The Origin and Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the autumn moon in ancient times. At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "Autumn Equinox" of the twenty-four solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar. There are legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, WU GANG, cutting laurel and Jade Rabbit.

In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration originated from ancient people's sacrifice to the moon, which is the legacy and derivative of China people's custom of sacrificing to the moon.

The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon

The myth of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" originated from the ancient people's worship of the stars, and the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon first appeared in "Returning to Tibet". Later, the story was further developed by the people and evolved into several story versions. Chang 'e boarded the moon palace. According to Huainanzi in the Western Han Dynasty, it was because she ate the elixir that her husband Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West, flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad.

Wugang cut laurel

WU GANG boarded the Moon Palace and won the laurel. According to the novel Youyang Miscellany in the Tang Dynasty, it was precisely because of the mistake of cultivating immortals that WU GANG, a man from the Western Regions, was punished for cutting down osmanthus trees in the middle of the month. This osmanthus tree grows with cutting, and it will never stop cutting.

Yu Tu Daoyao

Jade rabbit tinkering with medicine is one of the myths and legends in China. See Dong escape in Han Yuefu. Legend has it that there is a rabbit in the moon, as white as jade, so it is called "Jade Rabbit". This kind of white rabbit holds a jade pestle and kneels down to pound the medicine into toad pills. Taking these pills can make you live forever.