In ancient China, there was a custom of offering sacrifices to the moon a long time ago. According to Zhou Li, in the Zhou Dynasty, there were activities such as "welcoming the cold in the mid-autumn night" and "Yue Bai in the autumn equinox". The mid-August of the lunar calendar is also the time for the harvest of autumn grain. People hold a series of ceremonies and celebrations to thank the gods for their protection. This is the so-called "Autumn Newspaper". Mid-Autumn Festival, the temperature is cool but not cold, the sky is crisp, and the moon is in the sky, which is the best season to enjoy the moon. As a result, the composition of the festival was gradually replaced by enjoying the moon, and the color of the sacrifice gradually faded, but the festival continued and was given new significance.
During the evolution of Mid-Autumn Festival, ancient etiquette and customs combined many factors such as myths and legends in China traditional culture, and finally formed an important festival with rich connotations. Among them, the most famous is a series of myths surrounding the Moon Palace, such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang's felling of Guangxi, and Tang's visit to the Moon Palace. These endow the Moon Palace with a mysterious and gorgeous aura like colorful neon, which makes it full of romance. The custom of enjoying the moon and feasting in the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Tang Dynasty has always been quite popular. From the numerous poems describing the Mid-Autumn Festival handed down, we can see that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon and other myths are all related to the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival may have become a fixed festival. However, at that time, the Mid-Autumn Festival seemed to be mainly about enjoying and playing with the moon, but it was not widely popular among the people.
The formal formation of the Mid-Autumn Festival, especially its popularity among the people, should be in the Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15th was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival, and seasonal foods such as "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispy glutinous rice inside" appeared, and festivals such as enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes, enjoying the moon and watching the tide became common. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival was as famous as New Year's Day and became the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, every family should set up a "moonlight position" to prepare melon and fruit moon cakes, which must be round and cut into lotus-shaped teeth. Moonlight paper is on sale in the market, with designs such as Moon God and Jade Rabbit painted on it. After the festival, burn paper and distribute fruitcakes to every family member. Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for family reunion. People give moon cakes to each other to express their good wishes, and many families hold banquets to enjoy the moon, which is a grand occasion of the festival.
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival has played an increasingly important role in people's lives, not only in all parts of the country, but also among many ethnic minorities in China and Southeast Asia. On the basis of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes, various festivals such as "selling male prostitutes", "planting Mid-Autumn Festival", "dragon dancing" and "walking on the moon" have gradually developed in various places, making the Mid-Autumn Festival, as a traditional festival in China, more culturally attractive.