In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which, like other traditional festivals, develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky and place their feelings on it. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that this custom of offering sacrifices to the moon was paid more attention, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, which was very popular in the Song Dynasty. The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.
Another explanation for the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is that the 15th day of the eighth lunar month happens to be the time when rice is ripe, and all families worship the land god. Mid-Autumn Festival may be the legacy of Qiubao.
Mid-Autumn Festival custom:
Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient festival, and it is an important custom to offer sacrifices and enjoy the moon. Ancient emperors had a social system of offering sacrifices to the sun and the moon in spring, and people also had the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, it was more important to enjoy the moon than to sacrifice it, and serious sacrifice turned into light entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai's court and folk activities to enjoy the moon were even larger. Up to now, there are many historical sites in China, such as "Yue Bai altar", "Moon Pavilion" and "Moon Tower". According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin dynasties, there was a record of "telling Shangshu Town about cattle confusion, crossing the river in mid-autumn and evening". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Tang Taizong's book records the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of "reunion" in most parts of our country, that is, flipping a small cake symbolizing reunion, which is similar to a moon cake. The cake contains sugar, sesame, sweet-scented osmanthus and vegetables, and the moon, sweet-scented osmanthus tree and rabbit are pressed outside. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the elders at home will divide the cake into pieces according to the number of people, and each person will have one. If someone is not at home, leave one for them to show family reunion.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are fewer clouds and more fog, and the moonlight is bright and bright. In addition to a series of activities such as enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, eating moon cakes and wishing for reunion, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building stupas in some places. In addition to moon cakes, all kinds of seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits are also delicious in the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival:
One of the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon
According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the crops died in the sun and the people were poor. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, made full use of his divine power, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last one to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.
Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple. Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Meng Peng with ulterior motives joined in.
One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, but the villain Meng Peng saw it. He wants to steal the elixir to make himself immortal.
Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.
In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Meng Peng escaped early. Angry and heartbroken, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and shouted the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright. There is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased it three times, the moon retreated three times, he retreated three times, and the moon advanced three times. He couldn't catch up anyway.
Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offer a remote sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him in the moon palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people made an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e.
Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.
WU GANG, the second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival, won the laurel.
There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon are flourishing, reaching more than 500 feet. There is a man who often cuts down, but every time he finishes cutting, the cut place closes immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty, once went to heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace and did this kind of hard work in vain every day as a punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the month, you will pay for the cold."
Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III —— Zhu Yuanzhang and Moon Cake Uprising
It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent a message that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.