The custom of Mid-Autumn festival
1, enjoy the moon
In the Mid-Autumn Festival, China has had the custom of enjoying the moon since ancient times. In the Book of Rites, it is recorded that "the moon falls at dusk", that is, worshipping the moon god. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. 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. By the time of the Song Dynasty, a Mid-Autumn Festival centered on the activities of appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival.
2. Yue Bai
Yue Bai comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and the Yue Bai ceremony in China has been held since the Zhou Dynasty. In Yue Bai, sacrifices began when the mid-autumn moon rose. In Yue Bai in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the key is to show respect to the moon god. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, it can be held in Yue Bai without a moon or even if it rains. Wherever the moonlight can shine, it can be held. In case of cloudy days, a sacrificial table can be placed in the direction of the moon.
3. Watch the tide
In ancient times, in addition to enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Zhejiang, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival event. The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which was described in detail in Mei Cheng's Fu of Seven Hair in Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival tide watching became more popular. There are also records of watching the tide in Zhu Tinghuan's Supplementing the Past Events of Wulin in Ming Dynasty and Meng Liang Lu by Zi Mu in Song and Wu Dynasties.
4. Sacrifice the moon
The Mid-Autumn Festival ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon is an ancient ritual, which expresses people's good wish to pray for the moon god to bless the world. Sacrificing the moon originated from the worship of the moon by the early people in ancient times, and later the moon, as a celestial body, was personified and became the moon god. In the past dynasties, the royal family called the moon god the god of night light, and after the rise of Taoism, the moon god was called the lunar star king. However, most people think that Luna is a woman, especially Chang 'e, and call her a moon aunt or sister.