In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. The person who cuts the moon cakes has calculated in advance how many people in the whole family, how many people in the family and how many people in other places should be counted together. They can't cut more or less, they have to be the same size.
According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon".
In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Northern Song Dynasty. On the evening of August 15, people in the whole city, rich and poor, old and young, put on adult clothes and burned incense to express their wishes to Yue Bai and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave mooncakes to each other, which meant reunion. There are activities in some places, such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival has become more popular. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons.
Nowadays, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, feasting and enjoying the moon are still very popular. People drink alcohol in the middle of the moon to celebrate a better life, or wish their distant relatives health and happiness and spend a good time with their families.
There are many customs and forms of Mid-Autumn Festival, but all of them are entrusted with people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life.
Origin and legend
Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China. According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin dynasties, there was a record of "telling Shangshu Town about cattle confusion, crossing the river in mid-autumn and evening". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.
According to the China calendar, the eighth month of the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, and the second month of autumn is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and August 15th is in the middle of it, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the moon, it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival" and "Moon Festival". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon". The record of "Reunion Festival" was first seen in the Ming Dynasty. "Journey to the West Lake" says: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to show their reunion". "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, the cakes were round, the melons were wrongly divided, and the petals were carved with lotus flowers. ..... married, mothering, back to my in-laws home, say "reunion festival"? quot。 On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of "reunion" in most parts of our country, that is, flipping a small cake symbolizing reunion, which is similar to a moon cake. The cake contains sugar, sesame, sweet-scented osmanthus and vegetables, and the moon, sweet-scented osmanthus tree and rabbit are pressed outside. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the elders at home will divide the cake into pieces according to the number of people, and each person will have one. If someone is not at home, leave one for them to show family reunion.
Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient custom of worshipping autumn in China and Yue Bai. The Book of Rites states that the son of heaven is in spring, and the sun and moon are in autumn. The Asahi is facing the DPRK, and the evening is in the evening. " "Moon at night" here means Yue Bai. It was formed in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular and was designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ouyang Zhan (785-827 AD) said in Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera: "August is in autumn. The beginning and end of the season; At night, the moon is in the clouds. Take it from the sky, it will be cold and hot, and take it from the number of months, it will be round, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. "
The Mid-Autumn Festival reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. "Tokyo Dream" records: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, nobles decorate pavilions and people compete for restaurants to play the moon." On this day, all restaurants in Tokyo have to redecorate their facades, tie silk arches and sell newly opened good wine. The shops are full of fresh fruits, and the night market is very lively, which is rare in a year. Dignitaries, rich families, pavilions and moonshine, harps and harps are sonorous Ordinary citizens scrambled to occupy the restaurant in order to see the moonlight first and arrange a family dinner for their children to reunite. "Hundreds of thousands of' Little Red' sheepskin ice lanterns were released in Zhejiang tonight, floating all over the water like stars" (see Legend of the Old Wulin). And "Shi Jing Moon Appreciation Fair" are different from other countries. Children in the whole city can go to No.12 Middle School or No.13 Middle School by themselves, regardless of the rich and the poor. They are all dressed as adults, and they have their own time when they go upstairs or in Yue Bai in the atrium: men are willing to go to themoon early and climb the fairy laurel. Women want to look like Chang 'e and round like the moon. "(see" new theory of drunkenness ")
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Reunion Festival, August Festival and so on. It is a traditional festival of Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China, and it is also popular in neighboring countries such as North Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Because autumn (referring to the lunar calendar) is in July, August and September, August is in the middle of the year, and August 30th is in the middle of the year, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. So there are more people in the sky than family reunion at night, so it is also called reunion festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient custom of worshipping autumn in China and Yue Bai. The Book of Rites states that the son of heaven is in spring, and the sun and moon are in autumn. The Asahi is facing the DPRK, and the evening is in the evening. " "Moon at night" here means Yue Bai. It was formed in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular and was designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ouyang Zhan (785-827 AD) said in Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera: "August is in autumn. The beginning and end of the season; At night, the moon is in the clouds. Take it from the sky, it will be cold and hot, and take it from the number of months, it will be round, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. "
