A brief introduction to the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the autumn moon in ancient times. At first, the Mid-Autumn Festival was held on the day of the autumnal equinox in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar. In some places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is set on August 16 in the summer calendar. August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, the second month of autumn is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and August 15th is in the middle of Mid-Autumn Festival, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, Moonlight Birthday, Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival and Reunion Festival, is a traditional folk festival in China. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the autumn moon in ancient times. At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "Autumn Equinox" of the twenty-four solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar. In some places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is set on August 16 in the summer calendar. Since ancient times, Mid-Autumn Festival has had folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine. It has been circulating for a long time.

The myths and legends about Mid-Autumn Festival are: the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. The myth of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" originated from the ancient people's worship of the stars, and the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon first appeared in "Returning to Tibet". Later, the story was further developed by the people and evolved into several story versions. Chang 'e boarded the moon palace. According to Huai Nan Zi in the Western Han Dynasty, it was because she ate the elixir of life that her husband Yi asked Xi Wuniang for, flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a relic of ancient celestial worship-the custom of worshipping the 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". Sacrificing to the moon is a very old custom in China. In fact, it is a ritual activity of the ancients in some places in ancient China to "Moon God".