The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

There are many theories about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival.

The word Mid-Autumn Festival was first seen in Zhou Li. The Book of Rites and the Moon Order said: "Mid-autumn moon nurtures aging and implements the Mid-Autumn 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.

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. ?

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Full Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Worship 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. 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 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.

festival name

In ancient times, there was an activity of reflecting the moon at the autumnal equinox (Yue Bai), so it was called "Moon Festival" or "Moon Festival". According to the China calendar, August in the summer calendar (lunar calendar) is in the middle of autumn, which is the second month of autumn, and it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, while August 15th is in the middle of the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the "moon", it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival".

Festival custom

To the moon.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is also a special activity called "Walking the Moon". In the bright moonlight, people wear gorgeous clothes, travel in groups of three or five, or stroll the streets, or lack boats on the Qinhuai River, or go upstairs to watch the moonlight, talking and laughing. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing had a building to look at the moon and a bridge to play with the moon. In the Qing Dynasty, there was the Moon Tower under Lion Mountain, which was a scenic spot for tourists to enjoy the moon. Traveling on Mid-Autumn Festival night to enjoy the moon, Shanghainese call it "walking on the moon". Wu has the custom of walking the three bridges on the moon, that is, traveling in the moonlight, at least three bridges must be crossed (see Jia Qinglu, Volume 8). Shanghai also has this custom (see Yu Yousheng's Travel Notes on Metallurgy in the Seas). The so-called three bridges are obviously the flavor of the city.

Sacrifice the Moon

Sacrificing the moon is a very old custom in China, and it is actually a worship activity of the ancients to the "Moon God". In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In ancient times, in some places in Guangdong, people had the custom of worshipping the moon god 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.

Appreciate the bright full moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the biggest and brightest, so there has been a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her parents' house will go back and forth to express her happiness and good luck. Written records show that folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces.

Begging for the moon and shining on it.

In the old society, some women in Dongguan believed that "Yue Lao was the matchmaker". Anyone who has adult men and women at home but no Mr. Right can burn incense and light candles under the moon on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, and ask the old man to fix him up. According to legend, the quiet moonlight on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival can make women pregnant. In some areas, on the Mid-Autumn Festival moonlit night, some infertile women who have been married for a long time will go out to bathe in the moonlight, hoping to have children early, which is called "depending on the moon".

Tidal bore watching

The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. "I know that the Jade Rabbit is very round, and it has been frosty in September." The message is that the door should be closed and the night tide will stay on the moon. "This is the poem" Watching the Tide on August 15th "written by Su Shi, a great poet in the Song Dynasty. In ancient Zhejiang, besides enjoying the moon, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity.

Eat moon cakes

Eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. On this day, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion". Moon cakes, also called moon dumplings, harvest cakes, palace cakes and reunion cakes, are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Mooncakes symbolize a happy reunion. People regard them as holiday food, use them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends.

Roast bean curd

In Jiangsu, incense is burned on Mid-Autumn Festival night. There are silks around the incense barrel, which depicts the scenery of the Moon Palace. There are incense sticks made of thread Kaori with paper kuixing and colorful flags on them. There is also the custom of burning incense and fighting among the people in Shanghai.

Burning lamp

Lighting helps the moonlight. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, candles are lit in lanterns and tied to bamboo poles, tile eaves, terraces and other heights, commonly known as "Mid-Autumn Festival on trees" or "Mid-Autumn Festival vertically".

solve the riddle

On the Mid-Autumn Festival full moon night, there are many lanterns hanging in public places. People get together to guess the riddles written on lanterns. Because this is the favorite activity of most young men and women, love stories will also be heard in these activities, so solve riddles on the lanterns is also a form of love between men and women in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Play the rabbit

Playing with rabbits originated in the late Ming Dynasty and was popular in Beijing. Amin Jikun (born around 1636) wrote "The Legacy of Kaoting": "The Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing is mostly shaped like a mud rabbit, dressed like a human figure, and children worship it." By the Qing dynasty, the function of male prostitutes had changed from offering sacrifices to the moon to children's Mid-Autumn Festival toys. Rabbits are made of mud. The rabbit head is armored, flags are inserted to protect its back, its face is covered with gold mud, and it is also harmonious to paint, sit or stand, pound or ride a beast, and its two big ears stand upright. "Yanjing Years Old": "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, smart people in the city make a toad and rabbit statue out of loess to sell, and call it a prostitute." In the Qing Dynasty, the court called the Jade Rabbit on the moon Taiyin Jun. However, Beijingers called it a male prostitute. In the folk customs around Beijing, the Mid-Autumn Festival for male prostitutes is actually not as solemn as the game.

