The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in my country, and it is also the second largest traditional festival in my country after the Spring Festival. August 15th is right in the middle of autumn, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The ancient Chinese calendar called August in the middle of autumn "Zhongqiu", so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Zhongqiu Festival".
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon is bright and clear. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion. Therefore, August 15th is also called the "Reunion Festival". Throughout the ages, people have often used the terms "full moon" and "waning moon" to describe "joys and sorrows", and wanderers living in foreign lands use the moon to express their deep feelings. Poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty wrote "Looking up at the bright moon, bowing his head thinking about his hometown", Du Fu's "The dew is white tonight, the moon is bright in my hometown", Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty wrote "The spring breeze is green again on the south bank of the river, when will the bright moon shine on me again" and other poems, They are all eternal songs.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient festival, and worshiping and admiring the moon is an important custom of the festival. In ancient times, emperors had a social system of worshiping the sun in spring and the moon in autumn, and people also had the custom of worshiping the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, admiring the moon became more important than worshiping the moon, and serious sacrifices turned into relaxed joy. The custom of appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival peaked in the Tang Dynasty. Many poets included poems praising the moon in their famous poems. In the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, the activities of worshiping and appreciating the moon in the palace and among the people became more extensive. There are many ancient monuments such as "Moon Worship Altar", "Moon Worship Pavilion" and "Moon Watching Tower" remaining in various parts of our country. The "Altar of the Moon" in Beijing was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty for the royal family to worship the moon. Whenever the moon rises during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a table is set up in the open air, and moon cakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits are offered on the table. After worshiping the moon, the whole family sits around the table, eats and talks, and enjoys the bright moon. Nowadays, the activities of worshiping and worshiping the moon have been replaced by large-scale and colorful mass moon-viewing recreational activities.
Eating moon cakes is another custom of the festival. Moon cakes symbolize reunion. The production of mooncakes has become more and more sophisticated since the Tang Dynasty. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and sweet fillings in the middle." Yang Guangfu of the Qing Dynasty wrote: "Moon cakes are filled with peach meat fillings, and ice cream is sweet with cane sugar frosting." It seems that the moon cakes at that time are quite similar to those now.
According to historical records, the term "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book "Zhou Rites". In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a record of "ordering the minister to suppress the cattle confusion, and on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, the left and right people were incognito and flooded the river". It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. "Book of Tang·Taizong Ji" records the "Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th". The popularity of the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in our country. This is also the second largest traditional festival in our country after the Spring Festival.
The book "West Lake Tour Zhiyu" says: "The fifteenth day of August is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to each other to symbolize reunion." "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also says: "When worshiping the moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the cakes will be round, the melons will be broken into pieces, and the petals will be carved like lotus flowers. ... Those who have a wife who has returned to peace will return to her husband's house on this day, which is called reunion. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, most areas in my country still have the custom of baking "reunion", which is a small cake that symbolizes reunion and is similar to a moon cake. The cake is filled with sugar, sesame, osmanthus and vegetables, and the moon, osmanthus and rabbit are pressed on the outside. After worshiping the moon, the elders of the family will cut the cake into pieces according to the number of people, and leave one piece for each person if someone is not at home to express family reunion.
There are few clouds and fog, and the moonlight is bright and clear. In addition to holding a series of activities such as appreciating the moon, worshiping the moon, and eating moon cakes to pray for reunion, some places also have activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. In addition to moon cakes, various seasonal fresh fruits are also held. Dried fruits are also a delicacy on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Another theory of the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is that the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month happens to be the time when rice matures, and the Mid-Autumn Festival may be the day when the rice is ripe.