The Mid-Autumn Festival reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. "Tokyo Dream" records: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, nobles decorate pavilions and people compete for restaurants to play the moon." On this day, all restaurants in Tokyo have to redecorate their facades, tie silk arches and sell newly opened good wine. The shops are full of fresh fruits, and the night market is very lively, which is rare in a year. Dignitaries, rich people, pavilions and moonshine, harps and harps are sonorous. Ordinary citizens scrambled to occupy the restaurant in order to see the moonlight first and arrange a family dinner for their children to reunite. "Hundreds of thousands of' Little Red' sheepskin ice lanterns were released in Zhejiang tonight, floating all over the water like stars" (see Legend of the Old Wulin). And "Shi Jing Moon Appreciation Fair" are different from other countries. Children in the whole city can go to No.12 Middle School or No.13 Middle School by themselves, regardless of the rich and the poor. They are all dressed as adults, and they have their own time when they go upstairs or in Yue Bai in the atrium: men are willing to go to themoon early and climb the fairy laurel. Women want to look like Chang 'e and round like the moon. "(see" new theory of drunkenness ")
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people have paid more attention to the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Journey to the West, Knowing Your Encounters and Happiness in the Morning" says: "People take moon cakes as their legacy and take the meaning of reunion. In the evening, people hold a feast to enjoy the moon. On the top of Su Causeway, singing together is no different from daytime. "
Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the three traditional festivals in China. Investigating the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to myths and legends such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "Wu Gang cutting Guangxi" and "Jade Rabbit smashing medicine". Therefore, the folk customs of Mid-Autumn Festival are mostly related to the moon. Watching the moon, Yue Bai and eating reunion moon cakes all originated from this.
Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are called the three traditional festivals in China. Investigating the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to myths and legends such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "Wu Gang cutting Guangxi" and "Jade Rabbit smashing medicine". Therefore, the folk customs of Mid-Autumn Festival are mostly related to the moon. Watching the moon, Yue Bai and eating reunion moon cakes all originated from this.
The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.
One of the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival-[the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon]
According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the crops died in the sun and the people were poor. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, made full use of his divine power, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last one to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.
Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple.
Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Meng Peng with ulterior motives joined in.
One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, but the villain Meng Peng saw it. He wants to steal the elixir to make himself immortal.
Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.
In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Meng Peng escaped early. Angry and heartbroken, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and shouted the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright. There is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased it three times, the moon retreated three times, he retreated three times, and the moon advanced three times. He couldn't catch up anyway.
Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offer a sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him at the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people made an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e.
Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.
The second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival-[WU GANG won the laurel]
There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon are flourishing, reaching more than 500 feet. There is a man who often cuts down, but every time he finishes cutting, the cut place closes immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty, once went to heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace and did this kind of hard work in vain every day as a punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the month, you will pay for the cold."
Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III-[Zhu Yuanzhang and Moon Cake Uprising]
It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely, and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent a message that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.
Mid-autumn festival custom
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people's main activities are enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes.
Appreciate the bright full moon
In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular to enjoy the moon. According to "Dream of Tokyo", "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, your family is dressing up and the people are fighting for the restaurant to play the moon". On this day, all shops and restaurants in Beijing have to redecorate their facades, tie silk on archways and sell fresh fruits and refined food. The night market is very lively. Many people visit The Upper Terrace, and some wealthy families enjoy the moon in their pavilions and arrange food or family dinners to reunite their children.
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival remains the same. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons.
Eat moon cakes
People in urban and rural areas of China have the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. As the saying goes, "August 15th is full, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are sweet and fragrant". Moon cakes were originally used to worship the moon god. The word "moon cake" first appeared in Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was just a cake-shaped food like Ling Hua cake. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn Festival with tasting moon cakes, which symbolized family reunion.
