Mid-Autumn Festival, as one of the Chinese traditional festivals, has rich traditional customs, which carry profound cultural connotation and national feelings. The following is a detailed introduction to the traditional customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival:
1、 Appreciating the Moon
Watching the moon is one of the most important traditional customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival. On this day, family members will gather together to appreciate the bright full moon and express their hopes for family reunion and a better life. Appreciating the moon is not only an activity of enjoying beautiful scenery, but also an important way to enhance emotional communication among family members.
2、 Eating mooncakes
Moon cakes are the traditional food of Mid-Autumn Festival, symbolizing reunion and happiness. There are many types of mooncakes with different flavors, but regardless of which type of mooncake, it embodies people’s good wishes for family reunion and a happy life. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will give moon cakes to each other to express family and friendship.
3、 Sacrifice to the Moon
Offering sacrifices to the moon is one of the important ceremonies of the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, and also an important source of Mid-Autumn Festival customs. In ancient times, people would worship the Moon God on the night of Mid Autumn Festival to thank the gods for their protection and pray for a bountiful harvest and happiness in the coming year. Although the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the moon has been gradually simplified, people will still express their respect and gratitude to the moon in various ways during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
4、 Put on lanterns
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people also put out lanterns to celebrate the festival. Lanterns symbolize light and hope, and people place lanterns to pray for blessings and express their beautiful wishes. Meanwhile, setting lanterns is also a fun activity, especially suitable for children to participate in.
5、 Appreciating Osmanthus and Drinking Osmanthus Wine
Mid-Autumn Festival is the season when osmanthus flowers are in full bloom. People will appreciate osmanthus flowers and drink osmanthus wine to add to the festive atmosphere of the festival. The fragrance of osmanthus fills the nose, symbolizing good luck and prosperity; Osmanthus wine, on the other hand, has a unique taste and aroma, and is deeply loved by people.
6、 Other customs
In addition to the above main customs, there are many other customs in Mid-Autumn Festival, such as guessing lantern riddles, dancing fire dragons, tree Mid Autumn Festival, etc. These customs have their own characteristics, which enrich the way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and show the cultural diversity and creativity of the Chinese nation.
To sum up, the traditional customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival are rich and colorful, which not only reflects people’s good wishes for family reunion and happy life, but also shows the profound cultural heritage and national feelings of the Chinese nation. These customs have continuously developed and evolved over thousands of years of inheritance, but have always maintained their unique charm and value.
