Falling on the 15th day of the 8th month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Mid- Autumn Festival is the second greatest festival in China after the Chinese New Year. It takes its name from the fact that it is always celebrated in the middle of the autumn season. The day is also known as the Moon Festival, as at that time of the year the moon is at its roundest and brightest.
History The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival connected with the full moon. The ancient Chinese discovered that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production. So, to express their thanks to the moon and celebrate the harvest, they offered sacrifices （祭品） to the moon on autumn days. This custom could be traced back to the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, the custom had no festival background at all. Later in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, social prosperity inspired the custom of thanking the moon on the moon sacrifice ceremony day among common people. By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival had already become a widely-celebrated folk festival.
Legend Generally speaking, the festival is to commemorate Chang'e, who flew to the moon.
Customs On that day, family members get together to offer sacrifices to the moon, thank the bright full moon, eat moon cakes and express strong wishes to family members and friends who live far away.
Moon cakes are the special food of the Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in different tastes according to the areas. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family. Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to show that they wish them a long and happy life.
