The names of Mid-Autumn moon cakes

Moon cakes, also known as moon cakes, small cakes, harvest cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are seasonal foods during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as offerings to worship the moon god. Sacrifice to the moon is a very ancient custom in our country. It is actually an activity of worship of the "Moon God" by the ancients. Since its development, eating mooncakes and admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival have become essential customs for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in both the north and the south. Moon cakes symbolize reunion, and people regard them as festive food, using them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends.

Moon cakes have a long history as offerings to worship the moon god. The term mooncake was first recorded in the "Meng Liang Lu" written by Wu Zimu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Mooncakes are integrated with the dietary customs of various places, and Cantonese-style, Shanxi-style, Beijing-style, Soviet-style, Chaozhou-style, Yunnan-style mooncakes have been developed.

Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in our country. Moon cakes are an offering to worship the moon god in the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, and they are also a seasonal food during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes are round and round, and are eaten by the whole family, symbolizing reunion and harmony. In ancient times, moon worship was held every Mid-Autumn Festival night. Set up a large incense table and place mooncakes, fruits and other offerings. Under the moon, the moon statue is placed in the direction of the moon, with red candles burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. Moon cakes have a long history as offerings to worship the moon god. The word "mooncake" was first included in the extant literature in "Meng Liang Lu" written by Wu Zimu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Since then, appreciating the moon and eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival have become essential customs for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in various parts of China. As the saying goes: "August and fifteenth are full, and Mid-Autumn mooncakes are fragrant and sweet."

The word mooncake was first seen in "Meng Liang Lu" by Wu Zimu in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was just a snack food. Later, people gradually combined moon appreciation with moon cakes, which symbolized family reunion and expressed their longing for each other. At the same time, mooncakes are also an important gift used to connect friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon cakes at that time were rhombus-shaped, existing at the same time as chrysanthemum cakes, plum blossom cakes, five-nut cakes, etc., and they were "available at all times, and can be requested at any time without missing a customer." It can be seen that mooncakes at this time are not only eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. As for the origin of the term mooncake, there is no way to verify it. However, Su Dongpo, a famous scholar in the Northern Song Dynasty, left a poem that said, "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and glutinous rice in them." Perhaps this is the origin of the name of moon cakes and the basis for the making of moon cakes.