2. Sacrifice the moon. Sacrificing the moon is a very old custom in our country, and it is actually a worship activity of the ancients to the "Moon God". In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn dusk and evening moon". Evening moon, that is, worship the moon god. Since ancient times, in some parts of Guangdong, people have the custom of worshipping the moon god (moon mother and moonlight) on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. In Yue Bai, a big incense table was set up, offering sacrifices such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes. Under the moon, put the "Moon God" tablet in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family worships the moon in turn and prays for blessings. Sacrificing the moon to admire it and remembering it expressed people's good wishes. As one of the important ceremonies of Mid-Autumn Festival, offering sacrifices to the moon has continued from ancient times to the present, and gradually evolved into a folk activity of appreciating and praising the moon. At the same time, it has become the main form of modern people's longing for reunion and pinning their good wishes for life.
3. Enjoy the moon. The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there is a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her mother's house will return to her husband's house in the future, in order to express her happiness and good luck. Written records show that folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a custom. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces.
4. Chasing the Moon. Chasing the moon is also a custom in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The so-called "chasing the moon" means that after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the excitement is still unfinished. So the next night, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to enjoy the moon, named "chasing the moon". According to the preface of Lingnan Miscellaneous Notes by Chen Zihou, a Qing dynasty, "Good people in central Guangdong gather in Izayoi in August to treat wine and dishes and enjoy the moon, which is called chasing the moon."
5. Watch the tide. The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. I know that the jade rabbit is very round, and it has been frosty and cold in September. The message is that the door is closed and the key is closed, and the night tide stays on the moon. This is the poem "Watching the Tide on August 15th" written by Su Shi, a great poet in the Song Dynasty. In ancient times, in Zhejiang, besides enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival event. [2]
6. Eat moon cakes. Moon cakes, also known as moon cakes, harvest cakes, palace cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Moon cakes symbolize a happy reunion. People regard them as holiday food, and use them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends. Up to now, eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom for Mid-Autumn Festival in northern and southern parts of China. On this day, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion".
7. Burn a bucket of incense. In Jiangsu, we have to burn incense in the mid-autumn night. There are gauze and silk around the incense bucket, and the scenery of the moon palace is painted. There are also incense sticks woven with thread incense, with paper kuixing and colorful banners inserted on them. There is also the custom of burning incense and fighting among the people in Shanghai.