Mooncakes, also known as moon balls, harvest cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are one of China's traditional Han cuisine. Mooncakes were originally used as offerings to worship the moon god.

Moon worship is a very ancient custom in China, which is actually a kind of worship activity of the ancient people to the "moon god". Eating mooncakes and enjoying the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival is an indispensable custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China, from the north to the south. Mooncakes symbolize reunion, and people treat them as festive food, offering them to the moon and giving them to friends and relatives.

Mooncakes have a long history as offerings to the moon god. The word "mooncake" was first recorded in the Southern Song Dynasty in Wu Zimu's Mengliang Lu (梦梁錄). Mooncakes have been blended with local dietary customs to develop Cantonese, Jin, Beijing, Suzhou, Chao, and Dian styles of mooncakes, which have been enjoyed by people in all parts of North and South China.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, General Li Jing was victorious in his conquest of the Xiongnu, and returned to China on August 15 in triumph. At that time, a merchant from Turpan congratulated Emperor Li Yuan and offered him mooncakes. Tang Emperor Li Yuan took the mooncake, took out the round cake, pointed to the bright moon in the sky with a smile and said: 'I should invite the toad with the Hu cake', (there are historical records that the toad is the symbol of the moon), and then he distributed the cake to all the ministers to eat together. Tang Dynasty Tianbao early years of August 15, Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei while enjoying the moon, while tasting 'Hu cake', Tang Xuanzong think 'Hu cake' name is not very good, then Yang Guifei see the moon in the sky, the heart of the idea, it is proposed to this round cake called the moon cake how, Tang Xuanzong listen to the moon, said: 'should be invited to the toad' (history records that the toad is a symbol of the moon), said the cake distributed to the ministers to eat together. How the moon cake, Tang Xuanzong listened to agree, from then on 'moon cake' only began to flourish.

Mooncakes have developed to the present, the categories are also more diverse, because of the dietary habits and customs of each region, so the mooncakes are a little different around. Among them, Beijing-style mooncakes, Soviet-style mooncakes, Cantonese-style mooncakes, etc. are generally loved by the public in these regions. Mooncakes are round, so they symbolize reunion and are now a necessity for the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the evening of the day of the festival, people will eat mooncakes together and worship mooncakes.

Eating mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion and reflects people's good wishes for family reunion. When the whole family sits and eats mooncakes together on the night of August 15, it creates the idea that mooncakes represent family reunion.

There are several ways to say the origin of the mooncake, I do not know which one is correct, but they all represent the moon, reunion, the whole family to be reunited on the 15th of August, the Mid-Autumn Festival.