What are the 9 must-eat foods during the Mid-Autumn Festival? What are the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Contents of this article

1. 9 must-eat foods during the Mid-Autumn Festival

2. What are the customs of Mid-Autumn Festival?

3. Three myths about the Mid-Autumn Festival

9 must-eat foods for Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moonlight Festival, Moon Eve, Moon Worship Festival, Moon Niang Festival, Moon Festival, Reunion Festival, etc., is a traditional Chinese folk festival.

On the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, there are folk customs such as worshiping the moon, appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine. Mid-Autumn Festival is known as one of the four major traditional festivals in China, along with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the ancient autumn moon worship. The original "Moon Worship Festival" was the "Autumnal Equinox" in the 24 solar terms, and was later moved to the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. In some places, it is the 16th day of the eighth lunar month.

What are the customs of Mid-Autumn Festival?

The customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival include walking on the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, begging for the moon, watching the tide, eating moon cakes, burning incense, lighting lanterns, guessing riddles, playing with rabbit gods, playing with lanterns, dancing with fire dragons, listening to incense, stealing moon vegetables, lighting pagoda lanterns, throwing handkerchiefs to invite spouses, stealing melons to pray for children, drinking osmanthus wine, stealing vegetables to ask for a husband, eating snails, and appreciating osmanthus flowers.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Moon-Viewing Tower and the Moon-Playing Bridge were built in Nanjing. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a Moon-Facing Tower at the foot of Lion Rock. Both were popular places for tourists to "walk on the moon". Going out to enjoy the moon on Mid-Autumn Night is called "walking on the moon" by Shanghai people.

Moon worship is a very old custom in my country. It is actually a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the "Moon God". In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn dusk moon", which means worshiping the Moon God.

Eating mooncakes has become an essential custom for the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. People eat mooncakes on this day to show "reunion". Mooncakes, also known as moon cakes, harvest cakes, palace cakes, reunion cakes, etc., were offerings to the moon god during the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival.

Three myths about the Mid-Autumn Festival

Chinese myths and legends show the innocent, simple, sincere and beautiful artistic imagination of the ancient Chinese people about the universe and everything in it, and reflect people's yearning and pursuit for a better life.

Chinese myths are passed down orally among the people. Their magic and magnificence reflect infinite artistic charm.

Chinese mythology has always been the earliest fantasy-form oral literary work of mankind. The ancient "Classic of Mountains and Seas" has many shadows of Chinese mythology. It is the earliest book in the world with written records of mythological stories.