The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
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.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the product of the combination of Taoism and traditional folk customs in China, and the two can correspond, mainly based on the same world view: the three realms of heaven, earth and water are deified into three realms of government under the jurisdiction of heaven, earth and water officials. The so-called "Three Realms Duke" among the people refers to the three gods with three officials.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, Tianshi Daoism had integrated the pre-Taoist world view, and it was necessary to put the "Three Officials' Calligraphy" in heaven, earth and water for the first time to express repentance to the three officials and pray for peace. After the development of the Six Dynasties, the three-meeting day was combined with the ternary thought. Under the official advocacy of the Tang Dynasty, the ternary days of Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Xiayuan were stereotyped and became ternary festivals to pray for Naji and worship the ancestors. The emperor led hundreds of officials to participate in the festival ceremony. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, Sanyuan Day became a folk festival.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Taoist temples, such as the Temple of Fire in Di 'anmen and the Baiyun Temple outside Xibianmen, hold the "Dojo of Blessing Auspicious" as usual every year in order to pray for "good weather, peaceful country and people's safety". Because of their fear, people combine Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in their daily lives, and call the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month "Ghost Moon".
After the introduction of Buddhism, there was also a ritual of crossing over to recommend ancestors in Buddhism, which was called "ULLAMBANA" (Indian word), which was also called "Menglan Basin Society". The meaning of Menglan basin is hanging upside down, and the pain of life is like a bat hanging upside down on a tree, hanging and miserable. In order to save all living beings from the suffering of hanging upside down, it is necessary to chant scriptures and give food to ghosts and ghosts. This happens to coincide with China's ghost-moon worship, and Buddhism also holds a prayer meeting on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, so the Mid-Yuan Festival and Menglan Meeting are handed down at the same time.
The Cultural Connotation of Mid-Autumn Festival
All kinds of customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival contain incomparably rich cultural contents, which embody our native culture, cultural filial piety and primitive religious beliefs to the fullest.
1, Mid-Autumn Festival is the online of traditional filial piety culture.
Filial piety is a traditional virtue of China, a culture of filial piety, and a traditional culture of China. "Filial piety culture refers to the content and way of China culture and China's filial piety consciousness and behavior, as well as the sum of its historical process, political attribution and extensive social behavior extension." The connotation of filial piety in China culture can't be understood only from an ethical concept and norms. It can be said that it contains spiritual phenomena of various forms of consciousness, including religious, philosophical, political, legal, educational, folk-custom, artistic and many other cultural implications. The origin of filial piety should be in the Zhou Dynasty. "It was not until the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty that ancestor worship was truly instructive." People worship their ancestors on the Mid-Autumn Festival just following the traditional culture of China, filial piety.
2. Mid-Autumn Festival is the carrier of ancestor worship.
Since ancient times, China has not formed a complete system of religious belief culture. The religious beliefs of our ancestors are complex and sometimes even contradictory. Today, some scholars regard Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as the religions of old China, but this view is still disputed in academic circles. Our ancestors' choice of religion has an obvious feature, that is, those who use it for us can use it whenever they want. Primitive religions (including nature worship, ghost worship, reproductive worship, totem worship, ancestor worship, etc.), Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism all occupied the consciousness space of our ancestors. But they don't cling to a certain ideological system from generation to generation, and only pay attention to an idea when they think it is beneficial. The content of ancestor worship is mysterious and rich. We can sum up the content of ancestor worship with four words: "Be cautious to the end". "Be cautious to the end" means to handle the funeral of the elder generation according to certain etiquette; Chasing the distance' refers to sacrificing and mourning the distant ancestors on time to show that they will not forget the fundamentals. "
3. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a continuation of China's ghost concept.
The concept of ghost is one of the earliest religious concepts of human beings, and it is the mysterious understanding of human life. In ancient times, human beings believed that man was a combination of spirit and flesh, which were separated from each other, and the soul was attached to the flesh. People died, but the soul did not die. The soul is invisible and eternal in the world. It manifests itself as a soul in life and becomes a ghost after death. However, ghosts belong to the spiritual category after all, and they are invisible and intangible things. What people can contact and place is only their attached body-the body that has lost its life. Moreover, people in ancient and modern times think that "ghosts care about their own bodies and inhabit and wander around the cemetery, so ghost worship is mainly reflected in the ceremony of burying and sacrificing the dead, and entrusts the grief and wishes of the living with some funeral customs."
What are the taboos for going to the grave on the Mid-Autumn Festival?
1, pregnant women avoid sweeping graves.
It is best for pregnant women to avoid grave-sweeping activities on the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is not only the influence of heavy yin. In other ways, the Mid-Autumn Festival is very crowded. For the safety of the fetus, it is not recommended for pregnant women to attend. Moreover, the weather of grave sweeping and the surrounding environment are not conducive to the health of pregnant women. In addition, if women have official holidays, they should also avoid such activities.
2. Don't take photos in the cemetery.
The purpose of sweeping graves is to sacrifice ancestors, not to have fun. There is a god who holds his head three feet high. When you sweep the grave, you'd better be respectful, attentive and cautious, and never take photos in the cemetery, or even take photos at will, otherwise it will attract a bad atmosphere, and there will be an imbalance between Yin and Yang, which will damage your personal fortune.
3, avoid wearing big red and purple
You can't wear bright red and purple to the grave on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I believe everyone will not wear such clothes to participate in such activities. However, some people will be careless and inadvertently use red in their clothes or underwear. Of course, the animal year is an exception, and underwear can be worn in red.
4. Outsiders should not participate in other people's grave sweeping.
It is taboo to participate in grave sweeping as an outsider during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and it is easy to cause unnecessary trouble. After all, they are not a family, and their blessings are different, which may cause disorder in the gas field and lead to disharmony and bad luck.
5. Those who are in poor health and unlucky avoid sweeping graves.
A person who is in a state of illness or weakness, or has had bad luck recently, and everything is not going well, had better not go to grave-sweeping activities, because such people are in a state of low overall fortune, and it is easy to bring bad luck. The ugly point is that evil spirits are on their upper bodies, because gloomy things are the most popular people, and such people lack popularity and are easy to invade.
6, grave long grass must be trimmed.
Plants growing on graves must be removed, and they must never grow into climate. This is the most important thing, but you know, sweeping the grave means cleaning things that are not conducive to the cemetery. The vegetation on the grave will do harm to family members, including luck and health, which is greatly unfavorable.
7. Don't buy shoes without covering your forehead.
In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a ghost festival. Of course, attention should be paid to the hairstyle, especially the hair can't cover the forehead, which is the magic lamp of the human body and can't be covered. At the same time, don't buy shoes on the same day, because shoes are the same evil, and most friends with a little common sense won't buy shoes on this day, so as not to be unlucky.
8, avoid playing and scolding, criticizing ancestors.
After the grave-sweeping, someone took their children there. It may have been solemn at first, but as soon as it was over, they began to fight and laugh. We should pay attention to this. We should know that the graveyard is the sleeping place of the Yin spirit after all. Laughing and cursing will disturb the Yin spirit, which is disrespectful and may lead to retaliation. It is even more undesirable to criticize the ancestors. If you pass by other people's cemeteries, judging the deceased is blasphemy, and then it will be no wonder who is in trouble.