Mooncakes were originally made at home, and the practice of mooncakes was recorded in Yuan Mei's Menu with the Garden in the Qing Dynasty. In modern times, there are workshops specializing in making moon cakes, and the production of moon cakes is becoming more and more elaborate, with exquisite fillings and beautiful appearance. There are also various exquisite designs printed on the outside of the moon cakes, such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "jathyapple of the Galaxy" and "San Tan Yin Yue". It has become the wish of people all over the world to show people's reunion with a full moon, to show people's eternal life with a round moon cake, to pin their thoughts on their relatives in their hometown and to pray for a bumper harvest and happiness. Moon cakes are also used as gifts to send to relatives and friends and to connect feelings.
Tidal bore watching
"Know the jade rabbit is very round, September has frost cold. Send a message to close the door and close the key, and the night tide stays in 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 Zhejiang, besides enjoying the moon, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity. The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which is described in detail in Mei Cheng's Seven Hair in Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, Mid-Autumn tide watching became more popular. There are also records of watching the tide in Zhu Tinghuan's "Making Up the Past of Wulin" in Ming Dynasty and Meng Lianglu in Song and Wu Zimu's. The spectacular tide-watching scenes in these two books show that the Mid-Autumn Festival tide-watching reached an unprecedented peak in the Song Dynasty.
Burning lamp
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the sky is as clear as water and the moon is as bright as a mirror, which can be described as a beautiful scene. However, people are not satisfied with this, so there is a custom of burning lanterns to help the moon. In Huguang area, it is customary to stack tiles on the tower and burn lights on it. In Jiangnan, there is a custom of making lanterns. In the modern Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of burning lanterns is more popular. Today, Zhou Yunjin and He He said in their article "Talking about the Four Seasons": "The lanterns in Guangdong are the most prosperous, and every household uses bamboo sticks to tie lanterns ten days before the festival. Make fruits, birds and animals, fish and insects and the words "Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival", and paint various colors on colored paper. Mid-autumn night lanterns are tied to bamboo poles with ropes, and the height of the trees is on tile eaves or terraces, or they are made into glyphs or hung on the heights of houses with small lights, commonly known as' Mid-Autumn Festival on the trees' or' Mid-Autumn Festival vertically'. Rich people can hang lights as high as tens of feet. Families gather under the lamp to enjoy drinking, and ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The city is full of lights and glass. " It seems that since ancient times, the custom of burning lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to Lantern Festival in scale.
Other Mid-Autumn Festival customs
China has a vast territory, a large population and different customs. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in a variety of ways, with strong local characteristics.
In Pucheng, Fujian, women have to cross nanpu bridge to live longer during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Jianning, hanging lanterns on Mid-Autumn Festival night is a good omen to ask the Moon Palace for children. People in Shanghang County celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and most of their children are invited to visit their parents when they are in Yue Bai. When Longyan people eat moon cakes, their parents will dig out round cakes with a diameter of two or three inches in the middle for their elders to eat, which means that they can't tell the secret to the younger generation. This custom stems from the legend that moon cakes contain the message of anti-meta-killing. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival in Kinmen, Yue Bai should worship God.
There is a custom of Mid-Autumn Festival Yue Bai in Chaoshan, Guangdong, which is mainly aimed at women and children. As the saying goes, "men are dissatisfied with the moon, and women don't sacrifice stoves." At night, when the bright moon rises, women set up a box in the yard and balcony to pray. Silver candles burned high, cigarettes filled the air, and the table was filled with good fruits and cakes as sacrifices. There is also the custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival. There is a saying in Chaoshan: "River to mouth, taro to eat." August is the harvest season of taro, and farmers are used to using taro to worship their ancestors. Of course, this has something to do with farming, but there is also a popular folk legend: 1279, Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and brutally ruled the Han people. Mafa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were slaughtered. In order not to forget the suffering of Hu people's rule, later generations used taro as a homonym with "Hu tou", which looked like a human head, in order to pay homage to their ancestors and pass it on from generation to generation, and it still exists today.
