In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated to pray for the moon god to play a favorable role in agriculture, or to celebrate a good harvest and thank the moon god for its blessings. It was called the Mid-Autumn Festival because the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar is the middle of the fall season of the year.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from people's worship of the moon. China is an ancient agricultural country, the ancients after a long period of observation that the operation of the moon and agricultural production and seasonal changes have a great relationship, so the moon festival has become an important ritual activities to pray for the country's long-term stability.

"Zhouli" records, China's Zhou Dynasty on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival drumming poetry to "welcome the cold" activities, the Zhou Emperor every fall to hold a "sunset" ceremony. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the gods of the sun and the moon were known as the Emperor of the East and the Queen Mother of the West. Later generations of the moon god Chang'e that is by the Queen Mother of the West (the earliest name Chang Xi) evolved. Since the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang dynasties, there have been rituals to sacrifice the moon on the autumnal equinox.

People in order to pray for the moon god for agriculture to play a favorable role, or in order to celebrate the harvest, thanks to the moon god's blessing, will pay more attention to the moon, moon worship rituals, Beijing's moon park is the central government of the Ming and Qing dynasties to sacrifice the moon altar. In the long process of history, people in the moon worship at the same time, and the emergence of the custom of enjoying the moon.

Expanded

The significance of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival:

China's urban and rural masses over the Mid-Autumn Festival have the custom of eating mooncakes, which, as the saying goes, "the moon is full on the 15th day of the 8th month, and the mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival are sweet and fragrant". Mooncake is initially used to worship the moon god's offerings, "mooncake" word, first seen in the Southern Song Dynasty Wu Zimu's "Dream Liang Records", at that time, it is just like the diamond flower cake like cake-shaped food. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with mooncakes, a symbol of family reunion.

Mooncakes were initially made at home, and Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty recorded the practice of mooncakes in his "Sui Yuan Food List". In modern times, there are workshops specializing in the production of moon cakes, moon cake production more and more fine, the filling is exquisite, beautiful appearance, in the moon cake is also printed on the outside of a variety of exquisite patterns, such as "Chang'e Moon", "Galaxy Night Moon", "three pools of the moon" and so on.

The moon's round omen people's reunion, the cake's round omen people's life, with the moon cakes to send thoughts of home, missing their loved ones, praying for a good harvest, happiness, have become the world's people's wish, the moon cakes are also used as gifts to send friends and relatives, contact feelings.

China.gov.cn - Mid-Autumn Festival

China Dongning Government Portal - Origin of Mid-Autumn Festival

China.gov.cn - Mid-Autumn Festival Customs Around the Country