Where does the custom of appreciating and worshipping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival come from? Does Chang'e have anything to do with Mid-Autumn Festival?

Where does the custom of appreciating and worshipping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival come from? Does Chang'e have anything to do with Mid-Autumn Festival?
For many people, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for family reunion. Not only does it involve a family reunion, but everyone also gets to taste Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies together. Mooncakes are of course a must, and there are also sweet-scented osmanthus, hairy crabs, etc., which also make people stop and take a look. Like traditional festivals, the Mid-Autumn Festival also has some mythological colors and unique customs. Since the moon is the protagonist, Chang'e is often brought in. So, is there any connection between Mid-Autumn Festival and Chang'e? Why do we admire and worship the moon? The eighth month of the lunar calendar is also known as Guiyue, Zhuangyue, Zhongqiu, Nangong, and Zhongshang. Let’s learn with Shuimoxiansheng.com what we need to pay attention to in this special eighth month of the lunar calendar in 2020!

Mid-Autumn Festival Customs

The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Eighth Month Festival, the Daughters' Festival, etc. The Mid-Autumn Festival has an inseparable relationship with the moon. The full moon represents reunion. It would be best if you can gather with your family. If that is not possible, people will hope that the moon can convey their thoughts to their family members, which is what is meant by "May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together even though we are thousands miles apart."
There are many special customs during the Mid-Autumn Festival, all of which revolve around the moon, such as: appreciating the moon, worshiping the moon, there are also some special festival foods, eating moon cakes, drinking osmanthus wine and so on. In addition, there are some special group activities during the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as watching the tide, guessing lantern riddles, lighting lanterns, etc. Among them, the scale of lighting lanterns is very large, second only to the Lantern Festival. Everyone can imagine the lively atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient times.

Moon-watching and moon-worshipping

In fact, appreciating and worshipping the moon is not exclusive to the Mid-Autumn Festival. In ancient times, people always had a deep worship for the sun, moon and stars in the sky and deified them in their hearts. Since they became "gods", naturally people would worship and watch them. The way of appreciating and worshipping the moon has gradually evolved from random kneeling and admiring in the beginning to a fixed place and method, which has a procedural system and is given the symbol of imperial power. That is to say, for a period of time, appreciating and worshipping the moon was a ritual activity within the royal family, and it was only later that it changed.
The change lies in the timing of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival was formed in the early Tang Dynasty, and then gradually developed, and later became one of the traditional festivals as famous as the most important Spring Festival. The custom of appreciating the moon and worshiping the moon also began to become popular among the people in the early Tang Dynasty and was no longer limited to the royal family. During the Song Dynasty, when the Mid-Autumn Festival was popular, moon-watching and moon-worshipping were deeply loved. Boys prayed for fame and fame, while girls prayed for beauty. These were all forms of worship that carried good wishes.

The relationship between Chang'e and Mid-Autumn Festival

As to whether the Mid-Autumn Festival has any connection with Chang'e, there are indeed many different opinions. After all, in ancient mythology, Chang'e lived in the Moon Palace, and worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival inevitably links her with the festival.
When was Chang'e born? According to legend, Chang'e was the daughter of Emperor Ku, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient times. In other words, Chang'e was an ancient deity, and the Mid-Autumn Festival only emerged in the Tang Dynasty, with a gap of thousands of years in between. Theoretically, Chang'e should have nothing to do with the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, as the spokesperson of the Moon Palace, people have long been accustomed to associating Chang'e with the moon.

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