Burning towers on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is also very popular in some places. The height of the tower varies from 1-3 meters, mostly made of broken tiles. The tower is also made of bricks, accounting for about 1/4 of the tower height, and then stacked with tiles, leaving a tower mouth at the top for fuel transportation. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, it will be lit and burned. The fuel is wood, bamboo, chaff, etc. When the fire is booming, rosin powder will be poured to cheer, which is very spectacular. There are also folk rules for burning stupas. Whoever burns the stupa to the whole house wins, and those who fail or collapse in the burning process lose. The winner will be presented with colorful flags, bonuses or prizes by the host. It is said that burning towers is also the origin of Han people's resistance to cruel rulers and Mid-Autumn Uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the folk customs in Jiangnan are also varied. Nanjing people love to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, so they must eat osmanthus duck, a famous Jinling dish. "Sweet-scented osmanthus duck" should be listed in Gui Xiang. It is fat but not greasy and delicious. After drinking, you must eat a small piece of sugar taro and pour cinnamon pulp on it. Beauty speaks for itself. "Guijiang" was named after Qu Yuan's "Helping the North to close its doors and drink Guijiang" in Chu Ci Shao Si Ming. Cinnamon pulp is a kind of sweet-scented osmanthus, which is picked around the Mid-Autumn Festival and pickled with sugar and sour plum. Jiangnan women are good at turning poems and songs into delicacies on the table. People in Nanjing enjoy the moon with their families, which is called "celebrating reunion", the group sitting and drinking is called "full moon", and the market trip is called "walking on the moon".
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were Moon Tower and Moon Bridge in Nanjing. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a moon-watching building under Lion Mountain, all of which were for people to enjoy the moon, and most people played the Moon Bridge. When the bright moon is high, people go to the Moon Tower to play the Moon Bridge, so as to enjoy watching the Jade Rabbit. "Xiyue Bridge" is located in the Confucius Temple on Qinhuai River, next to the mansion of Ma Xianglan, a famous prostitute. On this night, the literati gathered on the bridge to play the flute, sing songs and reminisce about Niuzhu playing with the moon and writing poems for the moon, so it was called playing with the moon bridge. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, it gradually declined. Later generations have a poem saying: "The romantic Southern Song Dynasty has been exhausted, leaving the west wind to be a long Banqiao, but remember to take the Yuren Bridge and teach the flute under the moon." Longbanqiao, the original Moon Bridge. In recent years, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing has been renovated, some pavilions and pavilions in the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been restored, and the rivers have been dredged. Until the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can enjoy playing with the moon together.
In Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, incense is burned on Mid-Autumn Festival night. There are silks around the incense barrel, which depicts the scenery in the Moon Palace. There are incense sticks made of thread Kaori with paper kuixing and colorful flags on them. Shanghainese Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet with Sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine.
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival in Ji 'an County, Jiangxi Province, every village burns crocks with straw. When the crock is red, put the vinegar in it. At this time, the whole village will smell a fragrance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xincheng County, grass lanterns are hung from the evening of August 1 1 to August 17.
Children build a hollow pagoda with bricks during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Wuyuan County, Anhui Province. Curtains, plaques and other decorations are hung on the tower, and a table is placed in front of the tower, displaying various utensils to worship the "tower god". At night, lights and candles are lit inside and out. Children in Jixi Mid-Autumn Festival play Mid-Autumn firecrackers. Mid-Autumn Festival firecrackers are braided with straw, picked up and smashed stones after soaking, making a loud noise, which is a custom in Youlong. A fire dragon is a dragon made of grass with incense in it. When you visit the dragon, there are gongs and drums teams. They tour the village before being sent to the river.
In Sichuan province, in addition to eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, people also eat cakes, ducks, sesame cakes and honey cakes. In some places, orange lanterns are also lit and hung at the door to celebrate. There are also children who burn incense on grapefruit and dance along the street, which is called "dancing meteor ball" Jiading County's Mid-Autumn Festival is called "Guanyin Club" for offering sacrifices to land gods and performing zaju, vocal music and cultural relics.
In the north, farmers in Qingyun County, Shandong Province offered sacrifices to the god of land valley on August 15, which is called "Young Miao Society". Zhucheng, Linyi, Jimo and other places have to pay homage to their ancestors in addition to the moon. Landlords in guanxian, Laiyang, Guangrao and Postal City also entertain their tenants in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jimo Mid-Autumn Festival eats a kind of holiday food called "Wheat Arrow". Banquet for son-in-law at Mid-Autumn Festival in Lu 'an, Shanxi. Datong county calls moon cakes reunion cakes, and it is a custom to keep vigil on Mid-Autumn Festival night.
