When is the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The Mid-Autumn Festival is on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. 202 1 Mid-Autumn Festival begins on September 19 and ends on September 2 1. Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Moonlight Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, is a traditional folk festival in China. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena in ancient times. There are folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine. Together with Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival, it is called the four traditional festivals in China.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of astronomical phenomena. It is an ancient "Moon Festival" during the "Autumn Equinox" in the 24 solar terms, while the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "Moon Festival". In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship. At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "autumnal equinox" of the 24 solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15 in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). In some places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is set on August 16 in the summer calendar.

Mid-Autumn Festival became an officially recognized national festival, about in the Tang Dynasty. The custom of Mid-Autumn Festival was popular in northern China in the Tang Dynasty. The Book of Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival was very popular in Chang 'an area in Tang Dynasty. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. The Mid-Autumn Festival is full of romance by combining fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang's felling of laurel, Jade Rabbit smashing medicine, Yang Guifei's changing into the moon god and Tang Dynasty's visiting the moon palace, and the wind of playing the moon can only flourish. The Tang Dynasty is an important period when traditional festival customs are mixed and shaped, and its main part has been passed down to this day.

There are many nicknames for Mid-Autumn Festival: In ancient times, there was an activity of reflecting the moon (Yue Bai) on the autumnal equinox, so it was called "Moon Festival" or "Moon Festival". Because this festival falls on August 15, it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half". Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the "moon", it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival".