The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of the moon in ancient times and has a long history.
The word Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in Zhou Li. In The Book of Rites, The Moon Order says, "The Moon of Mid-Autumn Festival nourishes aging and follows the porridge diet". In the ancient calendar of China, the15th day of the eighth lunar month happened to be the autumn of a year, and it was in the middle of August, so it was called "Mid-Autumn Festival". In addition, in the four seasons of a year, each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji, so the second month of autumn is called Zhong Qiu. It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Folk myths and legends about "Wugang cutting Guangxi and the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" are still circulating today.
One theory originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors.
It is recorded in the Book of Rites that "the sun rises in spring and the moon sets in autumn", and the moon is a sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emperors began to offer sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.
Second, the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production.
Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn when crops are ripe" In the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits are maturing one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers regard the Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival.
"Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August in the lunar calendar is a month in autumn, and the 15th is a day in this month. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be a custom passed down from the ancient Autumn Newspaper. In a word, according to historical records, many emperors in ancient times offered sacrifices to the moon, and the date was set on August of the lunar calendar 15. Because it is half that of Sanqiu, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival.
The custom of Mid-Autumn festival
1, sacrifice to the moon
In the Book of Rites, it has been recorded that "autumn twilight and the moon" means to worship the moon god. At this time, a ceremony to welcome the cold Yue Bai will be held, and an incense table will be set up. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, and watermelons should 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 takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same. Among ethnic minorities, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is also very popular.
Step 2 observe the tides
In ancient times, Zhejiang Mid-Autumn Festival was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity besides watching the moon. The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which is described in detail in Mei Cheng's Seven Mao Fu in Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, Mid-Autumn tide watching became more popular. There are also records of watching the tide in Zhu Tinghuan's Ming Bu Wulin Past and Zi Mu's Meng Lianglu.
In addition, there are some folk customs, such as moonlight horse, male prostitute, Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, dragon dance, burning pagoda lights, stealing vegetables for lang, stealing melons for children, making cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival, burning incense in the bright moon, climbing mountains every month, walking on the moon and taking the three bridges, and so on.