Moon cakes are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion.
Moon cakes symbolize a happy reunion. People regard them as holiday food, and use them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends. Up to now, eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom for Mid-Autumn Festival in northern and southern parts of China. On this day, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion".
Other customs on August 15th:
1, burning lamp
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of burning lanterns to help the moonlight. Nowadays, there is still the custom of burning lamps on the tower with tiles stacked on it in Huguang area. There is a custom of making lantern boats in the south of the Yangtze River. The custom of burning lanterns in modern Mid-Autumn Festival is more prosperous.
Today, Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei said in their article "Talking about Seasons in Leisure": "Guangdong has the most prosperous lanterns, and families tie lanterns with bamboo strips ten days before the festival. Make fruit, birds and animals, fish and insects and' celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival' and so on, and paint various colors on paste paper.
The internal combustion candle of Mid-Autumn Night Lantern is tied to a bamboo pole with a rope, which is high on the tile eaves or terrace, or it is built into a font or various shapes with small lights and hung at the height of the house, commonly known as' Mid-Autumn Festival on a tree' or' Mid-Autumn Festival vertically'.
The lamp hung by a wealthy family can be as high as tens of feet. Family members gather under the lamp to enjoy drinking, while ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The city is full of lights and glass world. The custom of burning lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to Lantern Festival in scale.
2. 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 the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there is a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times.
The daughter-in-law who goes back to her mother's house will return to her husband's house in the future, in order to express her happiness and good luck. The written records of folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities appeared in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces.