Before and after the summer vacation, there will be folk programs to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as "Making July 3" or "Mid-Autumn Festival". In the past, there was a ceremony to open the ghost gate from the beginning of July to the end of closing the ghost gate at the end of the month, and Pudu giving activities were held. It is said that Purdue's activities began with the opening of the ghost gate, and then the lanterns were erected, and the river lanterns attracted lonely souls; The main body is building a Purdue altar, setting up a solitary shed, intervening to rob orphans, and finally closing the ghost door. Up to now, it has become a major activity period for ancestor worship.
In addition, there are some other folk activities:
1. Eating ducks and old ducks is sweet and cool, so people have the custom of eating ducks in the summer. There are also various practices, such as boiled duck, lemon duck, ginger duck, roast duck, lotus leaf duck and walnut duck. Beijing still retains this custom. Generally, on the day of summer, Beijingers often go to the store to buy lily ducks and so on.
2. River lanterns, also known as "lotus lanterns", often put lamps or candles on lotus-shaped bases, and let them drift in rivers, lakes and seas at Mid-Autumn Festival.
The purpose of the river lantern is to educate drowning ghosts and other ghosts in the water. A passage in Hong Xiao's Biography of Hulan River is the best expression of this custom: "July 15th is a Ghost Festival; Dead ghosts can't support themselves, and lingering in hell is very bitter. They want to support themselves, but they can't find their way. On this day, if a dead fool holds a river lamp, he has to support his life. "
3. Fishing Festival For coastal fishermen, it is the harvest period after the summer heat. People often hold various forms of sea worship and blessing activities to send fishermen out to sea and look forward to a bumper harvest. In 1998, the first China Fishing Festival was held in Xiangshan, Zhejiang Province, and will be held once a year thereafter. In addition to the solemn ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sea, the fishing festival also carried out various cultural, tourism and economic and trade activities, attracting countless domestic and foreign merchants and tourists. They not only enjoyed the strong local fishing culture, but also tasted delicious seafood. Because the water temperature in the sea area is still high at this time, fish will still stay around the sea area, and fish, shrimp and shellfish will mature. Therefore, from this day on, people can often taste a wide variety of seafood.