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". To this day, eating mooncakes and enjoying the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival is a necessary custom for 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.
The origin of mooncakes as offerings to the moon god has a long history. 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 from all over China, both north and south.
The varieties of mooncakes are colorful and are divided into two main categories: traditional mooncakes and non-traditional mooncakes, based on the new styles of mooncakes produced by the combination of native Chinese mooncakes and Chinese and Western food cultures.