The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the autumn festival in ancient times. In the "autumnal equinox" season of the twenty-four solar terms, it is an ancient "Moon Festival", while the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "Moon Festival". In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies have become the objects of ancestor worship. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration originated from the ancient people's sacrifice to the moon, which is the legacy and derivative of the Chinese custom of offering sacrifices to the moon. ?
Mid-Autumn Festival originated in ancient times, popularized in Han Dynasty, shaped in the early years of Tang Dynasty, and prevailed after Song Dynasty. Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of seasonal customs in autumn, and most of the festival customs contained in it have ancient origins. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful and precious cultural heritage, with the full moon as a sign of people's reunion, as the sustenance of missing their hometown and their loved ones, and hoping for a bumper harvest and happiness. ?
It is also said that the Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. This story is the most widely circulated. Hou Yi shot out nine suns, and then God gave him a medicine to become immortal. He was reluctant to leave his wife Chang 'e, so he gave it to Chang 'e for safekeeping.
On August 15th, Chang 'e took the fairy medicine and went to the moon. Hou Yi misses Chang 'e, so every year on this day, Chang 'e's favorite food will be placed in the yard, hoping that she can come back for reunion. After that, every year, from generation to generation, it evolved into a festival. Because this day is the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China. Influenced by Chinese culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese. On May 2, 26, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday since 28.
The reason why the Mid-Autumn Festival enjoys the moon
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month; Because it is just half the value of Sanqiu, it is named. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the largest and brightest, so there is a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times.
According to the season, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the "Autumn Harvest Festival", and the grain sown in summer sowing in spring should be harvested in autumn. Since ancient times, people have been drinking and dancing in this season to celebrate the harvest with joy, which is described in the earliest collection of poems in China, The Book of Songs.
From the origin, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a "Moon Festival", which originated from the worship of nature by ancient humans. In the ritual system of ancient emperors, there were two festivals in spring and autumn: spring festival to the sun and autumn festival to the moon. At first, the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was on the "autumnal equinox", which is different every year in August. Therefore, there must be a moon around the autumnal equinox, and it is a big spoil to offer sacrifices to the moon. Gradually, it became a common practice, and the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was fixed on August 15th.
from the scientific observation, the inclination of the earth and the sun increases in autumn, and the warm and humid air over China gradually fades, while the northwest wind is still very weak. In this way, when the moisture is removed and the dust is not lifted, the air is particularly fresh, the sky is particularly clean, and the moon looks round and big, which is the best time to enjoy the moon.
The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have turned into light pleasures. According to "Official of the Spring Festival in Zhou Dynasty", the Zhou Dynasty had "Mid-Autumn Night to welcome the cold" and "Mid-Autumn Festival to offer good clothes". "Autumn Equinox and Evening Moon (Yue Bai)" activity; In the Han Dynasty, on the Mid-Autumn Festival or the day of beginning of autumn, the elderly were respected and provided with male coarse cakes. There was also a Mid-Autumn Festival in Jin Dynasty, but it was not very common. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival was combined with fairy tales such as Chu 'e's flying to the moon, Wu Gang's cutting laurel, Jade Rabbit's smashing medicine, Yang Guifei's changing to the moon god, and Tang Minghuang's visiting the moon palace, which made it full of romance, and the wind of playing with the moon flourished.