Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "correcting the moon". The record of "Reunion Festival" was first seen in the literary works of the Ming Dynasty. Travel Notes on the West Lake says: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to show their reunion."
"Brief Introduction to the Scenery of Dijing" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, cakes were round, melons were deformed, and lotus flowers were carved in petals. ..... Those who have a wife who returns to Ning will return to her husband's family one day, also known as the Reunion Festival. "
At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "Autumn Equinox" of the twenty-four solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). According to China's calendar, August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, that is, the second month of autumn, which is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and August 15th is among them, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".
Knowledge expansion:
The word Mid-Autumn Festival was first seen in Shimonoseki, Zhou Li: "Mid-Autumn Festival, teach soldiers." Now some people write "Mid-Autumn Festival", strictly speaking, it should be "Mid-Autumn Festival". Because the concept of time represented by Mid-Autumn Festival is a whole month in autumn.
The integration of ancient and modern books records the whole August of the lunar calendar with "Mid-Autumn Festival" and the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th with "Mid-Autumn Festival". In this regard, in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Ju quoted Ouyang Zhan, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, as a preface: "When autumn is here, then Xia Dong; August is in autumn, and the season begins and ends in Meng.
The fifteenth day is at night and in the middle of the month. If you are in heaven, you will be hot and cold; Take the number of months, the toad and rabbit are round, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that this day is in Sanqiu. It is also called the moon and night. "
Mid-Autumn Festival is the confluence of many customs and events, such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Autumn Festival, Moon Appreciation and Moon Palace Legend. It originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty and finally settled in the Tang Dynasty.
The evening moon is the autumnal equinox when the ancient emperors offered sacrifices to the moon. "Li Zhouguan Chunzong Bo Dian Rui" Zheng Xuan notes: "The son of heaven always scores spring morning sun and late autumn sun." Pei Zhi's Biography of Historical Records of Xiaowu quoted Ying Shao as saying: "The son of heaven worships the sun outside the East Gate in spring and Yue Bai in autumn. The Asahi is facing the DPRK, and the evening is in the evening. " Now the Moon Altar in Beijing, formerly known as the Moon Altar, is the place where the Ming and Qing emperors sacrificed the moon at the autumnal equinox.