#Earliest origin of midautumn festival full

These mythical tales enrich the festive atmosphere with interesting stories and histories and also adding a weave of mystery behind it.

The Mid-Autumn festival has many rich and ancient legends associated with it. 1368 – 1644) became as popular and important as the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). It gain popularity during the Song dynasty (A. 618 – 907) this tradition became officially stated as a festival. This custom was later adopted by the royalties and scholars and eventually by the commoners too, hence becoming a mass tradition. The history of Mid-Autumn festival in China can be dated back to around 500 BC where the term “Mid-Autumn” was found mentioned in a classic written by Confucius.Īncient Emperors in China followed a custom of praying to the Sun in Summer and to the Moon in Autumn. Like many festivals, the Mid-Autumn festival came to its current traditions through many years of evolution.

The earliest history of the festival is uncertain, but scholars have shown that its celebration already took place during the Tang era that lasted from 618-907 A.D., and increased in popularity during the later imperial period.Following the article on Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival, let us look at the Origins and Legends associated with this Chinese festival. This is one of the early Confucian classics, the core texts that constitute the main canon of classical Confucianism. The term “mid-autumn,” which became the name of the festival, appears in “Zhou li” (周禮), or the Rites of Zhou. In the agricultural society of premodern China, the Mid-Autumn Festival was linked with harvesting season celebrations. To this day, Chinese people continue this tradition, making offerings of mooncakes in commemoration of the goddess as they make wishes or pray for familial unity and harmony. The local people sympathize with him and also start making the same offerings. On his part, Yi makes sacrifices to his departed wife that feature cakes and fruits. She then chooses the moon as her immortal abode, to be close to her beloved husband. She digests the elixir only in order to prevent it from falling in the hands of an evil person. She is described as a model of feminine beauty and elegance. Later versions of the story, still told today, present a more flattering image of the goddess. She then escaped to the moon, where she was condemned to a lonely existence. Metropolitan Museum of ArtĬhang’e is said to have stolen the elixir of immortality from her husband, Yi, the great archer and hero of Chinese mythology. Offerings are made to the moon goddess Chang'e during the Mid-Autumn Festival. These are created by commercial ice cream companies in order to tap into the lucrative mooncake market and cater to contemporary tastes. It is even possible to find ice cream mooncakes. The yellow egg yolk adds another layer of symbolism, as it resembles the round moon in the sky.Īdditionally, there are contemporary flavors such as chocolate, coffee or green tea. There are many regional variations, some of which contain a preserved egg yolk in the middle. Usually, mooncakes come with traditional fillings, such as red bean or white lotus seed paste.

#Earliest origin of midautumn festival full

The roundness of the full moon, in turn, symbolizes wholeness by extension, it conveys a sense of spiritual contentment, coming together and reunion. The round shape of the mooncake is meant to evoke an image of the full moon. The gifting and eating of mooncakes is arguably the most emblematic feature of the festival. Kong Ding Chek/E+ via Getty Images Mooncakes: Tradition and innovation The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time of gathering for families celebrating the holiday. Other festivity highlights include public lantern displays, dance parties, traditional performances and worship of the moon goddess and other deities.īecause of the central theme of family reunion, sometimes the festival evokes comparison to Thanksgiving in the U.S. This is a time for family and friends to gather, watch the full moon and eat mooncakes and other delicacies. These traditional delicacies are readied in anticipation of the festival, observed on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. There is even the option these days of buying these desserts from online retailers such as Amazon. The same is true of Chinese stores around the world. With the arrival of September and hints of cooler temperatures also comes one of most important traditional festivals in the Chinese calendar, the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Zhongqiu jie (中秋節), also known as the Moon Festival.Īt this time of the year, the Chinese store down the road from our home in Gainesville, Florida, is stocked with mooncakes, known in Chinese as yuebing (月餅).