To the Chinese, Mid-Autumn Festival means family reunion and peace. The festival is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the biggest and fullest. To the Chinese, a full moon is a symbol of prosperity, happiness, and family reunion.

对中国人来说，中秋节意味着团聚、平安。人们认为，中秋节的月亮最大、最圆。满月象征着繁荣、幸福和团圆。

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month， usually in early September to early October of the Gregorian calendar with full moon at night.  It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance，harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea， while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.
每年农历八月十五日，是中国传统的中秋佳节。这个时候正好是一年秋季的中期，所以称之为中秋。这天，每个家庭团聚在一起，一家人围坐在一起观赏象征丰裕、和谐、幸运的圆月。此时，大人们吃着美味的月饼，品着热腾腾的香茗，而孩子们则在一旁拉着兔子灯尽情玩耍。

The festival has a long history. In ancient China， emperors followed the rite of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn. Historical books of the Zhou Dynasty had had the word "Mid-Autumn". Later aristocrats and literary figures helped expand the ceremony to common people. They enjoyed the full， bright moon on that day， worshipped it and expressed their thoughts and feelings under it. By the Tang Dynasty (618-907)， the Mid-Autumn Festival had been fixed， which became even grander in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties， it grew to be a major festival of China.
中秋节的历史悠久，和其它传统节日一样，也是慢慢发展形成的，古代帝王有春天祭日，秋天祭月的礼制，早在《周礼》一书中，已有“中秋”一词的记载。后来贵族和文人学士也仿效起来，在中秋时节这天，贵族和文人学士对着天上又圆又亮的一轮皓月，观赏祭拜，寄托情怀，这种习俗就这样传到民间，形成了一项传统的赏月活动，到了唐代，这种祭月的风俗更为人们重视，中秋节才成为世间固定的节日，《唐书·太宗记》记载有“八月十五中秋节”，这个节日盛行于宋朝，至明清时，已与元旦齐名，成为我国的主要的传统节日之一。

The Mid-Autumn Festival probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E， the beautiful lady in the moon.
中秋节最早可能是一个庆祝丰收的节日。后来，月宫里美丽仙女嫦娥的神话故事赋予了它神话色彩。

（英文：维基百科 编译：兰泽葳蕤）

2019年9月13日 兰泽葳蕤