First, there is nothing better than chanting the moon in poetry.

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the climate is relatively dry, and the autumn sky always looks very refreshing, and the visibility is greatly improved.

And from a scientific point of view, the distance between the moon and the earth is the closest, so when you look at the moon from the earth, you will feel that the moon is the most complete and brightest in a year.

The roundest thing in the world conforms to the psychology of pursuing perfection in life and career in China culture, so the content of "reunion" has been added in the sense of celebrating the harvest for thousands of years, and the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a "reunion festival". Therefore, a large number of poems about Mid-Autumn Festival have been produced.

Secondly, trace the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival.

According to "Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera", "When autumn is here, then Xia Dong; August is in autumn, and the season begins and ends in Meng; Fifteen nights in the middle of the month. If you take it from the sky, it will be cold and hot, and if you take it from the number of months, it will be round. " In other words, August 15th is in the middle of August in autumn, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival".

Why do people like to enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival? A poem says, "There is a bright moon at four o'clock. Why do you like Mid-Autumn Festival? It is advisable to hang Yuyu's highest head; Release Bai Haoqian feet and scatter into space. Vientiane enters my eyes, the stars avoid glory, and the wind dew helps quiet. "

Seasonally, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the "Autumn Harvest Festival", and the grain sown in summer and spring should be harvested in autumn. Since ancient times, people have been drinking and dancing in this season to celebrate the harvest with joy, which is described in China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Songs.

From the origin, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a "Moon Festival", which originated from the worship of nature by ancient humans. In the ritual system of ancient emperors, there were two festivals in the Spring and Autumn Period: the Spring Festival for the sun and the Mid-Autumn Festival for the moon. At first, the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was at the "autumnal equinox", and August was different every year, so there was not necessarily a moon at the autumnal equinox. Sacrificing the moon without it is a great spoil, and August 15 is gradually established as the day of sacrificing the moon.

From the scientific observation, the inclination of the earth and the sun increases in autumn, and the warm and humid air flow over China gradually fades, while the northwest wind is still very weak. In this way, when the moisture has gone and the dust has not yet risen, the air is particularly fresh, the sky is particularly clean and the moon looks round and big, which is the best time to enjoy the moon. As the ancient poem says: "Brilliant in ancient and modern times, but enjoying the mid-autumn moon, I wonder if it is moonlight, and it is all clear in the sky."

1. Another name for Mid-Autumn Festival

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".

Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the moon, it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival" and "Moon Festival". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon".

The record of "Reunion Festival" was first seen in the Ming Dynasty. "Journey to the West Lake" says: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to show their reunion". "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, the cakes were round, the melons were wrongly divided, and the petals were carved with lotus flowers. ..... people who marry their relatives in the province will return to their husband's family one day. This is the so-called reunion festival ". [

2. Enjoy the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival refers to watching the full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival in August 15. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties.

Legend has it that Chang 'e went to the moon after eating by mistake, which happened to be the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Her husband Hou Yi and the people miss her, so they enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes on this day, hoping to return.

Historically, in ancient times, there was indeed a woman named Chang 'e in Weifang, Shandong Province. She married the then leader-Han Cuo. Historians say this event is equivalent to "rushing to the moon".