On the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon cakes, osmanthus wine, crabs, snails, reunion buns, glutinous rice cakes, wheat arrows, lotus root boxes, pumpkins, taro, etc. are eaten.

1. Mooncakes are indispensable for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes can be found all over the world, such as Beijing-style mooncakes, Soviet-style mooncakes, Cantonese-style mooncakes, Yunnan-style mooncakes, Hong Kong-style snowskin mooncakes, etc.

2. In ancient times, crabs were one of the most important foods during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Ming Dynasty palace paid special attention to eating crabs during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The ancients celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with four great scenes: appreciating the autumn moon, eating fat crabs, drinking rice wine, and waiting for the chrysanthemums to bloom. It was a small reunion for literati and elegant people.

3. Eating lotus root during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a custom in some areas in the south, which means reunion. In the Mid-Autumn Festival for people in Hefei, Anhui, a selfless lotus root is indispensable. In some areas in the south, they are also wrapped in egg flour, stuffed with some minced meat, and fried lotus root seeds. For example, lotus root cakes are made in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.

4. In August, rice cakes are pounded in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Rice cakes are pounded in the Mid-Autumn Festival and stick together into balls, which heralds the unity and happiness of the whole family. The glutinous rice cake is made into a round shape, which indicates a happy reunion.

Origin of the festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a combination of various customs and events such as the emperor's sunset, autumn society, moon appreciation and the legend of the moon palace. It originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty and finally It was finalized in the Tang Dynasty. Xiyue is the autumnal equinox in ancient times when emperors worshiped the moon. "Zhou Li·Chun Guan Zongbo·Dian Rui" Zheng Xuan's note: The emperor always faces the sun on the spring equinox and the moon on the autumnal equinox. "Historical Records·The Benji of Xiaowu" Pei Piao's explanatory quote from Ying Shao says: The emperor pays homage to the sun in the spring and the moon in the evening of autumn. He worships the sun outside the east gate. The morning sun follows the morning, and the evening moon follows the evening.

The current Moon Altar in Beijing, formerly known as the Xiyue Altar, was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped the moon during the autumnal equinox. Since there may not be a moon on the night of the autumnal equinox, and if there is a moon, it may not be round, which would ruin the scenery. Therefore, people gradually moved to the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship the moon at the autumnal equinox. The Mid-Autumn Festival in August is the harvest season. The ancients held a ceremony to worship the earth god, which was called Qiu Bao or Qiu She.