The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Tang Taizong records the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in China.
This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. According to the Chinese calendar, the eighth month of the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, which is the second month of autumn, and it is called "Mid-Autumn", and the fifteenth day of August is in the middle of it, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".
There are many nicknames for the Mid-Autumn Festival: because the festival falls on August 15th, it is called "August Festival" and "August Half"; Because China people symbolize the beautiful things of human reunion from the full moon in the sky, the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are carried out around the moon, so they are also commonly known as "Moon Festival" and "Moon Night". The full moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, and it is customary for strangers who are away from home to have family reunion on this day, 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.
As Zhu Dunru said, "I prefer the mid-autumn moon, from ancient times to the present. The Mid-Autumn Festival not only fully shows China people's longing for the full moon in the sky and the reunion between people, but also cooperates with various festivals and customs activities to become a festive season full of joy and poetic interest. For example, "Notes on the Tour of the West Lake" said: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes as a token of reunion". "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of Dijing" also said: "On the 15th of August, when the moon is sacrificed, the cakes will be round, the melons will be misshapen, and the petals will be carved like lotus flowers. ..... Those who are married and mothering will return to their in-laws' homes in the future, which is called the Reunion Festival. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of "reunion" in most parts of our country, that is, a small cake symbolizing reunion, similar to a moon cake, which is filled with sugar, sesame, osmanthus and vegetables, and covered with designs such as the moon, osmanthus trees and rabbits. In addition to all kinds of moon cakes, there are all kinds of seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits, which are also delicious food on Mid-Autumn Festival.
On the night of enjoying the moon, the elders in the family divide the cake into pieces according to the number of people, one for each person, and if someone is not at home, leave a copy for them to show family reunion. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, the cool breeze is cool, the clouds are sparse and foggy, and the moonlight is particularly bright. In addition to holding a series of activities, such as enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, eating moon cakes, and wishing for reunion, there are also activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas in some places.
Another explanation for the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is that the 15th day of the eighth lunar month happens to be the moment when rice is ripe, and all families worship the land god.
The Origin of Moon Worship and Moon Appreciation;
Sacrifice to the moon existed as early as before the Qin and Han Dynasties, when it was mainly held in the court. Later, emperors of all dynasties followed this ceremony, and every Mid-Autumn Festival, a grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to the moon was held. The existing moon altar in Beijing is a place dedicated to offering sacrifices to the moon by emperors. According to legend, August 15th is the birthday of Moon God, the Empress of Taiyin. In the evening, incense burners and candlesticks will be placed in the courtyard outside the house, and candles will be burned to burn incense. Grapefruits, watermelons and moon cakes will be used to worship the moon god, and women and children will be responsible for the worship (generally speaking, Yue Bai is only an activity for women and children, and men are not allowed to visit Yue Bai). When I was in Yue Bai, the whole family got together to get together. The priest is the matriarch, who first gives incense to the throne and prostrates herself three times; Then other women kowtowed three times according to their seniority.
After the worship, the family sat around watching the moon and drank "reunion wine", ate "moon-watching rice" and tasted "reunion cake" (moon cake) and claw fruit; In the past, due to the inconvenient transportation, the fruits of Yue Bai, a northerner, were mostly pears, apples, pomegranates, grapes, dates, peaches, lotus roots and watermelons. Yue Bai's fruits and vegetables in the south are bananas, grapefruit, carambola, persimmons, water chestnuts, coconuts, loquats, bergamot, pineapples, tangerines, oranges, peanuts and taro. Old people will point to the moonlight and tell children the story of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Yutu tinkering with medicine, and WU GANG chopping laurel trees".
On this day, women who go back to their parents' homes to visit relatives must return to their in-laws' homes for reunion. There is a folk proverb that "it is better to stay in the autumn than to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival", which reflects this custom.
