August 15th of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is named because its value is only half that of Sanqiu. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the biggest and brightest, so there has been a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times.
Seasonally, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the "Autumn Harvest Festival", and the grain sown in summer and spring should be harvested in autumn. Since ancient times, people have been drinking and dancing in this season to celebrate the harvest with joy, which is described in China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Songs.
From the origin, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a "Moon Festival", which originated from the worship of nature by ancient humans. In the ritual system of ancient emperors, there were two festivals in the Spring and Autumn Period: the Spring Festival for the sun and the Mid-Autumn Festival for the moon. At first, the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was at the "autumnal equinox", and August was different every year. Therefore, there must be a moon around the autumnal equinox, and it is a great favor to sacrifice the moon. Gradually, this became a common practice, and the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was set on August 15.
From the scientific observation, the inclination of the earth and the sun increases in autumn, and the warm and humid air flow over China gradually fades, while the northwest wind is still very weak. In this way, the moisture is removed, the dust is not raised, the air is particularly fresh, the sky is particularly clean, and the moon looks round and big, which is the best time to enjoy the moon.
The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. According to "Officials of Spring Day in Zhou Dynasty", the Zhou Dynasty has the saying of "welcoming the cold in the mid-autumn night" and "offering good clothes in the mid-autumn festival". "Autumn Equinox and Late Moon (Yue Bai)" activity; In the Han Dynasty, on the Mid-Autumn Festival or in beginning of autumn, the elderly were respected and provided with male coarse cakes. Mid-Autumn Festival also existed in Jin Dynasty, but it was not very common. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival was combined with fairy tales such as Chu 'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurel, jade rabbit smashing medicine, Yang Guifei changing into a moon god, and Tang Dynasty visiting the moon palace, which was full of romance and the wind of playing the moon prevailed.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the ancient sacrifice to the autumn moon. In the "autumnal equinox" season of the 24 solar terms, it is an ancient "Mid-Autumn Festival", and the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "Mid-Autumn Festival". In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration originated from ancient people's sacrifice to the moon, which is the legacy and derivative of China people's custom of sacrificing to the moon. ?
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in ancient times, popularized in the Han Dynasty, shaped in the early Tang Dynasty and prevailed after the Song Dynasty. Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, most of which have ancient origins. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful and precious cultural heritage. The full moon is a symbol of people's reunion, a sustenance for missing their hometown and relatives, and hopes for a bumper harvest and happiness. ?
There is also a legend that the Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. This story is the most widely circulated. Hou Yi shot nine suns, and then God gave him an immortal medicine. He could not bear to part with his wife Chang 'e, so he gave it to Chang 'e for safekeeping.
On August 15, Chang 'e took the fairy medicine to the moon. Hou Yi misses Chang 'e, so every year on this day, Chang 'e's favorite food will be placed in the yard, hoping that she can come back for reunion. After that, every year, generation after generation, it evolved into a festival. Because this day is the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China. Influenced by China culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese. On May 20, 2006, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday.