What are the customs and habits of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

As a traditional festival in our country, the Mid-Autumn Festival has a very high status in our country. Do you know about the customs and habits of the Mid-Autumn Festival? I believe many people are not very clear about it. Below, I will introduce the customs and habits of the Mid-Autumn Festival to you. If you are interested, come and take a look!

About Mid-Autumn Festival Customs and Habits Mid-Autumn Festival Customs and Habits 1. Playing with lanterns

There is no large-scale lantern festival like the Lantern Festival in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Playing with lanterns is mainly done among families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, "Old Martial Arts" recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival customs of putting a little red lantern into the river to float and play. People who play with lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival are mostly concentrated in the south. For example, at the Foshan Autumn Color Fair, there are various kinds of lanterns: sesame lanterns, eggshell lanterns, wood shaving lanterns, straw lanterns, fish scale lanterns, chaff lanterns, melon seed lanterns, bird and animal flower tree lanterns, etc.

In Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, Mid-Autumn Festival activities are carried out on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, and the trees are also erected, which means that the lights are put up high. With the help of their parents, children tie up rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns with bamboo paper, hang them horizontally on short poles, and then erect them on high poles. When they are skilled, the colorful lights shine, adding to the Mid-Autumn Festival. A scene. Children often compete with each other to see who can erect taller, more lanterns and the most exquisite lights. There are also sky lanterns, that is, Kongming lanterns, which are made into large-shaped lanterns with paper. Candles are burned under the lanterns, and the heat rises, making the lanterns fly in the air, attracting people to laugh and chase. In addition, there are various lanterns carried by children to enjoy under the moonlight.

In Nanning, Guangxi, in addition to various lanterns tied with paper and bamboo for children to play with, there are also very simple grapefruit lanterns, pumpkin lanterns, and orange lanterns. The so-called grapefruit lamp is made by hollowing out the grapefruit, carving a simple pattern, putting it on a rope, and lighting a candle inside. The light is elegant. Pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns are also made by removing the flesh. Although simple, it is easy to make and is very popular. Some children even float grapefruit lanterns into the pond and river as a game.

Guangxi has a simple household autumn lantern, which is made of six circles of bamboo strips tied into a lantern, with white gauze paper on the outside and candles inserted inside. Hang it next to the moon festival table to worship the moon, and it can also be played by children.

Mid-Autumn Festival Customs and Habits 2. Burning Towers

The game of burning tile lanterns (or burning flower towers, burning tile towers, and burning fan towers) is widely spread in the south. For example, Volume 5 of "China National Customs" records: On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival in Jiangxi, ordinary children pick up tiles in the wild and pile them into a round tower shape with many holes. At dusk, burn it in a tower of firewood under the bright moon. Once the tiles are red-hot, kerosene is poured on them to add fuel to the fire. Suddenly, the surrounding areas are ablaze and shine like daylight. Until late at night, when no one is watching, the practice of pouring breath is called burning tile lamps? The tile-burning pagoda in Chaozhou, Guangdong is also a hollow pagoda built with bricks and tiles, filled with branches and set on fire. At the same time, smoke piles are also burned, which is to pile firewood into piles and burn them after the moon worship. The burning of Fan Pagoda in the Guangxi border area is similar to this activity, but folklore is to commemorate the heroic battle of Liu Yongfu, a famous anti-French general in the Qing Dynasty, who burned the Fan ghosts (French invaders) who fled into the tower to death. There is also the activity of "burning tower" in Jinjiang, Fujian.

It is said that this custom is related to the righteous act of resisting Yuan soldiers. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, it carried out bloody rule over the Han people, so the Han people resisted unyieldingly. Various places organized riots on the Mid-Autumn Festival and lit fires on the top of the pagoda as a sign. Similar to the Fenghuo Tower lighting uprising, although this kind of resistance was suppressed, the custom of burning pagodas remained.

Customs and Habits of the Mid-Autumn Festival 3: Offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, and worshiping the moon

"Book of Rites" has long recorded that "Autumn Twilight Xiyue" means worshiping the moon god. At this time, it is necessary to welcome the cold and worship the moon, and set up incense tables. By the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night would be held to welcome the cold and worship the moon. Set up a large incense table and place moon cakes, watermelon, apples, dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices. Among them, moon cakes and watermelon are absolutely indispensable, and the watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, the moon statue is placed in the direction of the moon, with red candles burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. The person who cuts the food must calculate in advance how many people are in the family. Those who are at home and those who are out of town must be counted together. They cannot cut more or less, and the sizes must be the same. Among ethnic minorities, the custom of worshiping the moon is also popular.