The reason why the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon quickly became popular among the people after the Tang Dynasty is closely related to the legend that Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty visited the Moon Palace. "History of Tang Yi" records that Luo Gongyuan, a native of Ezhou, was waiting for the Ming Emperor of Tang Dynasty to enjoy the moon in the mid-autumn night. Seeing Xuanzong staring at the bright moon, he invited Xuanzong to visit the Moon Palace. He took out a kidnapper and threw it into the air. Suddenly, it turned into a silver bridge. He invited Xuanzong to get on the bridge together. He walked almost dozens of miles away, feeling dazzling and chilly, only to find that he reached the front of a big palace. Luo Gongyuan said: This is the Moon Palace! When Xuanzong saw hundreds of fairies dancing in the vast court in plain take off your coat, their songs were loud and beautiful, he asked, "What is this tune? Luo Gongyuan replied, "It's called colorful plumage.". Xuanzong firmly remembered the tone of the song, returned to the palace, and immediately ordered people to compose a song "colorful plumage" according to the tone he remembered.
This is the origin of colorful plumage. This song is a famous French song in the Tang Dynasty, which describes the myth of Tang Xuanzong's going to the Moon Palace to see fairies. Therefore, when Bai Juyi, a poet in the middle Tang Dynasty, saw this song performed in the court at that time in Yuanhe years, the dancers "didn't wear other people's vulgar clothes." Hong Shang Xia Dian steps to shake the crown, and the tassels are full of flowers to wear Shanshan, just like a fairy in heaven. His dancing style is also "floating back to the light snow, smiling and surprising Youlong, restraining weakness after dropping his hand, and clouds are coming to life when dragging his skirt obliquely", "Smoke moth?" Slightly overwhelmed, the wind sleeves are low and affectionate. It seems that the artistic conception of the "green calyx" (Bai Juyi's Song of Dress and Feather and Micro-poem) is very consistent with the myth of the Moon Palace.
Buddhism worships "the moonlight shines on the Bodhisattva" on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
On the other hand, Buddhism worships "moonlight shines on bodhisattva" on the night of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moonlight shines on Bodhisattva in Sanskrit candra_prabha, and its Chinese translations include Moonlight Bodhisattva, Moonlight Bodhisattva and Moonlight Shining Bodhisattva. He is the right-hand attendant of the pharmacist Buddha in the Oriental Pure Glass World. "Moonlight shines" is a calm expression in Buddhism, reflecting the splendor of Ming Che, allowing thousands of people to be captured, so as to avoid being annoyed by greed, ignorance and three poisons. The Moonlight Bodhisattva is white, riding in the constellation Goose and holding the moon wheel. He is the two assistants of the pharmacist Tathagata, who serves the Sunlight Bodhisattva on the left. Among the infinite bodhisattvas of the pharmacist Buddha, he and the Sunlight Bodhisattva are the most important bodhisattvas in the first place. Both of them are in the supplement place, holding the treasure of dharma of pharmacists.
The original deeds of the Moonlight Bodhisattva are the same as those of the Sunlight Bodhisattva, and they are all closely related to the pharmacist Buddha. In the distant past, when the lightning came to live in the world, there was a brahman who raised two sons, one for sunshine and the other for moonlight. The Brahman was happy and affectionate, saving all beings in the troubled world, and his second son also made a vow to provide for them with joy. After the Brahman became a Buddha, it was the pharmacist's glazed light. The moon in the second son is the Moonlight Bodhisattva. Like Sunlight Bodhisattva, Moonlight Bodhisattva is also closely related to Guanyin Bodhisattva's Great Compassion Mantra. For all practitioners who recite the Great Compassion Mantra to their hearts, the Moonlight Bodhisattva will also work with the Infinite Man of God to enhance their effectiveness in holding the mantra. If the yogi can recite the Moonlight Bodhisattva Darani after reciting the Great Compassion Mantra (collected on page 660 of Book 20 of Dazhengzang), the Moonlight Bodhisattva will come to help the mantra holder remove all obstacles and pains, and achieve all good dharma and stay away from all kinds of fears.
Therefore, as a disciple of Buddha, on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival, one should hold the mantra, recite and worship the Moonlight Bodhisattva wholeheartedly, and naturally be blessed and protected by the Buddha and Bodhisattva, so as to get rid of all troubles and obstacles, grow in wealth and wisdom, be healthy in body and mind, seek success and be lucky in everything!