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In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival is
one of the most important traditional annual culture events. In Chinese
calendar, people have the festival at the full moon night of the 15th day of
the 8th lunar month, the middle of harvest autumn season. It is also a traditional
time in China
for family reunion. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the Chinese “Thanksgiving”. Likewise, it is also known
as a full moon festival. The shape of the full moon of that night is a symbol
of harmony, completeness, and integrity.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a
traditional festivity for both Han and minorities in China. The
custom of worshipping the moon (called “xi yue” in Chinese) can be traced back to the ancient Xia and
Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221
B.C.), people started to have a regular Mid-Autumn Festival to say good bye
to the fall season and prepare for winter. It became very prevalent in the
Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.).
In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), people sent round moon cakes to their
relatives as gifts in their expression of best wishes of family reunion.
Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D.
) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.),
the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has become unprecedented
popular.
As part of Chinese culture, the
Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a time for celebrating the harvest of the
year, for families getting together, but also a time to appreciate the beauty
and peace of a full bright moon, the art of the universe
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