Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, Moonlight Birthday, Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival, Reunion Festival, etc. , one of the four traditional festivals in China, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in ancient times, popularized in the Han Dynasty, shaped in the early Tang Dynasty and prevailed after the Song Dynasty. Since ancient times, Mid-Autumn Festival has had folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine. It has been circulating for a long time.

According to China's calendar, August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, that is, the second month of autumn, which is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and August 15th is among them, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". According to research, "Mid-Autumn Festival" was originally set on the day of autumnal equinox in the twenty-four solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar. However, because the days of August in the summer calendar are different every year, there may not be a full moon. Later, the Mid-Autumn Festival moved from the autumnal equinox to the 15th day of August in the summer calendar.

Introduction to Mid-Autumn Festival Customs

1, walking on the moon

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a special activity called "Walking the Moon". In the bright moonlight, people wear gorgeous clothes, travel in groups of three or five, or go boating on the Qinhuai River, or go upstairs to watch the moonlight, talking and laughing.

2. Sacrifice the moon

Offering sacrifices to the moon is a very old custom in China, which is actually the worship of the "Moon God" by the ancients. In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The evening moon is the God of Yue Bai.

Step 3 enjoy the moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that this night the moon is closest to the earth, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there has been a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her parents' house will go back and forth to express her happiness and good luck.

Step 4 chase the moon

Chasing the moon is also a custom of Mid-Autumn Festival. The so-called "chasing the moon" means that after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the excitement is not over yet. So the next night, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to enjoy the moon, which is called "chasing the moon".

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mid-Autumn Festival