What is the origin 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.

The autumnal equinox season is an ancient "Moon Festival", while the Mid-Autumn Festival is derived from the traditional "Moon Festival". In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient people's sacrifice to the moon, which is the legacy and derivative of China people's custom of offering sacrifices to the moon.

Sacrificing to the moon is a very old custom in China. In fact, it is a ritual activity of the ancients in some places in ancient China to "Moon God". At first, the festival of offering sacrifices to the moon was the "Autumn Equinox" in the 24th solar term of Ganzi Festival. However, because the days of August in the summer calendar are different every year, there may not be a full moon. Later, the festival of offering sacrifices to the moon was moved from the "autumnal equinox" to the 15th day of August in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). The Mid-Autumn Festival has had folk customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon and enjoying it since ancient times, and it has been passed down to this day for a long time.

Extended data:

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that this night the moon is closest to the earth, and the moon is the largest, roundest 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.

According to written records, the folk Mid-Autumn Festival started in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it did not become a custom. 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.

Chasing the moon is also a custom of Mid-Autumn Festival. The so-called "chasing the moon" means that after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the excitement is not over yet. So the next night, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to enjoy the moon and named it "Chasing the Moon". According to the preface of A Qing Chen Zihou's Lingnan Miscellaneous Notes: "Good people in central Guangdong gather in Izayoi in August, waiting for wine and food to enjoy the moon, which is called chasing the moon."