About Mid-Autumn Festival, about 200 words.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the autumn moon in ancient times. Offering sacrifices to the moon has a long history, and it is a kind of ritual activity of ancient people in some places in ancient China. The autumnal equinox in the twenty-four solar terms is an ancient "Moon Festival". Mid-Autumn Festival is popular in Han Dynasty, which is a period of economic and cultural exchanges and integration between the north and the south of China, and cultural exchanges between different places spread together.

The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the documents of the Han Dynasty and was written in Zhou Li of the Han Dynasty (handed down from Zhou Gongdan, actually written between the Han Dynasty). According to legend, in the pre-Qin period, there were activities such as "Welcome to the Cold in Mid-Autumn Night", "Give Good Clothes in Mid-Autumn Festival" and "Autumn Equinox Moon (Yue Bai)".

According to records, in the Han Dynasty, there was an activity of respecting the elderly and sending coarse cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival or beginning of autumn. There are also written records about Mid-Autumn Festival in Jin Dynasty, but it is not very common. Mid-Autumn Festival in Jin Dynasty was not very popular in northern China.

Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival:

Offering sacrifices to the moon is a very old custom in China, which is actually the worship of the "Moon God" by the ancients. In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The evening moon is the God of Yue Bai. Since ancient times, in some places in Guangdong, people have the custom of worshipping the moon god (mother moon and moonlight) on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival.

In Yue Bai, a big incense table was set up, and the sacrifices included moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes. Under the moon, put the "Luna God" tablet in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family took turns in Yue Bai to pray.

Sacrificing the moon to admire the memory of the moon expresses people's good wishes. As one of the important ceremonies of Mid-Autumn Festival, offering sacrifices to the moon has continued from ancient times to the present, and gradually evolved into a folk activity to appreciate and praise the moon. At the same time, it has become the main form of modern people's longing for reunion and their desire for a better life.