Play with lanterns

There are many games in Mid-Autumn Festival, the first is playing lanterns. Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the three major Lantern Festival in China, so we should play with lanterns in festivals. Of course, the Mid-Autumn Festival does not have such a large lantern festival, and playing with lanterns is mainly between families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, it was recorded in Old Wulin that the Mid-Autumn Festival was a custom, and there was an activity of "putting a small red light into the river to drift and play". Lantern playing in Mid-Autumn Festival is mostly concentrated in the south. For example, the autumn festival in Foshan mentioned earlier has all kinds of colorful lights: sesame lights, eggshell lights, wood shavings lights, straw lights, fish scales lights, chaff lights, melon seeds lights, birds, animals, flowers and trees lights, which are amazing.

In Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, Mid-Autumn Festival activities will be held on Mid-Autumn Festival night, and trees will be erected, which means that lanterns will be erected high. With the help of their parents, children make rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns out of bamboo paper, hang them horizontally on short poles and then stand on high poles. They are high-tech and colorful, adding another scenery to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Children often compete with each other to see who stands tall, much taller and has the most exquisite lighting. In addition, there are sky lanterns, that is, Kongming lanterns, which are made of paper and tied into large lanterns. Burning candles under the lamp, the hot air rises, making the lamp fly in the air, making people laugh and chase. In addition, there are children carrying all kinds of lanterns to enjoy in the lower reaches of the moon.

In Nanning, Guangxi, in addition to all kinds of lanterns tied with paper and bamboo for children to play with, there are also simple grapefruit lanterns, pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns. The so-called grapefruit lamp is to empty the grapefruit, carve a simple pattern, put on a rope and light a candle inside, which is very elegant. Pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns are also made by removing pulp. Although simple, it is easy to make and very popular. Some children also put grapefruit lights into the pool water to play games. There is a simple autumn lantern in Guangxi, which is made of six bamboo sticks, pasted with white gauze paper and inserted with candles. Hanging on the platform for offering sacrifices to the moon or for children to play with. Now, in many areas of Guangxi and Guangdong, the Lantern Festival is arranged on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, large modern lanterns illuminated by electric lights are made, and new lanterns made of various plastics are used for children to play, but the simplicity of the old lanterns is gone.

dragon dance

Dragon dancing is the most traditional custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. From the evening of the 14th August of the lunar calendar every year, a grand dragon dance has been held in the Tai Hang area of Causeway Bay for three consecutive nights. This fire dragon is more than 70 meters long, and it is tied into 32 dragon bodies with pearl grass, which is full of longevity incense. On the night of the grand event, the streets and alleys in this area are very lively, and the winding dragon dances with joy under the light and dragon and drum music.

Tingxiang

Listening to incense is an ancient Mid-Autumn Festival custom in Taiwan Province. In ancient times, a girl who wanted to marry a good wife burned incense in front of the gods at home, told her worries, prayed for guidance from the gods and listened to the incense. Then, according to the instructions, they remembered the first sentence they overheard on the road, and then threw it at home to judge the quality of divination. For example, divination is a lifelong event, and what you hear is eating cookies or flowers and the full moon, which means it is a good omen and the happy event is near.

Steal moon dishes

According to legend, if an unmarried girl steals vegetables or onions from another vegetable garden on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, it means that she will meet a Mr Right in the future. There is a saying in Taiwan Province that "steal onions and marry a good husband;" Stealing vegetables and marrying a good husband "refers to this custom.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival in Dong nationality township of Hunan province, an interesting custom "stealing moon dishes" is popular. According to legend, in ancient times, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, fairies in the Moon Palace came to the underworld, and they spilled nectar all over the world. Fairy nectar is selfless, so people can enjoy fruits and vegetables sprinkled with nectar on this night.

