that of Sanqiu, it is named, and some places set the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16.

origin

One theory originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors. It is recorded in the Book of Rites that "the sun rises in spring and the moon sets in autumn", and the moon is a sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emperors began to offer sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.

Second, the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. Crops and fruits are maturing. In order to celebrate the harvest, farmers regard the Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August in the lunar calendar is a month in autumn, and the 15th is a day in this month. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be a custom passed down from the ancient Autumn Newspaper.

Extended data:

Social customs and habits

Sacrificing the Moon, Appreciating the Moon and Yue Bai: The custom of appreciating the Moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival was very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets' masterpieces included poems about the moon. In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. On this day, "your family decorates pavilions, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon." During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai enjoyed more moon-watching activities, and many places of interest such as Yue Bai altar, moon-worshipping pavilion and moon-watching building remained in various parts of China.

Eating moon cakes: Eating moon cakes while enjoying the moon is an essential custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. As the saying goes, "Moon cakes are sweet and fragrant when they are full on August 15th". The word moon cake originated from Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty, when it was just a snack. Later, people gradually associated moon viewing with moon cakes, symbolizing family reunion and bearing their thoughts.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mid-Autumn Festival