The Mid Autumn Festival, also known as the festival of sacrificing the moon, the moonlight birthday, the moon’s Eve, the autumn festival, the Mid Autumn Festival, the moon worship Festival, the moon mother’s day, the Moon Festival, and the reunion festival, is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Mid Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the moon on the autumn Eve in ancient times. Since ancient times, the Mid Autumn Festival has folk customs such as sacrificing the moon, appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes, watching lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine. It has been handed down to this day and has lasted for a long time.

The Mid Autumn Festival originated in the ancient times, popularized in the Han Dynasty and finalized in the Tang Dynasty. The Mid Autumn Festival is a synthesis of the seasonal customs in autumn. Most of the festival and custom factors it contains have ancient origins. Sacrificing the moon, as one of the important customs of folk festivals, has gradually evolved into activities such as appreciating the moon and eulogizing the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival symbolizes the reunion of people with the full moon. It is a rich, colorful and precious cultural heritage to express the longing for hometown and relatives, and to pray for a bumper harvest and happiness.

At first, the festival of “sacrificing the moon” was on the “autumn equinox” of the 24 solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was adjusted to August 15 of the summer calendar. The Mid Autumn Festival, together with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, is known as one of the four traditional festivals in China. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival of some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese and overseas Chinese. On May 20, 2006, the State Council listed it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Since 2008, the Mid Autumn Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday.