Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as “Yuexi”, “Autumn Festival”, “Mid-Autumn Festival”, “August Festival”, “August Meeting”, “Moon Chasing Festival”, “Moon Playing Festival”, “Moon Worship Festival”, “Girl’s Day” and “Reunion Festival” are traditional cultural festivals popular among many ethnic groups across the country. Because it happens to be in the middle of autumn, it got this name.

It is said that the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest on this night. Since ancient times, people have had the custom of having a feast and admiring the moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The daughter-in-law who returns to her parents’ home must return to her husband’s home on this day to express the meaning of perfection and good luck.

It originated in ancient times, became popular in the Han Dynasty, was finalized in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, and became popular after the Song Dynasty. Together with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival, it is known as the four major traditional festivals in China.

 

The Mid-Autumn Festival originates from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from worshiping the moon on Autumn Eve in ancient times. Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has included folk customs such as worshiping the moon, appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes, watching lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine.

 

According to the “Book of Rites of Zhou” records, in the Zhou Dynasty there were activities such as “Welcome the Cold on Mid-Autumn Night” and “Worship the Moon on the Eve of the Autumn Equinox”; in mid-August of the lunar calendar, it was the time of autumn grain harvest. In order to thank the gods for their protection, people A series of rituals and celebrations are held called “autumn reports”. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the temperature is cool but not cold, the sky is high and the air is crisp, and the moon is bright in the sky. It is the best time to watch the moon. Therefore, later on, the element of moon worship was gradually replaced by moon appreciation, and the color of sacrifice gradually faded, but this festival continued and was given a new meaning. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the fifteenth day of August was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival was as famous as New Year’s Day and became the second largest traditional festival in my country after the Spring Festival. After thousands of years of inheritance, it has undergone several changes and transformations, and finally the spirit of “family reunion” has become the main cultural connotation of today’s Mid-Autumn Festival.

 

On May 20, 2006, the Mid-Autumn Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists by the State Council. On January 1, 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival was listed as a national statutory holiday in China by the State Council.