1, autumn festival to the moon
The autumnal equinox used to be the traditional "Festival of Sacrificing the Moon". For example, in ancient times, there was a saying that "the sun is sacrificed in spring and the moon is sacrificed in autumn". Now Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. According to textual research, the original "Moon Festival" was set on the day of "Autumn Equinox", but there is not always a full moon because of the different days of August in the lunar calendar every year. And the moon without the moon is a big spoil the fun. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival was later transferred from the Equinox to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the earth at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumnal equinox, and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. So far, there are many historical sites in China, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower. The folk custom of offering sacrifices to the moon varies from region to region.
The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was used for royal sacrifice to the moon. "The Year of China in Beijing" records the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in Beijing, saying: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people set up the symbol of the Moon Palace, and rabbits stood on it like people; Chen Guaguo was in court; The cake surface is painted with the moon palace toad rabbit; Men and women worship incense and burn it. " There is also a special custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in Beijing, that is, "Men don't offer sacrifices to the moon, but worship more", that is, as the folk proverb says, "Men don't Yue Bai".
Step 2 eat autumn vegetables
In Lingnan area, Xie's family in Cangzhen, Kaiping used to be four cities (now Heshan is five cities), and there is an unbroken custom called "eating autumn vegetables at the autumnal equinox". "Autumn vegetable" is a kind of wild amaranth, which villagers call "autumn Artemisia". On the autumnal equinox, the whole village went to pick autumn vegetables. When searching in the wild, it is often green and thin, about the length of a palm. Picked autumn vegetables are usually boiled with fish fillets at home, which is called "autumn soup". There is a jingle: "autumn soup is dirty, wash the liver and intestines." The whole family is safe and healthy. "Since autumn, people still pray for peace and health at home.
Amaranth contains many nutrients. Rich carotene and vitamin C help to enhance human immune function and improve the anti-cancer effect of human body. Fried amaranth has the effects of clearing away heat and toxic materials, inducing diuresis to relieve pain and improving eyesight. Eating it can enhance the ability of disease prevention, be healthy and less sick, and moisturize and beautify. It is suitable for dysentery, conjunctival congestion, sparrow blindness, breast abscess, hemorrhoids and other diseases.
In fact, the so-called "autumn soup" in Lingnan customs is consistent with the autumn tonic advocated by Chinese medicine, but Lingnan customs are typical and a little rustic, and have not risen to the height of Chinese medicine theory.
Step 3 send autumn cattle
The autumnal equinox is coming soon, and people will send pictures of autumn cows door to door. The picture is printed with red paper or yellow paper on the lunar solar terms all the year round, and also printed with farmers' ploughing patterns, which is called "Autumn Cattle Map". The pictures are all folk singers, mainly talking about good luck in autumn ploughing that does not violate the farming season. Every time they go to a house, they say whatever they see until the owner is happy to give money. Although the words spoken are casual, every sentence rhymes beautifully. Commonly known as "Autumn", Qiu Ren is called "Qiu Guan".
Step 4 stick the sparrow's mouth
According to custom, farmers have a holiday on the autumn equinox. Every family should eat dumplings. Ten, twenty or thirty dumplings that don't need to be wrapped are cooked, and a thin bamboo fork is placed on the outdoor ridge beside the field, which is called sticking the sparrow's mouth without destroying crops.
Of course, it is only the farmers' beautiful imagination and desire to stick dumplings on sparrows' mouths, but it also illustrates the truth that dumplings are sticky, difficult to digest and should not be eaten more. Tangyuan is mainly made of glutinous rice with other ingredients. Glutinous rice is warm and sweet, and the added ingredients are often high in sugar and calories. Eating a small amount in spring and cold season is helpful to replenish body heat energy, tonify deficiency, regulate blood, strengthen yang and strengthen spleen. But glutinous rice is sticky and difficult to digest, and it is easy to accumulate food if you eat too much. Paired with spicy food such as onion and garlic, it can balance the flagging effect of glutinous rice balls.
5. Fly a kite
The autumn equinox is also a good time for children to fly kites. Especially at the autumnal equinox. Even adults are involved. Kites are divided into Wang Zi Kite, Silver Carp Kite, Myxomoth Kite, Leigong Kite and Moon Light Kite. The biggest kite is two meters high, and the smallest one is two or three feet. There are kites on the market, many of which are smaller than others' and suitable for children to play with, but most of them are posted by themselves, and the bigger ones have to compete with each other to see which one flies high.