The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the early "July and a half" harvest in autumn to worship ancestors. The emergence of "July and a half" can be traced back to the ancestor worship and the harvest festival in ancient times. In ancient times, people often relied on the blessing of the gods for the harvest of farming.
For example, Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty said in "Four Sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period": "The ancients had four sacrifices at the age of four. The four worshippers, because of what they were born at four o'clock, sacrificed to their ancestors' parents. Therefore, in spring, it is called the temple, in summer, it is delicious in autumn and steamed in winter. " Ancestors are worshipped in spring, summer, autumn and winter, but "autumn taste" is very important among them.
Autumn is the harvest season. People hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to the ancestors' souls, offer the best seasonal products to the gods first, and then taste the fruits of these labors themselves, and pray for a good harvest in the coming year.
According to historical documents, the activity of ancestor worship in autumn has existed in the pre-Qin period; At first, the date of "Autumn Taste" was uncertain. Later, it was gradually fixed in mid-July, which was generally the first full moon after beginning of autumn, when autumn came.
Customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival:
The customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival mainly include ancestor worship, setting off river lanterns, offering sacrifices to the dead, burning paper ingots and offering sacrifices to the land, among which the main customs of ancestor worship are all over the country.
People believe that ancestors will return home to visit their children in July and a half, so they need to worship their ancestors. This kind of ancestor worship behavior is a reflection of the traditional ethics of being cautious in the end and pursuing the distance, and it is also a cultural tradition of being grateful for morality. When the crops are harvested in autumn, the joy of harvest is just shared with ancestors. The worship ceremony is usually held in the evening of mid-July.
Cultural significance of the Mid-Autumn Festival;
From the legends about the 14th/15th of July, we can deeply realize that the sacrifice on 14th/15th of July has dual meanings, one is to show filial piety in memory of ancestors, and the other is to carry forward the righteous act of helping others. This is all from the perspective of compassion, which is very human. Therefore, while celebrating Zhongyuan, we should get rid of the ghost's point of view and look forward to mutual love.
As far as its cultural connotation is concerned, the 14th/15th of July is also one of the traditional ancestor worship festivals in China, and its culture reflects a belief. The 14th/15th of July belongs to intangible cultural heritage, which is a kind of culture and an ancient and modern tradition of remembering ancestors. This tradition embodies the ancient people's thought of "pursuing the future with caution", and its cultural core is to respect ancestors and do filial piety.