Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Reunion Festival, is a traditional folk festival in China. At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "Autumn Equinox" of the twenty-four solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). In some places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is set on August 16 in the summer calendar.

Moon cakes, also known as moon cakes, cookies, reunion cakes, etc. , is the seasonal food of Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as offerings to worship the moon god. Today, eating moon cakes and enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival are the necessary customs for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in the north and south of China. Moon cakes symbolize a happy reunion. People use them as holiday food to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends.

As an offering to worship the moon god, moon cakes have a long history. In the existing literature, the word moon cake was first seen in Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Combining with local food customs, moon cakes have developed into moon cakes in Guangdong, Shanxi, Beijing, Soviet Union, Chaozhou and Yunnan styles, which are deeply loved by people all over the country.

Cultural customs of moon cakes

Sacrificing the moon is a very old custom in China. Moon cakes are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, and they are also food for Mid-Autumn Festival. In ancient times, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, there was a Mid-Autumn Festival, a big incense table, moon cakes, fruits and other sacrifices. Under the moon, the moon god is placed in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes.

As an offering to worship the moon god, moon cakes have a long history. The word "moon cake" was first recorded in Wu's Dream in the Southern Song Dynasty. Watching the moon and eating moon cakes is an essential custom in Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. As the saying goes, "Moon cakes are sweet and fragrant when they are full on August 15th".

Dietary Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month in the Han Dynasty Su Dongpo, a great poet in the Song Dynasty, once praised moon cakes with the poem "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispy stuffing inside", from which we can see that moon cakes in the Song Dynasty already have ghee and sugar stuffing.