On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight is bright. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion, so August 15 was also called "Reunion Festival". Throughout the ages, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows", and vagrants living in other places also rely on the moon to express their affection. Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote poems such as "Looking up, it's moonlight, then leaning back, suddenly thinking about hometown", "Knowing that the dew is frost tonight, the moonlight at home is bright!" Du Fu's "Spring Breeze is Green in Jiang Nanan" and Wang Anshi's "When Will the Moon Shine on Me" in the Song Dynasty are all timeless masterpieces.

Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the three traditional festivals in China. Investigating the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to myths and legends such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "Wu Gang cutting Guangxi" and "Jade Rabbit smashing medicine". Therefore, the folk customs of Mid-Autumn Festival are mostly related to the moon. Watching the moon, Yue Bai and eating reunion moon cakes all originated from this. Ancient emperors had a social system of offering sacrifices to the moon in spring, and folks also had the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, it was more important to enjoy the moon than to sacrifice it, and serious sacrifice turned into light entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai's court and folk activities to enjoy the moon were even larger. So far, there are many historical sites in China, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower. The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was used for royal sacrifice to the moon. Whenever the moon rises in the Mid-Autumn Festival, a box is set up in the open air, with moon cakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits on the console table. After Yue Bai, the family sat around the dining table, chatting while eating and enjoying the bright moon. Now, the activities of offering sacrifices to the moon in Yue Bai have been replaced by large-scale and colorful activities of enjoying the moon by the masses.

Stories and legends about Mid-Autumn Festival:

The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon

? According to legend, Chang 'e stole the elixir of the Queen Mother of the West and flew to the moon. However, Qiong Yu is too high to be cold, and the so-called "Chang 'e should regret stealing the elixir, and the blue sky and the dark night heart" is a portrayal of her loneliness. Later, Chang 'e confided her remorse to her husband and said, "Tomorrow is the night of the full moon. You make pills out of flour, round like a full moon, put them in the northwest of the house, and then keep calling my name. At midnight, I can go home. " The next day, I did as my wife said. At this time, Chang 'e really flew in from the middle of the month, and the husband and wife were reunited. The custom of making moon cakes for Chang 'e in the Mid-Autumn Festival is also formed.

* * * Enjoy the moon and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.