The Full Moon And The Mid-Autumn Festival 2022
Oct 10, 2022
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is celebrated by millions of people on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, the day falls on September 10.
The Mid-autumn festival is not just about family reunions. It's also about the joy of harvesting, romance and the harmony between humans and nature.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of seasonal customs in autumn, and most of the festival elements it contains have ancient origins. An essential part of the festival celebration is moon worshipping. In ancient agrarian societies, people believed that the moon's operation was closely related to agricultural production and seasonal changes, so the Moon Festival became a critical ritual activity.
Since ancient times, there have been many legends about the moon in China. For the Chinese, the moon is symbolized as being holy, pure and noble. Over tens of thousands of poems describing the moon have been recorded.
There are many interesting stories explaining the origin of the festival. The story of Chang'e and Hou Yi is the most widely accepted. Long ago there was a beautiful lady, Chang'e, whose husband was a brave archer, Hou Yi. But one day she drank a bottle of elixir that made her immortal to honor her husband's instructions to keep it safe. Then she was separated from her beloved husband, floating up into the sky, and finally landing on the moon, where she lives to this day.
In modern times the festival has evolved to the point where eating mooncakes has become a custom throughout China. Folk customs feature a series of festive activities such as moon viewing with families, guessing lantern riddles, carrying brightly lit lanterns, performing dragon and lion dances and more.
CMG's Mid-Autumn Festival Gala
Presented by China Media Group (CMG), the annual gala, also known as Qiuwan in Chinese, began at 8 p.m. Beijing Time on September 10 and lasted over two hours, presenting a creative and excellent extravaganza to audiences from all over the world.
