What is the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival?
First, sacrifice? ancestors
The festival of ancestor worship is on the fifteenth day of July in the lunar calendar, so it is called "July and a half" for short. Folk believe that ancestors will return home to visit their children and grandchildren at this time, so they need to worship their ancestors. Worship ceremonies are usually held in the evening before the end of July, and are not limited to a specific day. According to the old custom, we should burn incense and paper for our ancestors during the Mid-Autumn Festival to pay homage to the dead. Old people who live at home will set tables, chairs and tea in front of their own houses or houses, so that returning people can rest here for free to show their hearts.
Second, the river lamp
River lanterns are also called "lotus lanterns". Generally, lights or candles are placed on the base, and they are placed in rivers, lakes and seas during the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing them to float. It is said that the Lantern Festival evolved from the Lantern Festival (Lantern Festival) custom. According to the folk saying, Shangyuan is a festival of people, while Zhongyuan is a festival of ghosts. People are Yang, ghosts are Yin, the ground is Yang, and water is Yin, so Shangyuan lantern is on land and Zhongyuan is in water. The mysterious darkness underwater reminds people of the legendary hell and the place where ghosts sink. So Shangyuan lanterns are on land, and Zhongyuan lanterns are in water.
Third, dough modeling
Before July 15th, dough sculpture activities were very popular among folk women, especially in northern Shanxi. A steamed stuffed bun shop, neighbors came to help. First of all, according to the actual number of families, give everyone a big bag first. The steamed stuffed bun for the younger generation should be kneaded into a flat shape, which is called a noodle sheep. I hope that the younger generation will not forget the kindness of their parents. For the older generation of flower buns, it is necessary to shape the image of adults, indicating that children and grandchildren are full and live a long life; Steamed buns for peers should be shaped like fish, called noodle fish, which means more than one year.
Fourth, make eggplant cakes.
It is believed that eggplant cake can be the dry food of the deceased ancestors. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, every household in old Nanjing makes eggplant cakes, that is, shredding fresh eggplant, adding flour and frying in oil. In fact, eggplant cake is now a common home-cooked dish. If you want to eat, you can always make a plate to satisfy your hunger.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) prays for a bumper harvest.
Sacrifice in the Mid-Autumn Festival is usually associated with the hope of a bumper harvest. Mid-Autumn Festival is also the season near harvest. Besides offering sacrifices to ghosts, it also undertakes the task of praying for a bumper harvest. Therefore, on the night of Stone Drum, every household should burn incense at home, pray for a bumper harvest of rice, and put incense sticks on the ground. This is also called "planting rice" (transplanting). The more you insert, the better, which symbolizes the harvest of rice in autumn.
The intransitive verb sacrifices land and crops.
On July 15th, offering sacrifices to land and crops is still a folk custom. Scatter the offerings into the ground, burn the paper, and then wrap the five-color paper cut into pieces on the ears of crops. Legend has it that autumn can avoid hail and get a bumper harvest. At the same time, some places have to go to Houtu Temple to offer sacrifices.
Mid-Autumn Festival is the embodiment of China traditional culture. The Mid-Autumn Festival embodies the traditional virtues of filial piety in China for thousands of years. It is a traditional cultural festival in memory of ancestors, and its cultural core is to respect ancestors and perform filial piety.