Burning pagoda lamp

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns are different from Lantern Festival lanterns. Pagoda lights are lit on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is mainly popular in the south. Pagoda lamp is that the children in the village pick up rubble and build a pagoda-shaped lamp. In the Qing Dynasty, villagers in Suzhou used tiles to build a seven-level pagoda in the wild. In the middle of the tower is the Tibetan king, surrounded by lights, which are called "tower lights". Guangzhou children burn "Fanta lamps" and exchange them with broken tiles; There is also a pomelo peel lamp, carved with red pomelo peel, with a glass lamp in the middle, glowing red. In addition, the game of burning tile lamp (or burning flower tower, burning tile tower and burning fan tower) is widely circulated in the south, and it is circulated in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places. For example, Volume 5 of China Folk Customs: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Jiangxi, children usually pick up tiles in the wild and pile them into round towers with holes. At dusk, it is burned in the firewood tower under the bright moon. As soon as the tiles burned red, kerosene was poured on the fire, and suddenly the fields were red and bright as day. It was not until late at night, when no one was watching, that it began to pour interest. This is the famous tile-burning lamp. " The tile-burning tower in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province is also a hollow tower made of bricks, which is filled with branches and burned to ashes. At the same time, it also burns smoke piles, that is, piles of grass and firewood burned after the end of Yue Bai. The burning fan tower in the border area of Guangxi is similar to this kind of activity. There is also a "tower burning boy" activity in Jinjiang, Fujian.

Throw handkerchiefs to attract relatives

In some areas of Fujian, China, there is a custom of "throwing handkerchiefs to attract relatives" on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. Generally, colorful tables are set up in the square, arranged in the shape of a moon palace, with jade rabbits and osmanthus trees. Some unmarried women dressed as Chang 'e threw handkerchiefs embroidered with different colors on the stage. If someone receives a handkerchief of the same color as Chang 'e, they can go on stage to receive the prize. When some unmarried boys return handkerchiefs, if Chang 'e likes them, they can make friends, and like-minded boys can tie the knot.

Stealing melons and praying for children

In Hengyang, Hunan Province, there is a saying, "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, melons are delivered". "It turned out that Xifeng's shoe house was there, and she married a woman who couldn't have children for several years. Relatives and friends had to bring a melon to the door. In the first few days, a melon will be stolen from the garden, which must be unknown to the owner. The painted clothes are human's. Give a long life to people who are good at it, circle gold and shoot guns, and send them to their homes. Older people put wax gourd on the bed and cover it, so that they can remember the sun in the door. As you sow, you reap. Those who suffer from melons hold a grand banquet to entertain them, if it happens again. When a woman gets a melon, she will cut it off. It is said that this matter is the most verified cloud. " In Hengyang, anyone who is married and has no children in the village will be given a "bride price" as long as his popularity is good.

Drink osmanthus wine

People often eat moon cakes, enjoy osmanthus flowers and eat all kinds of foods made of osmanthus flowers, among which cakes and sweets are the most common.

Steal vegetables and beg for lang.

In Taiwan Province Province, unmarried women have the custom of "stealing vegetables to beg for husbands" on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. The beautifully decorated woman stepped on the moonlight and stole onions and vegetables from other people's gardens. After stealing them, it indicates that she will meet the only thrill. Therefore, Taiwan Province Province has "stealing onions and marrying a good husband; The proverb "steal vegetables and marry a good husband".

Eat snails

People believe that snails can improve their eyesight in the Mid-Autumn Festival. After investigation, vitamin A contained in snail meat is an important substance of eye visual pigment. It can be seen that this statement is reasonable. But why do you have to eat it on the Mid-Autumn Festival? It was pointed out that before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, snails were empty and there were no snails in the abdomen, so the meat was particularly fat. Nowadays, in Guangzhou, many families have the habit of frying snails in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Enjoy osmanthus

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people look up at the sweet-scented osmanthus in the middle of the month, smell the sweet-scented osmanthus, drink a cup of sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine, celebrate the sweetness of the whole family and get together, which has become a wonderful enjoyment of the festival.

Mid-autumn legend

The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, and the crops were all sunburned and the people were miserable. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last sun to rise and set on time for the benefit of the people. So she got a fairy medicine from the Queen Mother of the West and gave it to her wife Chang 'e for safekeeping. But Feng Meng knows about it. While Hou Yi was not at home, she took a sword and forced Chang 'e to hand over the fairy medicine. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, flew into the sky, landed on the nearest moon and became a fairy. Hou Yi had no choice but to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite candied fruit, and offer a distant sacrifice to Chang 'e in the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people made an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck to the kind Chang 'e.

