Mid Autumn Festival History

The word mid autumn first appeared in the famous ancient book zhou li the zhou rituals a book telling the rituals in the.

Mid autumn festival history. It falls on 15th day of 8th lunar month. It is the second most important holiday after the chinese new year with a history dating back 3 000 years when china s emperors worshipped the moon for bountiful harvests. Mid autumn festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the chinese calendar which is in september or early october on the gregorian calendar in. Falling on august 15 of the lunar calendar mid autumn festival began in the early years of the tang dynasty 618 907 but the word mid autumn actually appeared in an ancient book over 3 000 years ago.

Tsukimi mid autumn festival in japan. It was derived from the custom of moon worshiping during the shang dynasty c 1600 1046 bc. Origins and history of china s mid autumn festival. The mid autumn festival is the second most important festival in china after the spring festival chinese new year.

The mid autumn festival celebrations date back more than 2 000 years. Suddenly li longji raised the thoughts of visiting the moon palace so the three men flew up to the moon by clouds and planned to roam in the moon palace. The traditional customs on that day include appreciating the full moon eating tsukimi dango decorating house with pampas grass and. The early form of the mid autumn festival was derived from the custom of moon worship during the zhou dynasty over 3 000 years ago.

In ancient china most emperors worshiped the moon annually. After that it was first celebrated as a national festival during the northern song dynasty 960 1127. According to chinese mid autumn festival legend li longji an emperor of tang dynasty 618 907ad a taoist master and a taoist priest were appreciating the moon in the mid autumn festival. It is called the mid autumn festival because the 15th day is the middle of a month and the eighth lunar month is in the middle of autumn.

Tsukimi or otsukimi is a traditional festival with a long history considered as the mid autumn festival or moon festival in japan. There are quite a few stories associated with the mid autumn festival the most popular are the legend of the goddess of the moon chang e and the rabbit on the moon.