Why do Ningbo people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16?

One theory is that Shi Hao, the prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and his mother told a story of filial piety. At that time, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty was in Lin 'an (now Hangzhou), and Shi Hao returned to Ningbo from Hangzhou every Mid-Autumn Festival to reunite with his mother.

One year, because I couldn't go to Ningbo, I had to stay in Shaoxing for one night and go home the next day, but the whole family was still waiting for him to come back for the New Year. Since then, Ningbo people have postponed the Mid-Autumn Festival by one day. This statement is the most widely circulated.

origin

The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to the moon, which is the relic of ancient celestial worship-the custom of respecting the moon. In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship.

In the twenty-four solar terms, the "autumnal equinox" season is an ancient "moon festival", while the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "autumnal equinox festival". According to research, "Mid-Autumn Festival" was originally set on the day of autumnal equinox in the twenty-four solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar. However, due to the integration of calendars in historical development, the lunar calendar (summer calendar) was used, and then the Mid-Autumn Festival was transferred from the 24 solar terms "autumnal equinox" to August 15 in the summer calendar.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, most of which have ancient origins.