On the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are many folk customs, such as offering sacrifices to the dead, setting off river lanterns, burning paper ingots, etc., which are juxtaposed with New Year's Eve, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Chung Yeung Festival as traditional festivals for ancestor worship in China. Ancient people believed in ghosts and gods very much, so the Mid-Autumn Festival was also highly valued, so it has been continued to this day.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The folk "July and a half" originated from the early harvest and autumn taste of farming to worship ancestors. In ancient times, ancestors often pinned their hopes for a bumper harvest on ancestors and gods. According to "Zhou Li", the Emperor of Zhou will hold a ceremony of "Autumn Taste" in the early autumn, offering sacrifices to the ancestors and the dead, offering seasonal goods and praying for a good harvest in the coming year.
The name "Zhongyuan" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which is a Taoist saying. According to ancient records, the fifteenth day of the first month of the Taoist scriptures is "Shangyuan" and heavenly god blesses the people Day; July 15 is "Zhongyuan", which is the day when local officials forgive sins; October 15 is the "Xiayuan", which is the day for the water officials to relieve Eritrea. According to the Book of Practice, "On the Mid-Yuan Day in July, the local officials descended, and the good and evil on earth were determined, so the Taoist priests chanted scriptures at night and the prisoners were freed from hunger." Therefore, on the 15th of July, people will prepare rich sacrificial rites to worship the local officials and their ancestors.
Legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival
Legend has it that the underground officials are in charge of the gates of hell. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the underground palace opens the gates of hell, which is also the day when hell opens its doors. Legend has it that all ghosts were released in the underworld on that day, and people generally carried out activities of offering sacrifices to ghosts. Anyone who has a new funeral will go to a new grave, and the deceased ancestors can go home for reunion. In general, ghosts and ghosts are sacrificed in local places, so people should set up Dojo and put steamed bread for ghosts and ghosts to eat. On this day, ancestors should be worshipped, graves should be visited, and lanterns should be lit to light the way home for the dead. Taoist temple held a grand ceremony to pray for auspicious Dojo, the content of which was to cross over the soul of the deceased. Therefore, it is a whole festival centered on the worship of ghosts, and it has become the largest folk ghost festival in China.
Hungry Ghost Festival custom
offer sacrifices to ancestors
The ancestor worship ceremony is usually held in the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in which the ancestral tablets are invited out one by one, and the ancestors are kowtowed in the order of seniority and seniority, and their words and deeds this year are reported silently, then incense is inserted, and three meals are served every morning, noon and evening until July 30th, and then the ancestral tablets are sent back.
Eat duck
Chicken can't be used as a sacrifice in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The ancients thought that if the chicken's paws were dug back, all the money and things that people sent to their ancestors would be dug out, and they would not be sent to their ancestors. Moreover, to go to the underworld, you have to cross the river. The Naihe Bridge is too crowded, and ducks can swim directly to the other side with their ancestors' sacrifices, so they are sent as sacrificial messengers.
float a river lantern
The land is sunny and the river is cloudy. The purpose of the river lantern is to spread the ghosts in the water. After they die, they want to be reborn but can't find their way. At this time, if they find a lamp, they can use it to find the way to reincarnate.
Eat ghost head
"if you want to kill ghosts, you will eat ghosts." On the Mid-Autumn Festival on July 15th, Zhong Kui, a god who specializes in fighting evil spirits, will catch many evil spirits and rip off their heads and eat them. What shall we do after he leaves? Smart people make flour into the shape of a ghost's head and steam or cook it to prevent evil spirits from doing evil again.