It is said that Wu Yan, an ugly girl from the ancient Qi State, worshiped the moon devoutly when she was a child. When she grew up, she entered the palace with outstanding moral character, but she was not favored. On August 15th of a certain year, the emperor saw her under the moonlight while admiring the moon. He thought she was beautiful and outstanding, so he made her his queen. This is how the Mid-Autumn Festival came to worship the moon. In the middle of the moon, Chang'e is famous for her beauty, so the girl worships the moon, hoping that she will look like Chang'e and have a face like the bright moon. The Dai people of Yunnan also have a popular custom of "moon worship" on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The custom of admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets included verses praising the moon in their famous works. In the Song Dynasty, the custom of admiring the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival became even more popular. On this day, noble families would decorate their pavilions, and people would occupy restaurants to watch the moon. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the activities of worshiping and appreciating the moon were more extensive among the court and the people. There are still many historic sites such as "Moon Worship Altar", "Moon Worship Pavilion" and "Moon Watching Tower" in various parts of China. Literati and officials were particularly fond of admiring the moon. They climbed up buildings to admire the moon or went boating to enjoy it. They drank wine and wrote poems, leaving behind many well-known masterpieces that will last through the ages. For example, Du Fu's "Moon on the Fifteenth Night of August" uses the fifteen bright moons symbolizing reunion to reflect his thoughts of wandering in a foreign land; Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, drank till the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival and got drunk and wrote "Shui Diao Ge Tou", using the roundness and waning of the moon to represent people. The clutch. To this day, sitting together as a family and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the bright moon is still one of the essential activities during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Food customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival Food customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival: Eating moon cakes

Eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a long-standing traditional custom in my country. People eat them on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes symbolize "reunion".

The wind is clear, the moon is bright, and the fragrance of cinnamon is refreshing. Every family tastes moon cakes and admires the moon, enjoying a festive reunion with a unique flavor.

Do you know when moon cakes appeared? Why do we eat moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Moon cakes are also called Hu cakes, palace cakes, moon cakes, harvest cakes, etc. Reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the Moon God during the Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient times.

Food and customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival: Drinking osmanthus wine

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people look up at the bright moon, smell the fragrance of osmanthus, think of Wu Gang cutting osmanthus, and drink a cup of osmanthus honey. Drinking wine, celebrating the sweetness of the family, and gathering together have become the enjoyment of the festival.

Osmanthus is not only for viewing, but also has edible value. The Osmanthus Festival is held at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Citizens may wish to go to the eastern suburbs with their families to enjoy the flowers and enjoy the festival.

Food customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival: Eating taro

Eating taro during the Mid-Autumn Festival means to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters in many places, and also expresses disbelief in evil spirits.

Chaozhou Prefecture Chronicles written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty said: "During the Mid-Autumn Festival, when playing with the moon, peeling taro and eating it is called peeling ghost skin." Peeling the taro and eating it is like Zhong Kui's spirit of exorcising ghosts.

Mid-Autumn Festival Song: First Quarter Moon

Singer: Andy Hui

Compared with the sadness of "White Moonlight", the melody of Xu Zhian's "First Quarter Moon" is slightly Show liveliness. Although the meaning in the lyrics is not perfect, and even a bit sour and lonely, at least the first quarter moon can always remind people of a sweet smile. People in foreign lands should also smile knowingly when they see the same full moon. .

Song: Look at the face of the moon

Singer: Meng Tingwei

"Look at the face of the moon" is Meng Tingwei's third song since her debut A title song from a solo album. The album on which the song is included has sold more than 500,000 copies in Taiwan, and the total sales in Asia have exceeded 5 million. It set a record for the highest sales of albums by Taiwanese singers at that time; this song also became a turning point in Meng Tingwei's singing career. With this song, she also got the nickname "Moon Princess".

I have to say that I was already able to sing this classic old song when I was only in single digits. Although I didn’t understand what was sung in the lyrics at the time, it is this indescribable hazy melody that makes me sing to this day. I can’t forget it!