What season is the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival of autumn, and it is usually close to late autumn.The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from celestial worship and evolved from the ancient "Worship Moon Festival". The original date of the "Worship Moon Festival" was on the autumnal equinox in the stem-branch calendar, but later it was adjusted to the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Some places also set the Mid-Autumn Festival on the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had customs such as worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, eating mooncakes, playing with lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine, which have been passed down and remain popular today.
Introduction to the Mid-Autumn Festival:
Chinese name: Mid-Autumn Festival
Foreign name: Mid-Autumn Festival
Other names: Worship Moon Festival, Moonlight Birthday, Zhongqiu Festival, Autumn Night, Reunion Festival, etc.
Festival time: The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month
Festival type: One of the four traditional Chinese festivals
Popular areas: Many Chinese ethnic groups and countries in the Chinese character cultural circle
Origin: Celestial worship, autumn evening worship of the moon
Festival activities: Worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, fire dragon dance, playing with lanterns, etc.
Festival food: Mooncakes
Festival significance: Inheriting and promoting traditional culture
Setting time: Ancient times
What are the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival?
Lighting LanternsAt the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of lighting lanterns to enhance the moonlight. Even now, in some areas like Hunan and Guangdong, people still stack tiles into towers and light them on top. In the Jiangnan area, making lantern boats is a custom. The custom of lighting lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival became even more prevalent in modern times. According to the article "A Discussion of Seasonal Matters in Leisure Time" by Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei, they said: "In Guangdong, the custom of hanging lanterns is the most prosperous. A few days before the festival, families make lanterns with bamboo sticks. They make shapes of fruits, birds, beasts, fish, and insects, as well as words like 'Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival', and cover them with colored paper and paint them in various colors. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, candles are lit inside the lanterns and tied to bamboo poles, then raised high on rooftops or balconies. Or small lanterns are arranged into characters or various shapes and hung high on houses, known as 'tree the Mid-Autumn Festival' or 'raise the Mid-Autumn Festival'. Wealthy families hang lanterns that can be several zhang high, and family members gather under the lanterns to enjoy drinks and have fun. Ordinary people just erect a pole with two lanterns, and they also find joy in it. The entire city is illuminated, resembling a world of glass." The scale of the custom of lighting lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the lantern festival of the Lantern Festival.
Admiring the Moon
The custom of admiring the moon comes from worshipping the moon, turning a serious ceremony into a relaxed entertainment. It is said that on this night, the moon is closest to the Earth, appearing largest and brightest, so people have long had the custom of dining and admiring the moon. On this day, married women returning to their parents' home must return to their husband's home, symbolizing completeness and auspiciousness. Written records of the custom of admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival appeared in the Wei and Jin dynasties, but it was not yet a common practice. By the Tang Dynasty, admiring and playing with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival became very popular, and many poets' famous works contain verses about the moon.
Chasing the Moon
"Chasing the moon" refers to the situation where, after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, people still feel the fun hasn't ended, so on the next night, many people invite friends and relatives to continue admiring the moon, called "chasing the moon". According to the preface of "Lingnan Miscellaneous Records" by Chen Zihou, it says: "In Guangdong, enthusiasts gather relatives and friends, prepare wine and dishes, and admire the moon on the sixteenth night of the eighth lunar month, which is called chasing the moon."
Watching the Tides
In ancient times, besides admiring the moon, watching the tides was another major event of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Zhejiang area. The custom of watching the tides during the Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, Mei Cheng's "Seven Discourses" described it in great detail. After the Han Dynasty, the custom of watching the tides during the Mid-Autumn Festival became even more popular. The "Supplement to the Old Customs of Hangzhou" by Zhu Tinghuan and the "Dreaming of the Liang Dynasty" by Wu Zimuyu also have records of watching the tides.
Guessing Riddles
During the night of the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, many lanterns are hung in public places, and people gather together to guess the riddles written on the lanterns. Because this activity is popular among young men and women, love stories have also emerged during these events, so the custom of guessing riddles during the Mid-Autumn Festival has also developed into a form of romantic relationships between men and women.
Eating Mooncakes
Mooncakes, also known as moon cakes, harvest cakes, palace cakes, and reunion cakes, were originally offerings for worshipping the moon god. Mooncakes were initially used as offerings for the moon god, but over time, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival's moon admiration and mooncake tasting as symbols of family reunion. Mooncakes symbolize family reunion, and people regard them as festival food, using them for moon worship and giving them to relatives and friends. Today, eating mooncakes has become an essential custom for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival across China, and people eat mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival to express "reunion".
Appreciating Osmanthus Flowers and Drinking Osmanthus Wine
People often eat mooncakes and appreciate osmanthus flowers during the Mid-Autumn Festival, consuming various foods made from osmanthus, with pastries and candies being the most common.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at the osmanthus tree in the moon and smelling the fragrant osmanthus scent, sipping a cup of osmanthus honey wine, and enjoying the happiness of a happy and sweet family, has become a beautiful experience of the festival. In modern times, people often use red wine instead.
