Why do you provide moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival?

As complete as the moon means family reunion!

According to legend, in ancient China, the emperor had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is also a custom about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the Mid-Autumn moon cake is sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn night.

At first, moon cakes were used to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and mooncakes gradually became holiday gifts.

Etiquette of sending moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival

The etiquette of sending moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival is very particular, which is usually given to elders by younger generations. The newly-married son-in-law should give at least four kinds of gifts (steamed stuffed buns, moon cakes, cigarettes, wine, etc.). ) When you go to your husband's family, your husband's family will entertain your son-in-law, and arrange a banquet according to his family's situation, which is as decent as a wedding or a happy event. Gifts from other relatives and friends depend on the relationship between relatives and friends and the family situation, but there must be moon cakes, which are unique gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

On Mid-Autumn Festival, it is common for mothers to give gifts to their daughters. In Xin 'an, Henan Province, my mother's family took jujube cakes (stacked with several layers of flour, with the big ones at the bottom and the small ones with dates inside), moon cakes, pears, persimmons and pomegranates to see their daughters, which were called "sending cakes". In Tai 'an, Shandong Province, there is also the custom of visiting my daughter on August 15th. Before the festival, every household bought moon cakes, carp and other gifts, shouldered burdens, rode donkeys and took buses to visit their married daughters.

Some places want to give gifts to grandchildren and nephews. In Mount Fuji, Fujian, all grandparents will give their nephews and grandchildren Mid-Autumn Festival cakes and carp cakes. In Gaoyou, Jiangsu, grandma will make a pagoda for her grandson on the Mid-Autumn Festival until he is ten years old. In Fuding, Fujian, every Mid-Autumn Festival, my uncle will send Mid-Autumn Festival cakes and grapefruit to my nephew, and some nephews will send several copies until my nephew 16 years old.