Zhongqiu Festival (The Mid-Autumn Festival)
The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It is a traditional festival for watching and admiring the moon, expressing longing for loved ones and praying for harvests.
The Mid-Autumn Festival could date back to people's initial worship of celestial bodies like the moon, and it derived from the custom of worshiping the moon at the autumn equinox (Sept. 22 or 23) in prehistory times. The word Zhongqiu, which literally means "mid-autumn," was already used in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). Historical records show that moon-watching has become an activity for the festival in the Jin Dynasty (265-420). In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the custom prevailed, and people connected the festival with legends like Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting down the osmanthus tree and the jade rabbit mashing herbs. Many poets also left famous lines about the moon. In the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the fifteenth day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar was officially set as the Mid-Au- tumn Festival, and typical food for the festival began to appear. In Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties, people would place round-shaped fruits and pastries as offerings on the Mid-Autumn Day to pay tribute to the moon.
Nowadays, those rituals have gradually turned into grand and various folk activities where people admire the moon and have fun. Eating mooncakes has also become an indispensable part of the festival, as the mooncakes represent family gathering and happiness. In addition, there are customs like admiring osmanthus flowers, drinking osmanthus flower wine, eating crabs and playing tu'er Ye (figurines of the Rabbit God). The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by all Chinese in the world. Influenced by Chinese culture, some countries in East and Southeast Asia also celebrate the festival.
中秋節
農歷八月十五是中國傳統節日中秋節，是賞月頌月、寄托思念、祈盼豐收的傳統佳節。
中秋節源于中國古人對月亮等自然天象的崇拜，由上古時期“秋分祭月”傳統演變而來。漢代已經有“中秋”的說法，晉代出現中秋賞月的記載。到了唐代，中秋賞月風俗日漸興盛，人們把中秋與嫦娥奔月、吳剛伐桂、玉兔搗藥等神話故事結合起來，許多詩人還留下詠月的著名詩句。北宋時期，農歷八月十五被正式定為中秋節，并開始出現中秋節令食品。明清時期，每逢中秋節，人們會在家中擺上圓形果餅作為貢品，向月亮祭拜。如今，祭月拜月活動已演變為規模盛大、多姿多彩的民間賞月游樂活動，吃月餅也已成為中秋節的習俗，被賦予團圓、美滿的象征意義。此外，中秋節還有賞桂花、飲桂花酒、吃螃蟹、玩兔兒爺等習俗。中秋節是全世界華人華僑共同的節日。受中華文化影響，東亞和東南亞一些國家也形成了過中秋節的習俗。
