What day is Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021? The significance of Mid-Autumn Festival

What day is Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021? The significance of Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival. So what day is Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021? What is the significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival? Let’s take a look at the following content!

What day is Mid-Autumn Festival in 2021?

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar every year. The specific date in 2021 is Tuesday, September 21st. At this time, the autumnal equinox is approaching and the weather is gradually becoming cooler.
In the Chinese lunar calendar, the year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong, and Ji. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Zhongqiu. The moon on August 15th is rounder and brighter than the full moons in other months, so it is also called "Moon Eve" and "August Festival". On this night, people look up at the bright moon in the sky, and naturally look forward to family reunions. Those who are far away from home also use this to express their longing for their hometown and loved ones. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the "Family Reunion Festival."

The significance of Mid-Autumn Festival

It symbolizes the longing for relatives and hometown.
The last sentence of Su Shi's "Water Melody" reads: "I wish you a long life, so that we can enjoy the moon together even though we are thousands miles apart." This deeply expresses Su Shi's longing for his distant relatives and his hope that they can be safe and enjoy the moon with him. There are also the last two lines of "Quiet Night Thoughts" written by the famous poet: "I look up at the bright moon and I look down and think of my hometown." These have profound meanings, indicating that August 15 should be a day for family reunion. Because the moon on August 15th is round and full, it symbolizes the happiness of the family.
Through the continuous development of history, the Mid-Autumn Festival has various multiple meanings, which have been deeply engraved in our national culture. Nowadays, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family will sit together to watch the moon, eat moon cakes together, and chat about things happening at home. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the atmosphere at home will be harmonious.

Mid-Autumn Festival Aliases:

According to the Chinese calendar, the eighth month of the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn and is the second month of autumn, called "Mid-Autumn". The fifteenth day of the eighth month is in the middle of "Mid-Autumn", so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".
The Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: In ancient times, there was an activity of worshiping the moon on the autumnal equinox, so it was called "Moon Eve" or "Moon Festival". Because the festival falls on August 15th, it is called the "August Festival" or "Mid-August"; because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival revolve around the "moon", it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival"; the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival is full, symbolizing reunion, so it is also called the "Reunion Festival." The moon is full during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and families get together and married daughters return home for reunions, so it is also called the "Reunion Festival" and the "Daughter's Day". In the Cantonese area, the Mid-Autumn Festival is commonly known as the "Moonlight Festival". In mid-autumn, various fruits and vegetables ripen and are available on the market, so it is called the "Fruit Festival". The Dong people call it the "Pumpkin Festival", the Mulao people call it the "Young Man's Festival", etc.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the "Duan Zheng Yue". The earliest record of the "Reunion Festival" can be found in literary works of the Ming Dynasty. The Xihu Youlan Zhiyu says: "The 15th day of the eighth month is called Mid-Autumn Festival. People give each other mooncakes to symbolize reunion." The Imperial Capital Scenery also says: "On the 15th day of the eighth month, people worship the moon. The mooncakes must be round, the melons must be cut in an ivory pattern, and the petals must be carved like lotus flowers. ... If a wife has returned to her parents' home, she must return to her husband's house on this day. It is called the Reunion Festival."

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