Wanquan County, Hebei Province called the Mid-Autumn Festival "Little New Year's Day", and there were pictures of Xing Jun and Guan Di reading the Spring and Autumn Festival at night on moonlight paper. Hejian county people think that the rain in Mid-Autumn Festival is bitter rain. If it rains in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the local people think that vegetables must be terrible.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province, men row boats and climb cliffs, while women set up banquets. No matter rich or poor, people should eat watermelons. On Mid-Autumn Festival, drummers blow drums along the door to ask for money. In Luochuan county, parents lead students to bring gifts to their husbands, and there are more lunches than school dinners.
Some places have also formed many special Mid-Autumn Festival customs. In addition to enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon and eating moon cakes, there are dragon dances in Hong Kong, piling towers in Anhui, Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangzhou, burning towers in Jinjiang, moon-watching in Shihu, Suzhou, moon-dancing by Dai and Miao, moon-stealing dishes by Dong and dancing by Gaoshan people.
Mid-autumn festival related
August 15th of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as "August and a half". On this day, all relatives who are away from home will go home for reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". This is an important "festival" in the year after the Spring Festival. Before the festival, Yancheng villagers made full preparations. Usually people buy all kinds of moon cakes with stuffing from food stores, as well as chickens, geese, ducks and poultry waiting to be slaughtered, as well as some lotus roots, pears and diamonds. On this day, eat more jiaozi or cakes in the morning, roosters or ducks at noon, and moon cakes, glutinous rice cakes (commonly known as "sticky sesame cakes" in the west) or lotus root cakes at night. In the old society, at night, all families should "respect the moonlight". Children would take the fruits on their plates, put them outside the square table, light incense sticks, set off firecrackers and reunite with Yue Bai's family. Poor people eat ordinary rice cakes, while rich people hold banquets and have reunion wine. At present, the custom of "respecting the moon" in urban and rural areas is rare, and other folk customs still exist. Some organs and mass organizations often hold tea parties and get-togethers for overseas Chinese from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan on this festival, and industrial and commercial enterprises hold trade fairs and fairs in autumn. Intellectuals, especially celebrities in the cultural and artistic circles, often get together, write poems, write and draw pictures by enjoying the moon.
The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, the folk custom of Yancheng has a history of more than 2000 years. It is said that ancient emperors sacrificed to the sun in the morning of February 15 in spring and to the moon in the evening of August 15 in autumn. This is what was said later: "It is better to sacrifice the sun than the moon, and mid-spring and mid-autumn are at that time." In ancient times, the three months of the lunar calendar were called Meng, Zhong and Ji respectively. The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is just in the middle of autumn, so people call it "Mid-Autumn Festival" and "Mid-Autumn Festival". The emperor offered sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn, and dignitaries and scribes followed suit. This custom gradually spread to Yancheng folk. Therefore, Yancheng has the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon, Yue Bai and enjoying the moon every Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that this custom is related to the statement that Ming Taizu visited the Moon Palace on August 15th in the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, one year, on the night of August 15th, Emperor Tang Ming had a dream. Accompanied by Taoist Luo, he flew to the Moon Palace and walked to the beautiful Miyagi. Suddenly, he felt a chill and fragrance. When he saw it, under a huge osmanthus tree in front of the door, a white rabbit was tinkering with medicine, and a huge plaque was embedded in the door, which read "House of Wide Cold and Clear Deficiency". They entered the Guanghan Palace, which was full of exotic flowers and plants and extraordinary style. In the magnificent hall with carved beams and painted buildings and jade pillars, hundreds of fairies dressed in white and transparent light jade gauze danced with melodious music. When Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty woke up from his dream, he quickly ordered his men to write down the songs in the Moon Palace, and after finishing them, they became colorful feather clothes, which were later circulated among the people.
The Mid Autumn Festival moon
When the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, people have been talking about the moon for a long time.
