Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional festivals - What festival is August 15th?

What festival is August 15th?

August 15 is also called Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Daughter's Day or Reunion Festival. It is a traditional cultural festival popular in many ethnic groups in China and countries in the cultural circle of Chinese characters.

Festival introduction:

The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the major festivals in China, which was as famous as the Spring Festival. Influenced by China culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. On May 20th, 2006, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes, enjoying osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine. Since ancient times, and spread to this day, it lasts for a long time. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful and precious cultural heritage. The full moon is a symbol of people's reunion, a sustenance for missing their hometown and relatives, and hopes for a bumper harvest and happiness.

The origin of the festival:

There are many theories about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival. The word Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in Zhou Li. The Book of Rites and the Moon Order said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival moon nourishes aging and follows the porridge diet."

One theory originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors. It is recorded in the Book of Rites that "the sun rises in spring and the moon sets in autumn", and the moon is a sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emperors began to offer sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.

Second, the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn when crops are ripe" In the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits are maturing one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers regard the Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August in the lunar calendar is a month in autumn, and the 15th is a day in this month. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be a custom passed down from the ancient Autumn Newspaper.

Some historians have also pointed out that the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival should be August 15th, 13th year of Tang Jun's great cause at the end of Sui Dynasty. Pei Ji and Tang Jun, with the idea of a full moon, successfully invented moon cakes and distributed them to the army as military salaries, which successfully solved the problem of military rations derived from absorbing a large number of anti-Sui rebels.