The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first seen in Zhou Li. According to the ancient Chinese calendar, the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is in the middle of August in autumn, so? The legend of Chang 'e is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". There are four seasons in a year, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji. Therefore, the second month in mid-autumn is called Mid-autumn, and it was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty, Volume 15, Book of Rites and Music, contains "Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival were released in Wenxuan Wang and Wu Cheng Wang", and "In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, the Taigong Shangfu Temple was set up, with Liu Hou Zhang Liang as its partner. In mid-spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a sacrifice, and the system of sacrifice and music is like a text. " Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Reunion Festival and August Festival, is the second largest traditional festival after Spring Festival. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in China.

Customs, culture:

1, Mid-Autumn Festival

It is a very old custom in our country. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the ground at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumn equinox and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. The moon altar in Beijing is the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties sacrificed the moon. "Book of Rites" records: "The son of heaven is in the spring and the sun is shining, and the autumn is in the evening. The DPRK, the evening of the moon. " The evening of the moon here refers to offering sacrifices to the moon at night. This custom is not only pursued by the court and the upper nobility, but also gradually affects the people with the development of society.

2. Scholars admire the moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. By the time of the Song Dynasty, a Mid-Autumn Festival centered on the activities of appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different from the Tang people, the Song people appreciate the moon more because they feel hurt by things, and often use rain or shine as a metaphor for human affairs. Even on the Mid-Autumn night, the clear light of the bright moon can't hide the sadness of the Song people. But for the Song people, the Mid-Autumn Festival has another form, that is, it is a secular and joyful festival: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the shops sold new wine, and your family decorated pavilions, and the people competed for the restaurant to play with the moon, and the songs were heard thousands of miles away, and the play continued until dawn" (Dream of China in Tokyo). The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Song Dynasty is a sleepless night. The night market is open all night, and there are endless tourists playing with the moon. ? Yue Bai

3. Folk Yue Bai

According to legend, the ugly woman of the ancient State of Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not favored. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her the queen, from which the Mid-Autumn Festival Yue Bai came. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for her beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wishes to be "like Chang 'e, and her face is like a bright moon". ? After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life were prominent, and the secular interest in Japan and China was rich in the new year. The lyrical and mythical literati tradition centered on "appreciating the moon" weakened, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secular feelings and wishes constituted the main form of the Mid-Autumn Festival custom of ordinary people. Therefore, "folk Yue Bai" has become people's longing for reunion, recreation and happiness; Send love by month. ? In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn dusk and evening moon". The evening moon is to worship the moon god. Set up a big incense table, and put moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon has to be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts up the reunion moon cake. Cut the people in advance to calculate the number of people in the whole family, at home and in the field, all together, can not cut more or less, the size should be the same.