1, Fruit Festival-Mid-Autumn Festival is a fruit autumn, and some old Beijingers directly call it "Fruit Festival".
"Kyoto Customs" contains: "On the first three or five days of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the thoroughfare market was covered with a reed shed with high-profile boxes and baskets.
Fresh fruits, melons and vegetables, such as peaches, durians, pears, dates, grapes, apples, etc., look under the lights at night, and the fragrance is red and green, and the fruit sellers sell candies loudly, all the way. "Especially the fruit market outside the front door and inside Deshengmen, the night market before the festival, staying up all night. The shouts of fruit merchants are one after another: "How many days is it today? Thirteen, Si Er! You don't buy my fruit that smells delicious! Hey, two hundred and forty! "
These fruits are mainly used for gifts and offerings except for people to taste. Therefore, fruit and packaging are very particular. Some fruit farmers will stick patterns such as "Fu", "Shou" and "Buddha" cut by paper on the fruit when the apple is not ripe, so as to keep the fruit from sunlight. After the fruit is ripe, the paper-cut will be removed, leaving a yellow-green pattern on the red apple, which is exquisite and attractive. But the price is very high. Everything used to feed relatives and friends is packed in a special basket, and it is also padded with Artemisia annua to increase the fragrance of the fruit. Red and green tickets are added outside the fruit basket, which adds to the festive atmosphere.
2. Before the Moon Cake Festival, all major pastry shops should sell Mid-Autumn Moon Cakes at the same time, mainly "naturally invited red" and "naturally invited". "Zilaihong" is baked in a dark color, with blue-and-white sugar, rock sugar and nuts as fillings. A black-and-red circle is drawn on the outer skin, and several small holes are pierced in the circle with needles. "Zilai" is a moon cake with assorted fillings baked with refined white flour, including jujube paste, sand, peas, mountain plants and sugar, and the skin is pure white. There is a small red stamp number, which indicates the type of stuffing. Other moon cakes, such as: moon cakes with raised pulp, moon cakes with turned wool and moon cakes in Guangdong, are all on sale. All those who give gifts are wrapped in pu. In addition, there are special big moon cakes with a diameter of about a city foot. Most of them are about Jin, and the patterns of themoon in the Guidian and Jade Rabbit playing with medicine are engraved on them, which are specially designed for the moon. "The Year of Yanjing" says: "The person who gave the Mid-Autumn Moon Cake to Mei Zhai was the first in Kyoto, and there was not enough food elsewhere." At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Li Jingshan reflected the situation at that time in his collection of poems "Supplementing Dumen Zayong". "Red and white hair is turned into fine, and gifts are given all over the capital in the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that the whole set of Jin is low-priced, and the stuffing is less than skin."
3, the rabbit stall-the most embellished holiday scene is the rabbit stall. Ming Dynasty's "Beijing's Year of China" contains: "The city is rich in loess, called male prostitute, wearing a flowered robe and two or three feet high." Male prostitute is generally a humanoid rabbit face, with long ears (called "horns") and a helmet and a plain flag. Ride on a tiger like a general. The big back should be inserted with a treasure-covered umbrella. Others are "short shirts carrying things, like hawkers; There are people who drink and dance, like Yan musicians. " It's just a little white rabbit tinkering with medicine. This is a clay toy for children's holiday entertainment. As Yuan Yao of the Qing Dynasty said in his "Du Men Zayong", "Children strive for worship first, and they can buy male prostitute by worrying about it." Around August 15th, children imitated adults for the rabbit to play with: "posing Buddha". This is a unique custom in old Beijing.
4. After the 10th day of August, the "Moon Palace Code", also called "Rabbit Code", was put in front of Nanzhi Store. It is a "magic paper" printed with wood block watercolor. Roughly: yellow, with a silver-faced statue of Taiyin Star and a golden jade rabbit standing in front of Guanghan Palace. Red, printed with pictures about the holy emperor, the god of wealth and the golden jade rabbit standing in front of the Guanghan Palace, are mostly offered by merchants. In addition, there are white ones with different gods on them, but the moon palace jade rabbit pattern is indispensable. Because of the large width, in order to support the whole code, we use straw to tie the frame, paste this "magic paper" on it, form a vertical plaque, and erect three colored paper flags on it
On the evening of 15th, after the family get together and the moon rises, the ceremony of worshiping the moon will be held in the courtyard, with similar forms. Some look at the sky (at the moon) and offer sacrifices; Some will set the big moon cakes engraved with the pattern of themoon in the Gui Dian on the wooden frame as the gods; It is useful to use the above-mentioned moon palace code as a god. However, they all use small low tables (small dining tables) with Mid-Autumn moon cakes (only "naturally invited red" instead of "naturally invited white", and cakes filled with brown sugar temporarily steamed (so-called reunion cakes), except for all kinds of pears (because pears are homophonic with "Li"), other fruits can be offered. Watermelon with petals carved like Chu flowers is indispensable, because it means reunion. In addition, insert red cockscomb flowers and edamame with branches. Candles and money are available. As the saying goes, "Men don't pay for the moon, and women don't offer sacrifices to the stove." In fact, there is no absolute limit for those who attend ancestor worship, and the whole family can worship, but women worship first and men worship later. Children, in particular, take Yue Bai as a playmate.
