The customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Zhejiang include

1. Tide watching:

In ancient times, besides admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, watching the tide was another Mid-Autumn festival. grand event. The custom of watching the tide during the Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, and it was described in detail in Meicheng's "Qifa" in the Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, the custom of watching tides during the Mid-Autumn Festival became even more popular. There are also records of tide watching in Zhu Tinghuan's "Supplement to the Old Wulin Stories" of the Ming Dynasty and "Mengliang Lu" written by Wu Zimu of the Song Dynasty.

2. Riddles:

On the full moon night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, many lanterns are hung in public places. People gather together and guess the riddles written on the lanterns, because most of them It is a favorite activity for young men and women. At the same time, love stories are also spread in these activities. Therefore, guessing lantern riddles during the Mid-Autumn Festival has also been derived as a form of love between men and women.

3. Moon worship:

Whenever the moon rises on Mid-Autumn night, devout people will put an Eight Immortals table or a square table in their courtyard or in the open space outside the house, and put the big Moon cakes, pomegranates, dates, pumpkins and other fruits are offered on the table, along with a bowl of cold water, and some even burn several sticks of incense. However, there is a saying in Shaoxing that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the stove."

In other words, adult men are not eligible. Because, according to the ancient Chinese theory of yin and yang and the five elements, the moon belongs to yin and is called "Taiyin". People in Shaoxing call it "Mother-in-law Moon". The Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. Chang'e is female, and women are also yin. Therefore, most people who worship the moon are women. After worshiping "Mother Moon", the family can share moon cakes.

4. Invite the Moon Girl:

In ancient times, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people in Ningbo had the custom of worshiping and offering sacrifices to the moon, which was also called the "Girls' Meeting". That night, when the bright moon rises in the east, young women set up several tables in the bright hall to worship the moon, and put the sacrifices on the table. The sacrifices were all plain in color. Every household set up an incense table in the open air, with moon cakes, watermelon, pomegranate, hanging red, etc. placed on it. Wendan and other seasonal fruits.

Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16th

Ningbo celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival not on August 15th, but on August 16th. Speaking of the reason, there is a story.

Legend has it that during the Ningzong period of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Shi Miyuan, who was from Mingzhou (now Ningbo). He became increasingly powerful and had been in power for many years. He was the main figure who sought peace from Jin. But he loves his homeland. Every year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people always rush back to Ningbo from the capital Lin'an (now Hangzhou) to reunite with their relatives and have fun with the people. They race dragon boats, admire the bright moon, eat moon cakes, and celebrate their reunion.

One year, on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shi Miyuan was late for handling official court affairs for a day. He hurried back to Mingzhou on horseback. Halfway through the journey, because he was in a hurry, his horse stumbled again and his mount was injured, so he had to Return to Shaoxing for the night. By the time we arrived in Mingzhou the next day, it was already August 16th.

Shi Miyuan was very distressed. Because the Mid-Autumn Festival arrives as scheduled every year, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival is one day late and we can’t enjoy it with the people. Unexpectedly, the people of Mingzhou, on August 15th, had not seen Shi Miyuan come back from morning to night, and they had not passed the Mid-Autumn Festival, waiting for his return. It wasn't until August 16th that Shi Miyuan arrived, and they happily celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival together. From then on, the people of Mingzhou changed the custom of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th of the lunar calendar every year to August 16th. It has continued from the Southern Song Dynasty to the present.