The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Worship Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival, etc., is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar every year. Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating mooncakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus flowers, drinking osmanthus wine, etc., which have been passed down for a long time. The Mid-Autumn Festival has become a colorful and precious cultural heritage, with the fullness of the moon as an omen of human reunion, as a means of sending thoughts to the hometown and relatives, and praying for a good harvest and happiness.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in the ancient times, became popular in the Han Dynasty, was finalized in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, and flourished after the Song Dynasty. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and Chinese regions of the world. The Mid-Autumn Festival is known as one of the four major traditional Chinese festivals, along with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Dragon Boat Festival***. Since 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday.On May 20, 2006, the State Council of the People's Republic of China*** and the State Council of the People's Republic of China included it in the first national list of intangible cultural heritage.

Mid-Autumn Festival customs:

1, eat moon cakes

Eating moon cakes is the main custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to the available records, the custom of eating moon cakes first originated in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xi of the Tang Dynasty ate moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, feeling the taste is extremely beautiful, then ordered the imperial kitchen to use the red damask wrapped moon cakes rewarded to new students. In the Song Dynasty, mooncakes were known as "lotus leaf", "golden flower", "hibiscus", etc., and their production methods were more refined. The poet Su Dongpo praised the mooncake in a poem: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, with crispy and syrupy ingredients." Its deliciousness can be imagined.

2, moon festival

In ancient times, there is a "moon festival" custom, moon festival, that is, to worship the moon god. Under the moon, set up a large incense burner, place the moon god statue in the direction of the moon, red candles burning high, set up mooncakes, watermelons, apples, jujubes, plums, grapes and other offerings, the whole family in turn to worship the moon, and then by the housewife in charge of the family to cut the reunion of the mooncake, the whole family how many people will be cut into how many pieces.

3, enjoy the moon

In addition to the moon festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival since ancient times, the custom of enjoying the moon, to the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night to welcome the cold and the moon festival, set up a large incense, food and wine, a group of people gathered around drinking wine and enjoying the moon.

Origin of the festival

Origin

The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is inextricably linked to the moon, which is a remnant of the ancient celestial worship - the custom of honoring the moon. At the time of the autumnal equinox, it was an ancient "moon festival."[26]? [26]? Moon festival, in China is a very ancient custom, in fact, is the ancient times in some parts of China's ancient people to the "moon god" a worship activities. The Mid-Autumn Festival is derived from the traditional "moon sacrifice at the autumnal equinox". In traditional culture, the moon, like the sun, became the object of worship for the ancestors, as these two celestial bodies appeared alternately. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient worship of the moon, and is a remnant and derivative of the Chinese custom of moon worship.

Name of the Festival

According to China's calendar, the month of August in the summer calendar is in the middle of the fall, the second month of the fall, known as the "Mid-Autumn Festival", and the 15th day of the 8th month is in the midst of the "Mid-Autumn Festival", and so it is called the "Mid-Autumn Festival". "Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival also has many aliases: because the festival in August 15, so called "August Festival", "half of August"; because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are centered around the "moon", so also commonly known as the "Moon Festival". Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival revolve around the moon, it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival". The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Festival" because the moon is full, family members are reunited, and married daughters go home to have a reunion. Autumn eve for the moonlight birthday to worship the moonlight, so there is "moonlight birth" of the name. In mid-autumn, all kinds of fruits and melons are ripe on the market, so it is called "Fruit Festival".