Overview
Chinese Name: 中秋节
English Name: Mid-Autumn Festival, Mooncake Festival
Time & Duration: The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month
Customs: Burning lamp (Chinese: 燃灯), Worshipping the moon (Chinese: 拜月), Eating moon cakes (Chinese: 吃月饼), Making lanterns (Chinese: 扎灯笼), Fire dragon dance (Chinese: 舞火龙), etc.
Brief introduction
The Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 is a traditional Chinese folk festival. It originated from the worship of celestial phenomena in ancient times. Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, admiring the moon, eating moon cakes, watching lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, drinking osmanthus wine and so on.
The Mooncake Festival originated in ancient times, popularized in the Han Dynasty 汉朝, shaped in the early years of the Tang Dynasty 唐朝, and prevailed after the Song Dynasty 宋朝. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, and most of the festivals and customs contained in it have ancient origins.
The Mid-Autumn Festival uses the full moon to signify the reunion of people, as sustenance to miss the hometown, miss the love of relatives, pray for a good harvest and happiness, and become a colourful and precious cultural heritage.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is inseparable from the moon. The Mid-Autumn Festival is the product of the ancient custom of worshipping the moon and worshipping the moon. In traditional culture, the moon is the same as the sun, and these two alternate celestial bodies have become the objects of worship of the ancestors.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was popularized in the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty was a period of economic and cultural exchange and integration in the north and south of my country. According to records, in the Han Dynasty, on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Beginning of Autumn, the old people were honoured and retired, and they were given the activity of giving majestic cakes.
The Mooncake Festival became an officially recognized national holiday, around the time of the Tang Dynasty. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Up to now, eating moon cakes has become an essential custom for the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of my country. Moon cakes symbolize a great reunion. People regard them as festive food, offering sacrifices to the moon and gifts to relatives and friends.
Folk-Custom Activity
Burning lamp 燃灯
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of lighting lamps to help the moonlight. The custom of making light boats is still preserved in the Jiangnan area. The custom of burning lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the Lantern Festival.
Worshipping the moon 拜月
Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in our country. It is actually a worship activity for the “moon god” by the ancients. Since ancient times, in some areas of Guangdong, people have the custom of worshipping the moon god on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. Everyone put the offerings on the table and worshipped the moon in turn to pray for blessings.
As one of the important rituals of the Mid-Autumn Festival, worshipping the moon has continued from ancient times to the present , and has gradually evolved into folk activities of admiring the moon and singing the moon.
Eating moon cakes 吃月饼
Moon cakes are offerings to worship the moon god in the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as offerings to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Moon viewing and tasting moon cakes as a symbol of family reunion.
Moon cakes symbolize a great reunion. People regard them as festive food, offering sacrifices to the moon and gifts to relatives and friends. Up to now, eating moon cakes has become an essential custom for the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. On this day, people have to eat moon cakes to show “reunion”.
Making lanterns 扎灯笼
In ancient times in Guangdong, when the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, children, with the help of their parents, used bamboo paper to shape lanterns like rabbits or squares. In addition, there are many children who use fruit peels to make lanterns.
In addition to hanging on the tree to enjoy the tied lanterns, there are also couples holding lanterns and snuggling up to enjoy the moon.
Fire dragon dance 舞火龙
The fire dragon dance is the most traditional custom of the Hong Kong Mid-Autumn Festival. From the 14th night of the eighth lunar month every year, the Tai Hang area of Causeway Bay holds a grand fire dragon dance for three consecutive nights.
This fire dragon is more than 70 meters long. It is made of pearl grass into a 32-section dragon body and is filled with longevity incense. On the night of the event, in the streets and alleys of this district, winding fire dragons danced happily under the lights and dragon drum music, which was very lively.