Tracing back to the origin of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, according to "Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera", "When autumn is here, summer is in winter; August is in autumn, and the season begins and ends in Meng; Fifteen nights in the middle of the month. If you take it from the sky, it will be cold and hot, and if you take it from the number of months, it will be round. " In other words, August 15th is in the middle of August in autumn, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". Why do people like to enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival? A poem says, "There is a bright moon at four o'clock, so why celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival?". Yaotai Baojian should be the supreme head of Yuyu; Release Bai Haoqian feet and scatter into space. Everything comes into my eyes, the stars avoid glory, and the wind dew helps calm down. "
From the seasonal point of view, it is the "Autumn Harvest Festival", and the grain sown in summer sowing in spring should be harvested in autumn. Since ancient times, people have been drinking and dancing in this season to celebrate the harvest with joy, which is described in China's earliest collection of poems, The Book of Songs. From the origin, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a "Moon Festival", which originated from the worship of nature by ancient humans. In the ritual system of ancient emperors, there were two festivals in the Spring and Autumn Period: the Spring Festival for the sun and the Mid-Autumn Festival for the moon. At first, the day of offering sacrifices to the moon was at the "autumnal equinox", and August was different every year, so there was not necessarily a moon at the autumnal equinox. Sacrificing the moon without it is a great spoil, and August 15 is gradually established as the day of sacrificing the moon. From the scientific observation, the inclination of the earth and the sun increases in autumn, and the warm and humid air flow over China gradually fades, while the northwest wind is still very weak. In this way, when the moisture has gone and the dust has not yet risen, the air is particularly fresh, the sky is particularly clean and the moon looks round and big, which is the best time to enjoy the moon. Just as the ancient poem said, "Bright and bright, but enjoying the mid-autumn moon in ancient and modern times, I wonder if it is moonlight?" The sky is clear. "
Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties and flourished in Tang and Song Dynasties. According to Song and Zhu Yi's Old News, when did the Mid-Autumn Festival begin? Archaeologists began to write poems in Du Zimei. "Browsing the Tang poetry, there are indeed many Mid-Autumn Festival poems, such as Wang Jianyou's poem:" The moon is like a circle, the color is gradually condensed, and the jade basin is full of water. Let the family sleep through the night. "Xu Ning's poem said:" When the autumn moon is full in August, Chang 'e corrects fresh cassia twig; "A year is not now day and night, and I can't sleep before the Twelve Peaks."
In the Song Dynasty, the folk Mid-Autumn Festival became more prosperous. According to "Tokyo Dream", there is such a description of the grand occasion of enjoying the moon in Kyoto in the Northern Song Dynasty. "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, your family decorated pavilions, people competed for restaurants, played on the moon and sang, and I heard it all the way. I sat together until dawn." "New Notes on Drunken Weng" records: "Children of Qingcheng people can go to the twelfth and thirteenth, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, all dressed as adults. They go upstairs or in Yue Bai in the atrium, each with its own period: men are willing to go to themoon early and climb Xiangui; Women want to look like Chang 'e and round like the bright moon. "
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the full moon, people will put moon cakes, pomelos, pomegranates, taro, walnuts, peanuts, watermelons and other fruits on the courtyards and balconies, enjoy the moon and talk with each other until the bright moon is in the sky, and then share the fruits for the moon, which is enjoyable. In the minority areas of China, Mid-Autumn Festival also has colorful activities, such as "Yue Bai", "Naughty Moon", "Walking Moon", "Jumping Moon" and "Stealing Moon".
The blue sky is like a wash, and the full moon is like a plate. When people enjoy the moon, they can't help but miss their relatives who have traveled abroad and lived in a foreign land. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival". Many ancient poems expressed people's thoughts at this time. Yin Wengui, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote: "The most reunion night in Wan Li is the Mid-Autumn Festival." Wang Jian's poem "Looking at the bright moon and sending it to Du Lang on fifteen nights" says: "I wonder who will be in Qiu Si tonight." China people have always regarded family reunion, relatives and friends reunion, and * * * is extremely precious in enjoying family happiness, which has always been called "reunion of those who spend a good night together".