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The Mid-Autumn Festival, as one of the four traditional festivals China, carries the cultural memory and emotional attachment of the Chinese nation.

The Origin and Customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon W Festival, Moonlit Festival, Moon Night, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Moon Mother Festival, Moon Festival, and Reunion Festival, is traditional folk festival in China. The origin and customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival are rich and diverse, carrying profound cultural connotations and ethnic emotions.

The Origin the Mid-Autumn Festival
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival can be traced back to the ancient emperors' moon worship activities. According to historical records, ancient emperors' moon worship festival was on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, which happened to be the middle of the three autumn seasons, hence the name MidAutumn Festival. Also, because this festival falls in the eighth month of autumn, it is also known as the Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Meeting, and Mid-Aut Festival. Moreover, there are beliefs and related custom activities for seeking reunion, hence it is also called the Reunion Festival and Daughter's Festival. The Mid-Autumn began in the early Tang Dynasty, prevailed in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the major in China, on a par with the New Year's Day. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival in some Southeast Asian Northeast Asian countries, especially for the overseas Chinese living in these regions.

Traditional Customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The traditional customs of the Mid-Autumn are rich and colorful, mainly including the following:

Worshipping the Moon, Appreciating the Moon, and Worshipping the Moon
The Book ofites has a record of offering sacrifices to the moon in the late autumn evening, which means worshipping the moon god. At this time, people have to hold the ceremony of greeting cold and offering sacrifices to the moon, setting up an incense table. During the Zhou Dynasty, the ceremony of greeting the cold and offering sacrifices to the moon was held Mid-Autumn Night. A large incense table was set up, and the offerings included mooncakes, watermelons, apples, dates, plums, and. Among them, mooncakes and watermelons were absolutely indispensable. Watermelons also had to be cut into the shape of lotus. The hostess of family cut the reunion mooncake. The person who cuts it calculates in advance how many people there are in the family, whether at home or away, and must not cut more or. The size must be the same.

Eating Mooncakes
The word mooncake originated from Wu Zhimu's Dream Lin Record in the Southern Song D. At that time, it was just a kind of pastry food. Later, people gradually combined moon appreciation with mooncakes, implying family reunion and expressing yearning. At the time, mooncakes are also important gifts for friends to contact each other's feelings during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Playing lanterns, guessing lantern riddles The custom of playing lanterns on the Mid-Autumn Festival is more prevalent in south. For example, at the Mid-Autumn Festival in Foshan, there are all kinds of colorful lanterns: sesame lanterns, eggshell lanns, shavings lanterns, straw lanterns, fish scale lanterns, grain husk lanterns, melon seed lanterns and bird and flower tree lanterns, etc. In addition, there is also the custom of guessing lantern riddles on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Because it is an activity most young men and women like, and at the same time, love stories are spread through these activities, so guessing lantern riddles on the Mid-Autumn Festival has derived a form of love between men and women.

Local customs
Different regions also have their unique customs for the Mid-Autumn Festival. For example, in the Chaoshan region, are customs such as eating taro, eating pomelos, and eating water chestnuts. In addition, there are also customs such as "predicting winter mushrooms," "azing at the moon," "picking eggplants," "chasing the moon," and "sending the autumn official" in the Chaoshan region. These customs make the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Chaoshan region unique and distinctive.

Conclusion
The Mid-Autumn Festival, as one of the four traditional festivals China, carries the cultural memory and emotional attachment of the Chinese nation. From worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, and praying to the moon to eating mooncakes,ating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine, and then to playing with lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, and watching the tide, these traditional not only enrich the cultural connotation of the Mid-Autumn Festival but also enhance the cohesion and centripetal force of the nation. With the development of the times, way of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival is also constantly innovating, but its core of reunion and nostalgia remains unchanged.