Full Moon Mid Autumn Festival: A Reunion Covenant Carrying Millennium Culture
Release Time: 2025-09-29
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The annual Mid-Autumn Festival comes slowly with the moonlight when the light shines all over the world and the osmanthus fragrance lingers in the streets. As a traditional festival of the Chinese nation second only to the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a warm moment for family reunion, but also an important carrier carrying thousands of years of history and cultural wisdom. Every custom and legend tells the Chinese people's deep yearning for "reunion" and "perfection".
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival can be traced back to the ritual of "sacrificing the moon" in the pre Qin period. The ancients worshipped the moon, believing that it could control tides and nourish all things. During the autumnal equinox, emperors would lead officials to offer sacrifices under the moon, praying for good weather and peace for the country and the people. In the Han Dynasty, the custom of sacrificing the moon gradually spread to the people, and the word "Mid Autumn Festival" was first seen in the Zhouli. Until the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was officially designated as a fixed festival, and the custom of appreciating the moon and tasting moon cakes began to prevail. The Song Dynasty even pushed the Mid Autumn Festival culture to its peak, and literati and poets used the moon as a medium to create poetry. Su Shi's "May people live long and share beauty for thousands of miles" is still the most touching emotional expression of the Mid Autumn Festival to this day.
In the long historical evolution, the Mid-Autumn Festival has formed many unique traditional customs, of which "appreciating the moon" and "sacrificing the moon" are the most representative. Every Mid Autumn Festival night, every household will place a table in the courtyard, displaying mooncakes, pomegranates, apples and other offerings symbolizing "perfection". The whole family will burn incense and offer sacrifices to the bright moon, expressing their wishes. This ceremony not only embodies reverence for nature, but also carries the hope for family safety and a happy life. Nowadays, the ritual of worshiping the moon may have been simplified, but the artistic conception of "looking up at the bright moon" still exists. People will sit under the moon with their families, chat about daily life and discuss the future, making the moonlight a bond of emotions.
"Food is the most important thing for the people", and the food culture of Mid-Autumn Festival is also full of attention, and moon cakes are well deserved as the "season heroes". There is an interesting story about the origin of mooncakes, such as "Yang Guifei bestows a name", and there is also a legend of "secret messages transmitted during the uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty". The original mooncakes were round, symbolizing "reunion", with sweet fillings such as bean paste and lotus seed paste. Nowadays, with the integration of regional cultures, the types of mooncakes have become increasingly diverse - Cantonese mooncakes have thin skin and ample filling, Su style mooncakes are crispy and sweet, and Yunnan style mooncakes have a unique cloud leg flavor. In addition to mooncakes, osmanthus wine and crabs are also regulars on the Mid Autumn Festival dining table. During the season of "August osmanthus fragrance", drinking a cup of fragrant osmanthus wine and tasting a mouthful of plump crabs have long become the taste of Mid Autumn Festival engraved in the memory of Chinese people.
The cultural charm of Mid-Autumn Festival lies in its emotional resonance across time and space. Whether it's the homesickness of "looking up at the bright moon and bowing down to think of hometown" or the concern of "looking at the moon tonight, I don't know whose home autumn thoughts will fall on", the moon has always been a source of emotional support for Chinese people. Nowadays, even in different places, people still use video calls to enjoy the moon with their families or send a box of mooncakes to convey their longing, giving the meaning of reunion a richer expression in the new era.
From the ceremony of sacrificing the moon in the pre-qin dynasty to the lights of thousands of families today, Mid-Autumn Festival is no longer a simple festival, but the inheritance of the Chinese nation's cultural genes and the embodiment of the values of "reunion" and "harmony". When the moonlight shines on the earth again, may we all feel the charm of traditional culture in this gentle moonlight, cherish the time spent with our families, and make the cultural heritage of Mid Autumn Festival more profound from generation to generation.
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