If the moon palace code is used, it will be incinerated in the courtyard after the confession is withdrawn. If the straw can't be burned completely, those who hold the "old mother's theory of children" will mostly press under the kang mat and keep the children who wet the kang.
After the withdrawal of the confession, "the family is full of salt, melons, fruits, wine and dishes, and they gather in the courtyard to drink, which is called' reunion wine'. "At the same time, the whole family eats big moon cakes and reunion cakes. However, families have different habits, and some put the big moon cakes as reunion cakes in a dry and cool place for the whole family to share on New Year's Eve. Only servants are not included.
Fujian-Pucheng, women have to cross Nanpu Bridge during the Mid-Autumn Festival in order to live longer. In Jianning, hanging lanterns in mid-autumn night is a good omen for asking for children from the moon palace. People in Shanghang County celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and most of their children are invited to visit their parents when they are in Yue Bai. When Longyan people eat moon cakes, parents will dig out round cakes with a diameter of two or three inches in the center for their elders to eat, which means that the secret can't be told to the younger generation. This custom stems from the legend that moon cakes contain anti-yuan killing messages. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival in Jinmen, Yue Bai should pay homage to God.
Guangdong-There is a custom of Yue Bai in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chaoshan, mainly for women and children, and there is a common saying that "men don't have a full moon, and women don't sacrifice stoves". In the evening, when the bright moon rises, women set up a case in the yard and on the balcony to pray. Silver candles are burning high, cigarettes are lingering, and the table is filled with good fruits and cakes as a sacrifice. There is also the custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival in the local area. There is a common saying in Chaoshan: "The river is opposite to the mouth, and the taro is eaten." In August, it is the harvest season of taro, and farmers are used to worshipping their ancestors with taro. This is certainly related to farming, but there is also a popular folk legend: 1279, Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty, which brutally ruled the Han people. Ma Fa defended Chaozhou against Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were massacred. In order not to forget the suffering of Hu people's rule, later generations took taro as a homonym with "Hu tou" and it looked like a human head, so as to pay homage to their ancestors, which has been passed down from generation to generation and still exists today.
Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangzhou-There is an interesting traditional custom in Guangzhou called "Mid-Autumn Festival in Trees". Every Mid-Autumn Festival, families should tie lanterns with bamboo strips. The lanterns have various beginnings, not fruit lanterns, but also birds, animals, fish and insects, and can also be built into word lanterns. At night, candles are burned in the lamps, and many small lamps are connected below and tied to bamboo poles with ropes. Then insert bamboo poles in the high places of the house, such as platforms, roofs or tall trees. At night, the lights in the city, such as stars, compete with the bright moon in the sky to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is also called "Vertical Mid-Autumn Festival".
The folk customs in the south of the Yangtze River are also varied during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Nanjing people love to eat moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they must eat osmanthus duck, a famous Jinling dish. "Sweet-scented osmanthus duck" should be in the market when cinnamon is fragrant, fat but not greasy, and delicious. After drinking, you must eat a small piece of sugar taro and pour it with cinnamon pulp. The beauty goes without saying. "Cinnamon pulp" was named after Qu Yuan's "Songs of Chu, Shaosi Ming" and "Helping the North to close its doors and drink cinnamon pulp". Cinnamomum cassia pulp, a sweet osmanthus, was picked around the Mid-Autumn Festival and pickled with sugar and sour plum. Women in the south of the Yangtze River are skillful in turning the chanting in poems into delicacies on the table. Nanjing people enjoy the moon with their families, which is called "celebrating reunion", group sitting and drinking is called "full moon", and traveling in the market is called "walking on the moon".
Nanjing —— In the early Ming Dynasty, there was the Moon Tower and the Moon Bridge in Nanjing. In the Qing Dynasty, the Moon Tower was built under Lion Mountain, all of which were for people to enjoy the moon, and those who played the Moon Bridge were the most. When the bright moon is hanging high, people go to the moon tower and play the moon bridge together, taking pleasure in seeing the jade rabbit. "Playing Moon Bridge" is located in Qinhuai River, Confucius Temple, next to the famous prostitute Ma Xianglan's mansion. On this night, scholars gathered at the bridge to play flute and sing, reminiscing about Niuzhu's playing with the moon and writing poems to the moon, so it was called Playing Moon Bridge. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, it gradually declined, and later generations had a poem: "The romantic southern song has been sold out, leaving the west wind with a long slab bridge, but I remember sitting on the Jade Man Bridge and teaching the flute in the moonlight." Long Banqiao, the original Moon Bridge. In recent years, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing has been renovated, restored some pavilions in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and dredged rivers. Until the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can enjoy the fun of playing the moon together.
