What is the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorating? What is the true origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The eighth month of the lunar calendar is well known, but do you know it has other names? The "Closed Door Month," "Goose Arrival Month," "Swallow Departure Month," "Middle Month," "Mid-Autumn," and "Mid-Month" are all alternative names for the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Welcome to follow Huayi Network Special Topic on the Eighth Month of 2021 in the Lunar Calendar.

What is the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorating?

1. Commemorating Chang'e
The Mid-Autumn Festival originates from the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. According to historical records: "In ancient times, Chang'e took the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of Heaven, and thus flew to the moon to become the essence of the moon." The price Chang'e paid for this was to be sentenced to hard labor and could never return to the human world. Although Chang'e found the moon palace beautiful, she felt very lonely as she was alone there. On the night of the full moon on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, she could return to the human world to reunite with her husband, but had to return to the moon palace before dawn. Later generations, every Mid-Autumn Festival, wished to go to the moon to meet Chang'e and also hoped to see Chang'e descend to the human world to admire her beauty. Therefore, many people, when burning incense and worshiping the moon, prayed: "Men wish to quickly step into the Moon Palace and climb the immortal osmanthus tree... Women wish to look like Chang'e, round as the bright moon." Year after year, this gradually evolved into a fixed festival, and since then, people have continued to follow the tradition of the festival.
2. A Day to Remember the Anti-Yuan Uprising
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a day to commemorate an uprising that overthrew the Yuan Dynasty's rule. In the late Yuan Dynasty, the people could no longer bear the rule of the government. During the Mid-Autumn season, they secretly passed small round cakes containing notes that read: "Kill the Tartars, destroy the Yuan Dynasty; everyone should act together on the fifteenth of the eighth month." On the evening of the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, every household acted together and successfully overthrew the Yuan Dynasty's rule. Later, every Mid-Autumn Festival, people ate mooncakes, which were meant to commemorate this victory in the war.

What is the true origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

What is the real origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the "Mid-Autumn Festival," "Eighth Month Festival," "Worship Moon Festival," and "Reunion Festival," among others. As the name suggests, it is a festival where families gather to enjoy the moon. There are many theories about the origin and development of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some say it originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient kings and ministers; others say it originated from agricultural production and harvests, symbolizing the autumn harvest. Some historians claim that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from military conflicts. In ancient times, the moon was considered a "malevolent" star, and in folk culture, it was called the "Spirit of the Moon," while Taoists referred to it as the "Soul of Yin." Thus, the moon-worshipping ceremony emerged, aimed at eliminating disasters and praying for blessings. Over time, this sacrificial activity gradually evolved into the custom of worshipping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. By the Northern Song Dynasty, the moon-worshipping ceremony was officially designated as the "Mid-Autumn Festival."