Wugang cut laurel

Legend has it that there is a laurel tree in the middle of the month. Huainanzi once said that there were osmanthus trees in the middle of the month. Later, the legend became more specific. Next to the laurel tree, WU GANG, the man who cut the laurel tree, was added. The legend of WU GANG, a laurel tree in the middle of the month, is most specifically found in the first volume of Tianzhi before Youyang Za in the Tang Dynasty. It said: "As the old saying goes, there is a laurel tree in the moon and a toad in the moon, so different books say that the laurel tree is 500 feet high, and one person often marries it and makes it out of trees." Wu Minggang, a native of Xihe, learned immortality and ordered people to cut down trees. "。 WU GANG once followed the fairy to the sky, but he made a mistake, so the fairy sent him to the moon and ordered him to cut down the fairy tree, the laurel tree. The laurel tree is 500 feet high and can be cut down together. Emperor Yan used this endless labor as a punishment for WU GANG. In Li Bai's poem, there is a paragraph that says, "If you want to be in the middle of the month, you should pay for the cold. "

The white rabbit fiddled with medicine.

This legend was first seen in Dong Escape from Han Yuefu: "The Jade Rabbit knelt for a long time and pounded toad pills, and presented a jade plate to your majesty. Taking this medicine will make you live forever. " Legend has it that there is a rabbit in the moon, as white as jade, so it is called "Jade Rabbit". This kind of white rabbit holds a jade pestle and kneels down to pound the medicine into toad pills. Taking these pills can make you live forever.

Development 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. 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 of Mid-Autumn Festival in Jin Dynasty, but it is not very common. The custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Jin Dynasty was not very popular in the north.

Mid-Autumn Festival became an officially recognized national festival, about 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 the Tang Dynasty. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. The Mid-Autumn Festival combines fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang's felling of laurel, Jade Rabbit's smashing medicine, Yang Guifei's changing to the moon god, and Tang Dynasty's visit to the moon palace, making it full of romance, 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.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a popular folk festival, and August 15th of the lunar calendar was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Sometimes food is made in literary works, such as "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and stuffing inside". For example, Meng Yuan's "Dream of Tokyo" said: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, you decorate the pavilion at home, and the people compete for the restaurant to play the moon"; And "string full of enthusiasm, close to the residents. At night, it is like a cloud. Children in the room, even the wedding drama at night; As for the night market, as for familiarity. "

By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mid-Autumn Festival had become one of the main folk festivals in China. During the New Year's holiday, Japanese and China are increasingly interested in secularization, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secularized feelings and wishes constitute the main forms of Mid-Autumn Festival customs for ordinary people. In the activities of enjoying the moon in Ming and Qing Dynasties, "the fruit cake must be round", and each family should set up "moonlight position" and "Yue Bai facing the moon".

Lu's "Year of Jinghua" contains: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone has a symbol of the Moon Palace, which symbolizes freedom as a person; Chen melon and fruit are in court, and the cake surface is painted with moon palace toad exemption; Men and women worship incense and burn it. " "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, the cakes were round, the melons were wrongly divided, and the petals were carved with lotus flowers. ..... If a wife goes back to Ning, she will return to her husband's family one day. This is called "Reunion Festival".

Since ancient times, Mid-Autumn Festival has had customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, enjoying osmanthus flowers and drinking osmanthus wine, which have been passed down to this day and last forever. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are fewer clouds and more fog, and the moonlight is bright and bright. In addition to a series of activities such as enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, eating moon cakes and wishing for reunion, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building stupas in some places. Today, eating moon cakes has become an essential custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. In addition to moon cakes, all kinds of seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits are also delicious in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The legend of enjoying the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival:

Hou Yi shot down nine suns, which was respected and loved by the people. Many people with lofty ideals came here to study and study as teachers. The treacherous and cunning Feng Meng also mixed in. Hou Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for a packet of elixir and gave it to Chang 'e for safekeeping.

Feng Meng, the villain of Houyi (it is said that Houyi was later shot dead by this man's arrow), took advantage of Houyi's going out and forced Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e swallowed the elixir without fear, and soon floated off the ground and fell into the moon, becoming a fairy. Hou Yi went home to find his wife, beat his chest and feet, looked up at the bright moon and called Chang 'e's name for a long time.

His call shook the earth, and Chang 'e appeared on the bright moon. Hou Yi hurriedly put on the incense table, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and sacrificed Chang 'e at the Moon Palace. When people heard the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, they also held incense tables at the bottom of the moon to pay homage to Chang 'e.

Later, the moon mother was moved by Iraq's true feelings and allowed Chang 'e to meet Iraq under the laurel tree on a full moon night. Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.

There are many nicknames for Mid-Autumn Festival.

According to China's calendar, August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, that is, the second month of autumn, which is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and August 15th is among them, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".

Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the moon, it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival" and "Moon Festival". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon".