Mid-Autumn Festival Research Paper

THE MEANING OF MOONCAKE FESTIVALS

The Mid-autumn Festival , also known as the Mooncake Festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. It is called the Mid-autumn Festival because the 15th day is the midpoint in a month, and the eighth lunar month is in the middle of autumn. The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest. The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is replaced by celebrating the festival with families and friends. The festival celebrates three fundamental concepts which are closely tied to one another. Like gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. It 's said the moon is the brightest and roundest

The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production. Hence, to express their thanks to the moon and celebrate the harvest, they offered a sacrifice to the moon on autumn days. This custom could be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty (1046 - 256 BC) and was more often practiced by the royal class on the Autumnal Equinox. At that time, the custom had no festival background at all. Later in the Sui (581 - 618 AD) and Tang (618 - 907 AD) dynasties, social prosperity inspired the custom of appreciating the moon on the moon sacrifice ceremony day among common people and the two consolidate. The people expressed their faith more liberally than the royal class and so they did not strictly hold their activities on the Autumnal Equinox. So August 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar, the closest full moon day to the Autumnal Equinox, turned out to be a better choice and was set as a fixed festival. This happened in the Tang Dynasty. By the time of the Northen Song Dynasty (960 - 1127 AD), Mid-Autumn Festival had already become a widely celebrated folk