One of the legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival - Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, which caused the crops to wither and the people to live in dire straits. A hero named Hou Yi, who Infinitely, he sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, exerted his magical power, drew his magical bow, and shot down more than nine suns in one go, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and set on time to benefit the people.

As a result, Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind-hearted wife named Chang'e. In addition to spreading his skills and hunting, Hou Yi stayed with his wife all day long. People envied this loving couple with talent and beauty.

Many people with lofty ideals came here to learn from Tou Shi, and Peng Meng with evil intentions also got in.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek enlightenment. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who was passing by, and asked the Queen Mother for a package of elixir. It is said that if you take this medicine, you can immediately ascend to heaven and become an immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang'e for collection. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box on the dressing table. Unexpectedly, the villain Peng Meng saw it. He wanted to steal the elixir and become an immortal himself.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his disciples out for hunting. Peng Meng, who had evil intentions, pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Soon after Hou Yi led everyone away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng. In the critical moment, she made a prompt decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine, and her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew to the sky. Because Chang'e cared about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the world and became an immortal.

In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was frightened and angry, so he drew his sword to kill the villain, but Peng Meng had already escaped. Hou Yi was so angry that he beat his chest and was heartbroken. He looked up at the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that the moon today was particularly special. It is bright and bright, and there is a swaying figure that looks like Chang'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased three steps, the moon took three steps back, he took three steps back, and the moon took three steps forward. No matter what, he couldn't catch up.

Houyi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send people to Chang'e's favorite back garden, set up an incense table, put her favorite sweetmeats and fresh fruits, and offer sacrifices to him in the moon palace. of Chang'e. After the people heard the news that Chang'e flew to the moon and became an immortal, they all set up incense tables under the moon and prayed to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good luck and peace.

Since then, the custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.

Mid-Autumn Legend 2 - Wu Gang won the laurel

There is another legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that the osmanthus tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grows luxuriantly and is more than 500 feet tall. There is a man below who is always cutting it down, but every time he cuts it down, the cut place immediately closes up again. For thousands of years, this osmanthus tree has been cut down as it goes. This laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the tree was named Wu Gang, who was from Xihe in the Han Dynasty. He once followed the immortals to practice Taoism and reached the heaven. However, he made a mistake, and the immortals demoted him to the Moon Palace, where he did such futile and hard work every day as punishment. . There is a record in Li Bai's poem "If you want to cut the laurel in the moon, you will hold on to the salary of those who are cold".

The third legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival - Zhu Yuanzhang and the Mooncake Uprising

Eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is said to have begun in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the vast number of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty's ruling class, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and soldiers of the court conducted a very strict search, making it very difficult to convey the news. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note with "uprising on August 15th" in the cakes, and then sent people to deliver it to the insurrectionary armies in various places, informing them to respond to the uprising on the night of August 15th. . On the day of the uprising, all rebel armies responded together, and the insurrectionary army was like a spark igniting a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu Da captured Yuan Dadu and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly passed down an oral order to let all the soldiers and the people have fun during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and to reward the officials with the "mooncakes" that were used to secretly convey the message when the army was launched as seasonal cakes. Since then, the production of "mooncakes" has become more and more sophisticated, with more varieties, and the big ones are as big as discs, which have become a good gift. From then on, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people.