In ancient times, Chinese people had the custom of worshipping the Moon God at nightfall in autumn. When it came to the Zhou Dynasty, events were held every year on the night of the Mid-Autumn Day to meet the cool air and worship the moon. 

Photo: Sipa

There are a lot of customs in various forms during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they are all about people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life. On the event, an incense table was arranged with sacrificial offerings including mooncakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, and grapes, among which the mooncake and the watermelon were essential. The watermelon should be shaped as a lotus. The portrait of the Moon God was placed facing the moon and red candles were lit up. The family members worshipped the moon in turn, and then the hostess cut the mooncake as a symbol of reunion. She should cut the mooncake into pieces of same size for all the family members, including those at home and outside. 　

There are two major customs in the Mid-Autumn Festival

Admiring the full moon/Photo: Tuchong

1. Admiring the full moon

China has a custom of admiring the full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival since ancient times. There was the custom of worshipping the Moon God at nightfall in autumn, according to the Book of Rites. When it came to the Zhou Dynasty, events were held every year on the night of the Mid-Autumn Day to welcome the cool air and worship the moon. 

Worship the moon/Photo: Tuchong

On the event, an incense table was arranged offering mooncakes, watermelons, apples, plums, grapes and other seasonal fruits, among which the mooncake and the watermelon were essential. The watermelon should be shaped as a lotus. Admiring the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival became quite popular in the Tang Dynasty. And it was even more prevailing in the Song Dynasty. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom retained, and many places established other special customs such as burning tower-shaped incense, hanging lanterns, lighting up tower lights, flying sky lanterns, walking under the moonlight, and performing fire dragon dance.

2. Eating mooncakes

Mooncakes/Photo: Tuchong

China has a custom of eating mooncakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The mooncake was originally used to worship the Moon God. The word "mooncake" was first seen in Meng Liang Lu by Wu Zimu in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was just a pie-shaped food. Later, people started to eat mooncakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival, as a symbol of family reunion. There have been workshops for making mooncakes since modern times. Since then, mooncakes have been more and more exquisite with high quality fillings, elegant shapes and various beautiful printings, such as "Chang'e flying to the moon", "the milky way and the night moon", and "three pools mirroring the moon". The full moon represents the reunion of people, and the round cake symbolizes a long life. People have blended in mooncakes their nostalgia, feelings for families, and yearning for harvests and happiness.