Jiangsu Province-Wuxi County will burn incense in the mid-autumn night. There is gauze and silk around the incense bucket, and the scenery in the moon palace is painted. There are also incense sticks woven with thread incense, with paper kuixing and colorful banners inserted on them. Shanghainese Mid-Autumn Festival banquet is accompanied by osmanthus honey wine.
On the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival in Ji 'an County, Jiangxi Province, every village burns crocks with straw. After the crock is red, put the vinegar in it. At this time, there will be a fragrance floating all over the village. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xincheng County, grass lanterns are hung from the night of August 11th until August 17th.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival in Wuyuan, Anhui Province, children built a hollow pagoda with bricks. Decorations such as curtains and plaques are hung on the tower, and a table is placed in front of the tower to display all kinds of utensils to worship the "tower god". At night, lights and candles are lit inside and outside. Children in Jixi Mid-Autumn Festival play Mid-Autumn Festival firecrackers. The Mid-Autumn Festival cannon is made of straw tied into a braid, soaked and then picked up to hit the stone, making a loud noise and having the custom of swimming in the dragon. A fire dragon is a dragon made of grass with incense sticks inserted in it. When you visit the dragon, there are gongs and drums teams, which travel around the villages before being sent to the river.
Sichuan Province-In addition to eating moon cakes, we also have to beat, kill ducks, eat sesame cakes and honey cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In some places, orange lanterns are also lit and hung at the door to celebrate. There are also children who put incense on grapefruit and dance along the street, which is called "dancing meteor balls". The Mid-Autumn Festival in Jiading County is called "Watching the Meeting" for offering sacrifices to the land gods and performing zaju, vocal music and cultural relics.
Farmers in Qingyun County, Shandong Province, offer sacrifices to the God of Earth Valley on August 15th, which is called "Young Miao Society". Zhucheng, Linyi, Jimo and other places have to pay homage to their ancestors in addition to the moon. Landlords in guanxian, Laiyang, Guangrao and Postal City also entertain tenants in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jimo Mid-Autumn Festival eats a festive food called "Wheat Arrow".
Shanxi Province-Lu 'an hosted a banquet for his son-in-law in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Datong county calls moon cakes reunion cakes, and it is the custom to keep vigil in mid-autumn night.
Wanquan County, Hebei Province, called the Mid-Autumn Festival "Little New Year's Day", and there were pictures of Taiyin Xingjun and Guandi reading the Spring and Autumn Festival at night on moonlight paper. Hejian county people think that the mid-autumn rain is bitter rain. If it rains on the Mid-Autumn Festival, local people think that vegetables must taste bad.
Shaanxi Province-Xixiang County Mid-autumn night, men went boating on the cliff, and women arranged a good banquet. No matter rich or poor, you must eat watermelon. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are drummers blowing drums along the door to ask for money. In Luochuan County, parents lead students to bring gifts for their husbands, and lunch is more than school dinners.
Burning towers on Mid-Autumn Night is also popular in some places. The tower height varies from1-3 meters, and it is mostly made of broken tiles. Large towers are made of bricks, accounting for about 1/4 of the tower height, and then stacked with tiles, leaving a tower mouth at the top for fuel delivery. In the Mid-Autumn Festival night, it will be ignited and burned. The fuel is wood, bamboo, chaff, etc. When the fire is prosperous, rosin powder will be poured to cheer, which is very spectacular. There are also folk regulations for burning pagodas. Whoever burns the pagodas to a full house will win, and those who fail or collapse during the burning process will lose. The winner will be awarded colorful flags, bonuses or prizes by the host. It is said that burning the tower was also the origin of the Han people's rebellion against the cruel rulers at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the Mid-Autumn Uprising.
"Divination" is an interesting activity in the Mid-Autumn Night. After incantations and ceremonies, the deities descended can be manifested, including the table deity, the moon goddess, the Eight Immortals and the basket deity (who is a goddess).
Taiwan Province —— "Listening to incense" is a Mid-Autumn Festival custom spread in Taiwan Province in ancient times. Women burn incense and pray in front of the gods enshrined at home, indicating what they think (such as feelings, wealth, etc.). After asking for instructions about the direction they should go after going out, they burn incense and go out. All the conversations and songs they hear on the road can be used to predict what they have asked, and then ask God whether the answer is so with a cup. Unmarried girls also have the custom of stealing vegetables or onions from other people's gardens on Mid-Autumn Night. If they succeed, it means that she will get beautiful love.