History

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back to more than 2,000 years ago. In feudal times, Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year. They chose the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month to worship the sun and the night of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon.

It was not until the early Tang Dynasty (618-907) that the day was officially celebrated as a traditional festival. It became an established festival during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and has become as popular as the Spring Festival since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Celebrations have continued ever since and more customs for marking this occasion have developed.

The ancient ceremony of worshipping the moon is reproduced in Yuetan Park, Beijing, Sept 21, 2010. Yuetan Park originally was the Temple of Moon, and every year the emperor would go there to offer a sacrifice to the moon. [Photo/IC]