What is the origin and legend of Mid-Autumn Festival?

There are many ancient legends about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, among which "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" is the most popular. Legend has it that Chang 'e's husband Hou Yi was a hero who saved people's lives. They want to live forever and love each other forever. So Hou Yi went through all kinds of hardships and asked Tianhou for the elixir of life. After Hou Yi's apprentice knew about it, on August 15, while Hou Yi was not at home, he threatened Chang 'e to hand over the fairy medicine. Chang 'e was forced to swallow the fairy medicine in one gulp. As a result, she was as light as smoke and flew into the sky. From then on, she became a fairy who lived in the Moon Palace for a long time, separated from Houyi. When Hou Yi came home to learn about this incident, he was very sad, so he offered melon and fruit food in the hospital and pinned his thoughts on Chang 'e. The villagers respected the feelings of Hou Yi and Chang 'e and followed Yue Bai's example.

In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon in ancient China. According to China's ancient books, as early as 2,000 years ago, ancient emperors had a ceremony of Yue Bai in spring to pray for a bumper harvest. The ancients believed that if there was no moon to give dew and no moon to calculate the farming season, there would be no bumper harvest. The famous architectural altar in Beijing was the place where the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644) offered a royal sacrifice to the moon.

The Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century to the activities of enjoying the moon. Legend has it that Tang was a versatile and charismatic emperor, and he enjoyed watching the moon very much. One year on August 15th, Tang looked at the bright moon and had a whim to travel to the moon. He came to the moon by magic. In front of a palace with the words "Guanghan Palace", a group of fairies danced with beautiful music, and Tang was fascinated. After returning to earth, he composed the music he heard in the Moon Palace into colorful feather clothes, which became a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation. Once such an elegant story spread, people followed suit and gathered together at the full moon to enjoy the beautiful scenery on earth. Over time, the serious sacrifice turned into a light moon festival.

Because autumn is the harvest season for farmers, the Mid-Autumn Festival is actually the "Autumn Harvest Festival" for farmers, who drink and dance on this day to celebrate the harvest with joy. Princes, nobles and scholars all regard Mid-Autumn Festival as a romantic festival. They entertain and dance, oppose poetry, and express their feelings through the bright moon. Whether rich or powerful, or ordinary people, enjoying the moon is a pleasure. Many historical sites, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower, are still all over China, which is proof of this.

The Mid-Autumn Festival left a deep impression on China people. China people regard the full moon as a symbol of reunion, while China people pay attention to family reunion and pray for happiness. Therefore, people also call Mid-Autumn Festival "Reunion Festival". On this day, the main activity of the whole family to enjoy the moon is to eat moon cakes. Moon cake is a round cake, like a full moon, symbolizing reunion. Sugar, sesame, osmanthus, peanuts, bean paste, etc. Wrapped in a cake, delicate patterns such as the moon and Chang 'e are pressed outside the cake or printed with the words "Guanghan Palace" to represent the bright moon. The elders in the family divide the mooncakes into pieces according to the number of people, one for each person, and one for someone who is not at home, indicating family reunion.