The Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are collectively known as the four traditional Chinese festivals. The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year. It is also known as Moon Eve, Girl's Day, and Reunion Festival among the people. It is a traditional festival popular among many ethnic groups and countries in the cultural circle of Chinese characters. So do you know the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival? Let’s learn about the following~
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival of the Chinese lunar calendar. According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book "Zhou Rites". In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a record of "the emperor ordered the minister to suppress the cattle confusion, and on the Mid-Autumn Festival evening, he went to the left and right incognito to flood the river." It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed solar term. According to the "Book of Tang·Taizong Ji", there is a record of "Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th". It was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that August 15th was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival.
According to the Chinese calendar, the eighth month of the lunar calendar is in the second month of autumn, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and the fifteenth day of August is in the "Mid-Autumn Festival", so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". In addition, the Mid-Autumn Festival also has many names: such as "August Festival" and "August Half"; because the activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival mainly revolve around the "moon", it is also commonly known as "Moon Festival" and "Moon Eve". "; The moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is particularly full, symbolizing reunion, so it is also called the "Reunion Festival". During the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called the "Duanzheng Month".
The record of the origin of the "Reunion Festival" was first seen in the Ming Dynasty's "West Lake Tour Chronicles": "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send mooncakes to each other to symbolize reunion." "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also says: "When worshiping the moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the cakes will be round, the melons will be divided with crooked teeth, and the petals will be carved like lotus flowers... Those who have a peaceful wife will definitely return home on that day. It’s called the Reunion Festival.”
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in most parts of our country, there is a folk custom of baking "reunion" cakes, which is to bake a small cake that symbolizes reunion and is similar to a moon cake, and wraps the cake with sugar, sesame, and osmanthus. , vegetables, etc., and the shapes are pressed with patterns such as the moon, laurel trees, rabbits, etc. After the moon sacrifice, the elders divide the cake into pieces according to the number of people, and each person has one piece. If someone is not at home, a piece will be left for them to express family reunion.
Another theory about the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is: because the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is the time when rice matures, in order to thank the God of the Earth, every household must worship the God of the Earth. It is a kind of sacrificial activity. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be the legacy of the autumn festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also a remnant of the ancient celestial worship custom of worshiping the moon. According to "Zhou Li Chunguan" records: In the Zhou Dynasty, "Mid-Autumn Night welcomes the cold, Mid-Autumn Festival presents good fur" and "Autumn Equinox Eve" "Moon" activities; during the Han Dynasty, there were also Mid-Autumn Festival or Beginning of Autumn days to respect and support the elderly and give them thick cakes. This is reflected most vividly in the "Retirement Picture" and "Moon God" among the Han portrait bricks.
Customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival
1. Worshiping the moon
In ancient my country, there was a folk custom of "autumn twilight and evening moon", that is, worshiping the moon god. On the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, every household will set up an incense table and place offerings such as mooncakes, apples, peanuts, watermelons, pomegranates, etc. Various mooncakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, and the watermelons need to be cut into lotus shapes. , under the moon, place the statue of the moon god in the direction of the moon, then light red candles and high incense. Under the leadership of the elders, the whole family worships the moon god in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes.
When cutting mooncakes, housewives must cut them according to the number of people in the family in advance. Those who are at home and those who are not at home must be counted together. When cutting, they cannot cut more or less, and the size , the shape should be the same. After that, the housewife distributes it to the family members present, first to the elders, then to the younger ones, leaving one for those who are away from home. This symbolizes family reunion and happiness.
2. Eating mooncakes
Mooncakes are one of the most famous traditional Chinese pastries. Every household prepares mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival has been around for thousands of years. history. Mooncakes are round and round, and are eaten by the whole family. After eating mooncakes, the whole family is reunited, which symbolizes family reunion, neighborhood harmony, and everyone living in harmony.
In ancient my country, mooncakes were eaten as sacrifices during the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to "Luozhong Jiwen", Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty ate mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival and found them delicious, so he ordered the imperial dining room to wrap them in red silk. Moon cakes are given to new scholars. This is the earliest historical record we have seen about mooncakes. In the Song Dynasty, it had elegant names such as "Lotus Leaf", "Golden Flower" and "Hibiscus", and its production methods became more refined.
Su Dongpo, a great writer and poet, praised in his poem that "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and glutinous rice in them." Crisp refers to pastry, and glutinous rice refers to sugar. Its taste is sweet, crisp, and fragrant as you can imagine.
3. Moon Appreciation
The practice of appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was practiced during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it was not common. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival was associated with Chang'e's flight to the moon, Wu Gang's defeat of Gui, Jade Rabbit pounding medicine, Yang The story of the imperial concubine turning into a "moon god" and the Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty traveling to the moon palace were combined to make it full of romance, and the trend of playing with the moon became popular. There are a large number of poems chanting the moon in the famous works of Tang Dynasty poets. However, unlike the Tang Dynasty, moon appreciation in the Song Dynasty was more sentimental and sentimental, often using the waxing and waning of clouds and clear skies as a metaphor for human emotions. Even on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the clear light of the bright moon could not hide the sadness of the Song people.
For people in the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival has another meaning, that is, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival of secular joy: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the shops are full of new wine, noble families decorate their terraces, and private households compete for it. Wandering around the moon in restaurants, the music and music can be heard thousands of miles away, and we can sit and play until dawn. "The Mid-Autumn Festival night in the Song Dynasty was still a sleepless night, and the night market was open all night long, and there were endless tourists enjoying the moon. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people admire the full moon while missing their relatives and hometown. This custom continues to this day. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, moon-appreciating activities became more popular. The fruit cakes must be round, and every household must set up a "moonlight position" to "offer and worship to the moon" in the direction of moonrise. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, moon-viewing activities in the palace and among the people were even more extensive. Every year, both the palace and the people held moon-viewing and moon-appreciating activities. What originally started as a solemn sacrifice to the moon has evolved into a relaxed and happy festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a beautiful day for Chinese family reunions. On this day every year, wanderers who leave home, no matter how busy they are, rush home to gather with their parents, relatives and friends, drink and talk. This is the true meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The meaning of.