The 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the four major traditional Chinese Festivals, and the other three are The Spring Festival, the Qingming Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival.
农历八月十五是我国的传统节日——中秋节。中秋节与春节、清明节、端午节是中华民族的四大传统节日。
The term "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first seen in The Rites of Zhou.
“中秋”一词，最早见于《周礼》。
According to the records, the ancient emperors used to worship and offer sacrifices to the moon on August 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar. Because this festival is celebrated in August, it is also called “Autumn Festival” , “August Festival” or “August Meeting”. And it’s a time when people get together and there are some related customs and activities on that day, which is why it is also known as the Festival of Reunion. For the main activities are all around the "moon", so it’s commonly known as “The Moon Festival", "Chasing the Moon Festival" etc.
据史籍记载，古代帝王祭月的节期为农历八月十五，时日恰逢三秋之半，故名“中秋节”。又因为这个节日在秋季八月，故又称“秋节”、“八月节”、“八月会”。又有祈求团圆的信仰和相关习俗活动，故亦称“团圆节”。因中秋节的主要活动都是围绕“月”进行的，所以又俗称“月节”、“月夕”、“追月节”、“玩月节”、“拜月节”。
The Mid-Autumn Festival became prosperous in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was as famous as New Year’s Day, and became one of the major traditional festivals in China.
中秋节的盛行始于宋朝，至明清时，已与元旦齐名，成为我国的主要节日之一。
About the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival, generally there are three versions. The first says it stemmed from ancient emperors' worship of the Moon. The second says it evolved from the folk custom that young girls and boys often dated, usually singing and dancing, under the full moon. The third says it came from the tradition to sacrifice the God of Earth for the autumn harvest.
关于中秋节的起源，大致有三种：起源于古代对月的崇拜；月下歌舞觅偶的习俗；古代秋报拜土地神的遗俗。
For the inheritance of Chinese culture and the enhancement of the national cohesion, the Mid-Autumn Festival was listed by the State Council as a legal holiday since 2008.
为传承民族文化，增强民族凝聚力，中秋节从2008年起被国务院列为国家法定节假日。
China attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, with the approval of the State Council the Mid-Autumn Festival was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
国家非常重视非物质文化遗产的保护，2006年5月20日，该节日经国务院批准列入第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录。
