The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it developed slowly. The ancient emperors had a ritual system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, nobles and scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watched and worshipped the bright and round moon in the sky, expressing their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this custom of sacrificing the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Tang Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, which was popular in the Song Dynasty.
The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and the fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang's felling of laurel and Jade Rabbit's smashing medicine are widely circulated.
1, one of the Mid-Autumn Festival legends-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon
According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, and the crops died in the sun, and the people were in poverty. A hero named Hou Yi was of infinite strength. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, took full advantage of his divine power, opened his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last sun to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.
Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people, and he married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. In addition to hunting, Hou Yi spent all his time with his wife, and people envied this beautiful and loving couple.
Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as a teacher, and Peng Meng, who had ulterior motives, also mixed in.
One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek Tao. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who passed by and asked her for a pack of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi could not bear to leave his wife, so he had to give the immortal medicine to Chang 'e for the time being. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dresser, only to be seen by the villain Peng Meng. He wanted to steal the immortal medicine and become immortal himself.
Three days later, Hou Yi led his followers out hunting, and Peng Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be ill and stayed. Soon after Hou Yi led the crowd away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng. When she was in a crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew to the sky. Because Chang 'e was concerned about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.
In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was both surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villains. Peng Meng fled early. Hou Yi was so angry and heartbroken that he looked up at the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon was exceptionally bright and bright, and there was a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased after the moon desperately, but he chased three steps, the moon retreated three steps, he retreated three steps, and the moon advanced three steps, but he couldn't catch up with him anyway.
Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruits, and pay a remote sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him in the moon palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people set up incense tables under the moon to pray for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e.
Since then, the custom of Yue Bai in Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
2. The second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival-WU GANG won the laurel.
There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that the osmanthus tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grows luxuriantly, with a height of more than 500 feet. There is a person who often cuts it down below, but after each cut, the cut place is closed immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe, Han Dynasty, once followed the immortal to the heaven, but when he made a mistake, the immortal relegated him to the Moon Palace, and did this kind of futile drudgery every day to show his punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the moon, you will pay for the cold."
3. The third legend of Mid-Autumn Festival-Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising
It is said that eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival began in Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Strategist Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note containing the "August 15th night uprising" into the cake, and then sent someone to send it to the uprising troops in various places separately to inform them to respond to the uprising on August 15th night. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as single spark can start a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly gave a message that all the soldiers would have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and he would give the "moon cakes" that were sent in secret when he started fighting that year as seasonal cakes to his ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, with more varieties, such as discs, and has become a good gift. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.