Customs of the Moon Festival
Different customs have evolved in different areas regarding the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most significant customs are to appreciate and offer sacrifice to the round bright moon and eat moon cake. Other activities like dragon dancing and doing obeisance to the moon are also considered highly important. Mooncake festival is a great event and this event have a lot of history and legend.
Appreciating and Offering Sacrifice to the Moonlight
Since ancient times, Chinese emperors offered sacrifices to the sun in the spring and the moon in autumn. Especially in the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC – 221 BC), the big incense burn table was arranged and all kinds of food were offered in sacrifice that day.
However, appreciating the moon became more popular in the Tang (618 – 907) and Song Dynasties (960 – 1279). Many famous poems for praising the moon on the night of the festival were created during those periods. In the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), the Moon Altar was built for the purpose of sacrifice to the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Today, sacrifice has been replaced by a simple appreciation of the moon. Members of a family usually sit around a table eating and talking to their heart content and at the same time admiring the bright moon. While looking up the moon, people will think of their relatives afar and good wishes are expressed in their mind.
Source: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/mid-autumn.htm
