the mid-autumn festival, also known as the moon festival, moonlight birthday, moon eve, autumn festival, mid-autumn festival, moon worship festival, moon mother festival, moon festival, reunion festival, etc., is a traditional chinese folk festival. the mid-autumn festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the autumn eve to worship the moon in ancient times. at first, the "moon festival" was held on the "autumn equinox" day of the twenty-fourth solar term in the ganzhi calendar. later, it was adjusted to the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). in some places, the mid-autumn festival was set on the sixteenth day of the eighth month in the summer calendar. since ancient times, the mid-autumn festival has had folk customs such as worshiping the moon, admiring the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, admiring osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine.
the mid-autumn festival originated in ancient times, was popularized in the han dynasty, was finalized in the early tang dynasty, and became popular after the song dynasty. the mid-autumn festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, and most of the festival elements contained in it have ancient origins. the mid-autumn festival takes the circle of the moon as a sign of people's reunion, as a sustenance to miss the hometown, miss the love of relatives, pray for a good harvest and happiness, and become a rich and precious cultural heritage.
excerpted from baidu encyclopedia - mid-autumn festival.
