中秋节是汉字文化圈的重要传统节日，为每年的农历八月十五，约在公历的9月至10月初。按照农历，八月为秋季的第二个月，在中国古代称为仲秋，因此民间称为中秋，是汉族四大传统节日之一。
中秋节始于唐朝初年，盛行于宋朝，至明清时鼎盛，已成为与春节齐名的中国传统节日之一。受中华文化的影响，中秋节也是东亚和东南亚一些国家尤其是当地的华人华侨的传统节日。
The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important traditional festival in the Chinese character cultural circle. It is the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar every year, from September to the beginning of October in the Gregorian calendar. According to the lunar calendar, August is the second month of autumn. It was called Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient China. Therefore, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival by the people and is one of the four traditional festivals of the Han people.
The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, prevailed in the Song Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has become one of the traditional Chinese festivals as famous as the Spring Festival. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese and overseas Chinese.
中秋节是上古天象崇拜——敬月习俗的遗痕。在二十四节气“秋分”时节，是古老的“祭月节”，中秋节则是由传统的“祭月”而来。在传统文化中，月亮和太阳一样，这两个交替出现的天体成了先民崇拜的对象。中秋节庆源自古人对月亮的祭祀，是中华民族祭月习俗的遗存和衍生。祭月，在中国是一种十分古老的习俗，实际上是古时代中国一些地方古人对“月神”的一种崇拜活动。据考证，最初“祭月节”是定在干支历二十四节气“秋分”这天，不过由于历史发展，后来历法融合，使用阴历（夏历），所以将“祭月节”由干支历二十四节气“秋分”调至夏历（农历）八月十五。中秋节是秋季时令习俗的综合，其所包含的节俗因素，大都有古老的渊源。
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a trace of the ancient celestial phenomenon worship-the custom of respecting the moon. In the “autumn equinox” season of the twenty-four solar terms, it is the ancient “Moon Festival”, while the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional “Moon Festival”. In traditional culture, the moon is the same as the sun, and these two alternating celestial bodies have become objects of worship by the ancestors. The Mid-Autumn Festival is derived from the ancient people’s sacrifice to the moon, and it is the legacy and derivation of the custom of the Chinese nation to worship the moon. Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. It is actually a worship activity for the “moon god” by ancient people in some parts of China in ancient times. According to textual research, the original “Jiyue Festival” was set on the 24th solar term “autumn equinox” in the Ganzhi calendar. However, due to historical development, the calendar was later merged and the lunar calendar (Xia calendar) was used, so the “Jiyue Festival” was replaced by the Ganzhi calendar. The fourteenth solar term “autumn equinox” is adjusted to the fifteenth day of August in the Xia calendar (lunar calendar). The Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, and most of the festival factors contained in it have ancient origins.
