What Is Mid-Autumn Festival?

Mid-Autumn Festival, as one of the traditional festivals of the Chinese nation, carries a profound cultural heritage and rich emotional connotations. It has a long history and a wide and far-reaching influence. To fully explain the Mid-Autumn Festival, we need to analyze it from multiple dimensions such as its origin, development, customs, cultural connotations, and its significance in modern society.

1. The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
   There are many theories about the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the most well-known of which is its connection with the ancient custom of worshiping the moon. In ancient China, moon worship was a common phenomenon. People believed that the moon was a mysterious and noble natural object that could affect the growth of crops, the changes in tides, and even the misfortunes and blessings of the world. Therefore, the ancients often held sacrificial activities on the night of the full moon to pray for a good harvest, peace, and reunion. This custom gradually combined with the specific date of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to form the prototype of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In addition, the formation of the Mid-Autumn Festival is also related to the ritual of the ancient emperors worshiping the moon. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there were rituals of worshiping the sun on the spring equinox, worshiping the earth on the summer solstice, worshiping the moon on the autumn equinox, and worshiping the sky on the winter solstice. Although the original moon worship was not set on August 15, as time went by, this date was gradually fixed and became a festival celebrated by the whole nation.

2. The development of the Mid-Autumn Festival
   The development of the Mid-Autumn Festival is a long and complex process, which integrates cultural elements and folk beliefs from multiple historical periods. In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival began to become an officially recognized festival and was called the “Reunion Festival”, which was inseparable from the concept of family reunion in the society at that time. After the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival became more popular, and customs such as moon watching and moon cake eating gradually formed and spread to this day. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival had become an important national festival, and various celebrations were rich and colorful, such as moon watching, poetry reciting, sky lanterns, and fire dragon dancing, showing the diversity and inclusiveness of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
3. Customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival
4. Moon watching
   Moon watching is one of the most core customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival. When night falls, a bright moon hangs high in the sky, and every household will go out, or climb a building to look into the distance, or live by the water, to enjoy this bright moon together. People use this to express their longing for their relatives far away, and also express their yearning and pursuit for a better life.
5. Eating mooncakes
   Mooncakes are a traditional food of the Mid-Autumn Festival, symbolizing reunion and happiness. There are many kinds of mooncakes, including Cantonese, Suzhou, Beijing and other flavors, and the fillings are also rich and varied, including red bean paste, lotus paste, five kernels, egg yolks, etc. The custom of eating mooncakes originated from the ancient ritual of worshiping the moon, and later gradually evolved into a must-have festival food for every household during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
6. Lighting lanterns
   On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, many places still have the custom of lighting lanterns. People will light lanterns or fly Kongming lanterns in the courtyard to express their thoughts for their relatives and good wishes for the future. This custom not only adds to the festive atmosphere of the festival, but also reflects people’s pursuit of light and hope.
7. Appreciating osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine
   The Mid-Autumn Festival is when osmanthus is in full bloom, so appreciating osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine have also become a major custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The fragrance of osmanthus is refreshing and refreshing; osmanthus wine is brewed with osmanthus as raw material, with a unique taste and aroma, and is deeply loved by people.

IV. Cultural connotation of Mid-Autumn Festival

1. Reunion culture
   The core cultural connotation of Mid-Autumn Festival is reunion. During this festival, no matter where people are, they will express their thoughts and concerns for their loved ones in various ways. This desire and pursuit for reunion reflects the profound family concept and family awareness of the Chinese nation. At the same time, the reunion culture of Mid-Autumn Festival also promotes social harmony and stability, and enhances national cohesion and centripetal force.
2. Gratitude culture
   Mid-Autumn Festival is also a festival of gratitude. During this festival, people will thank nature for the gifts and the blessings of their ancestors, and will also be grateful for the care and support of their relatives and friends. This gratitude culture embodies the traditional virtues and humanistic feelings of the Chinese nation, and also promotes emotional exchanges and spiritual communication between people.
3. Harmonious culture
   Mid-Autumn Festival also contains the connotation of harmonious culture. During this festival, people create a harmonious, warm and beautiful festival atmosphere through customs such as moon watching, eating moon cakes and lighting lanterns. This harmonious culture is not only reflected in the unity and harmony within the family, but also in the harmonious coexistence of all levels of society. It promotes social stability and prosperity, and also shows the traditional virtues and humanistic spirit of the Chinese nation.

V. The significance of Mid-Autumn Festival in modern society
With the changes of the times and the development of society, Mid-Autumn Festival still has important significance in modern society. First of all, as one of the traditional festivals of the Chinese nation, it carries rich historical and cultural connotations and national emotional memories, and is an important carrier for inheriting and promoting the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation. Secondly, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a festival that promotes family reunion and social harmony. During this festival, people can put aside their busy work and study, spend a good time with their families, and enhance family affection and friendship; at the same time, they can also participate in various social welfare activities and cultural activities to contribute their own strength to building a harmonious society. Finally, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a festival that showcases the innovative spirit and contemporary style of the Chinese nation. On the basis of retaining traditional customs, people continue to innovate and develop, giving Mid-Autumn Festival new contemporary connotations and forms of expression.

In short, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival full of charm and emotion. It not only carries the long history and culture of the Chinese nation and the national emotional memory, but also shows the traditional virtues and humanistic spirit of the Chinese nation. In modern society, the Mid-Autumn Festival still has important significance and value, which is worth our continued inheritance and promotion.