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xinhua news agency, tianjin, september 15 (reporter zhou runjian) "the ground in the courtyard is white, crows are roosting on the trees, and the cold dew silently wets the osmanthus flowers. tonight the moon is bright and everyone is looking up, but i wonder whose house the autumn thoughts fall on." guess which festival this poem is talking about? the answer is: mid-autumn festival.

the author of this poem is wang jian, a poet of the tang dynasty. reading this poem is like a picture of "looking at the moon on mid-autumn festival" on paper, with beautiful artistic conception, rich connotation, infinite charm, and deep thoughts and feelings.

we celebrate the mid-autumn festival every year, but what exactly is "mid-autumn festival"? luo shuwei, a historian and researcher at the tianjin academy of social sciences, said that wu zimu of the song dynasty explained in his "mid-autumn records of dreams" that "mid-autumn festival falls on august 15th, and this day is exactly halfway through the three autumns, so it is called mid-autumn festival." july, august, and september are autumn months, which were called mengqiu, zhongqiu, and jiqiu respectively in the old days, and collectively referred to as "three autumns". august 15th is exactly halfway through the three autumns, so it is called "mid-autumn festival".

the moon is full in the sky, and people are reunited. every mid-autumn festival, the family sits together for dinner, shares mooncakes, and is very happy. when did the mid-autumn festival, a traditional festival of the chinese nation, begin?

luo shuwei believes that the term "mid-autumn" can be traced back to the pre-qin period. the "zhou li" records that "in the mid-autumn festival, offer good furs, and the king will give feathers to his ministers." this means that in the eighth month of the middle autumn, the officials in charge of furs offer good furs to the king, and the king gives bird feathers to his officials. according to the "book of rites", "the emperor worships the sun in the morning in spring and the moon in the evening in autumn." this means that the sun is worshipped in the morning of the middle spring (the second month of the lunar calendar) and the moon is worshipped in the evening of the middle autumn (the eighth month of the lunar calendar).

however, at that time, mid-autumn festival was just a time concept, not a festival. in the wei and jin dynasties, it gradually became a custom to go up to the building and enjoy the moon with wine. it was not until the early tang dynasty that mid-autumn festival began to become an important festival by convention.

in the song dynasty, the mid-autumn festival became a national celebration. fruits were on the market, crabs were freshly caught, and fine wine was opened. people drank and admired the moon, enjoying themselves. roadside shops were open all night, and children played all night.

"for thousands of years, from worshiping the moon to caring about and missing each other, and praying for reunion, the cultural connotation of mid-autumn festival has been continuously enriched, becoming the second largest traditional festival in my country after the spring festival. in 2008, the state council designated mid-autumn festival as a legal holiday, allowing people to have more time to savor mid-autumn festival, promote traditional culture, and pass on excellent folk customs." luo shuwei said.