What does the Mid Autumn Festival mean to the Chinese people?

What is the Mid Autumn Festival in China?

China's Mid Autumn Festival, also known as the festival of sacrificing the moon, the moon birthday, the moon's Eve, the autumn festival, the Mid Autumn Festival, the moon worship Festival, the moon mother's day, the Moon Festival, and the reunion festival, is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Mid Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the moon on the autumn Eve in ancient times. Since ancient times, the Mid Autumn Festival has folk customs such as sacrificing the moon, appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes, watching lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine. It has been handed down to this day and has lasted for a long time.

origin

The origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is inseparable from the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival is the legacy of the ancient celestial phenomenon worship - the custom of respecting the moon. At the autumnal equinox, it is the ancient festival of sacrificing the moon. Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. In fact, it is a kind of worship activity for the "moon god" by the ancients in some parts of China in ancient times. The Mid Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "autumn equinox festival". In traditional culture, like the moon and the sun, these two alternate celestial bodies became the objects of worship of our ancestors. The Mid Autumn Festival originated from people's sacrifice to the moon in ancient times. It is the legacy and derivation of the Chinese custom of sacrificing the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival is a synthesis of the seasonal customs in autumn. Most of the festival and custom factors it contains have ancient origins.

social customs and habits

Worship the moon

Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. In fact, it is a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the "moon god". In ancient times, there was the custom of "autumn evening and evening moon". The evening moon is to worship the moon god. Since ancient times, in some parts of Guangdong, people have the custom of worshipping the moon god (worshipping the moon mother and the moonlight) on the evening of the Mid Autumn Festival. To worship the moon, a large incense table was set up, and moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices were placed. Under the moon, the "moon god" memorial tablet is placed in the direction of the moon. Red candles are burning. The whole family worships the moon in turn and prays for blessings. Offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, and holding the moon in remembrance expressed people's good wishes. As one of the important sacrifices of the Mid Autumn Festival, sacrificing the moon has gradually evolved into a folk activity of appreciating and praising the moon since ancient times, and has also become the main form of modern people's desire for reunion and good wishes for life.

light a lamp

On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, there is the custom of lighting lamps to help the moonlight. Today, there is still a festival custom in Huguang where tiles are stacked on the tower and lights are lit on the tower. In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a custom of making light boats. In modern times, the custom of lighting lanterns was more popular. Mid autumn night lights and internal combustion candles are tied to bamboo poles with ropes, erected on tile eaves or terraces, or made of small lamps in zigzag or various shapes, and hung high in the house. They are commonly known as "tree mid autumn" or "vertical mid autumn". The lamps hung by wealthy and noble families can be as high as ten feet. Families gather under the lamps to enjoy themselves. Ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The lights all over the city are like a world of colored glass.

Eat moon cakes

Moon cakes, also known as moon group, harvest cake, palace cake, reunion cake, etc., are offerings to the moon god in the ancient Mid Autumn Festival. At first, moon cakes were used as offerings to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Moon cakes symbolize great reunion. People regard them as festival food and use them to sacrifice the moon and give gifts to relatives and friends. Since its development, eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom for people in North and South China to celebrate the Mid Autumn FestivalMoon CakeTo show "Reunion".