1, ancestor worship
People believe that ancestors will go home to visit their descendants in the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the act of worshipping ancestors is a reflection of respecting ancestors and the traditional ethics of "dying like alive". The bumper harvest of crops in autumn also happens to share the joy of bumper harvest with ancestors. Meng Yuan's "Tokyo Dream China" said: "The day before the Yuan Dynasty in China, I bought practice leaves to line the table while enjoying the sacrifice, and I also bought a nest of hemp seeds and tied them on the foot of the table. This was the mind of my ancestor Qiu Cheng."
2, put the flame mouth
There is an important activity in the society of Mengla Basin, which is called "Flame Mouth". "Flame mouth is the so-called hungry ghost in hell in Buddhism. The purpose of this activity is to cross over the dead and feed the ghosts. "Open fire" is held at dusk or night, and the activity lasts for a long time, even reaching the early morning of the next day. First, the monks chanted scriptures and practiced, and finally, the host scattered rice and water around to feed the ghosts.
Step 3 face people
On this day, scholars in Yonghe County offered sacrifices to Kuixing. The shepherd family in Zhangzi County slaughtered sheep in the Mid-Autumn Festival, competing with the gods. It is said that this can increase the output of sheep. Meat is also given to relatives, while those who are poor and have no sheep use steamed noodles in the shape of sheep instead. Farmers in Yangcheng county make cats, tigers and grains from wheat crumbs and sacrifice them in the fields, which is called "going to the fields". People in Mayi County take wheat flour as the shape of children in the Mid-Autumn Festival, named "Mianren", and give each other children from relatives. Farmers in Xinxian County hang colored paper on the stalks of fields on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Step 4 make ships
Fishermen in Long Island make boats out of wooden boards, stick a note "for someone to use" on it or set up a memorial tablet for the drowning people, put on food, clothes, shoes and socks, and then light candles. The married man put the boat into the sea. Families in Zhanhua County set up sheds with fresh grass leaves, picked Kyle, called it "Ma Wu", and asked their ancestors to put them in it for sacrifice. Ling Du county calls the Mid-Autumn Festival "pinch festival", and every family eats humble meals.
5, burning paper
In Sichuan province, there is a custom of burning paper to worship ancestors in the Central Plains. That is, a stack of paper money is sealed in a small envelope, and the name and title of the recipient, the number of envelopes received, and the name and time of the silk changer are written on the envelope. It is said that the Gate of Ghost was closed on July 15, and all families had to "send their children to Shigu". Chengdu people tied the "flower tray" with paper, put paper money and fruit offerings in their hands, and read while walking in the house.
6. Feeding
Jiashan county regards the rain of Mid-Autumn Festival as a sign of rice harvest. In Tonglu County, people sing gongs and scatter rice in the wild on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is called "giving food". The Lanshe Society in eastern Zhejiang invited 24 old ladies to recite the scriptures and "walk eight knots". Eating "jiaozi Cake" on the rooftop during Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to spring rolls. There is also the custom of putting up street lamps. There are six able-bodied men as a group: one who plays gongs, one who plays bangzi, one who carries lanterns, one who sprinkles salty rice along the way, one who makes incense along the way (inserted on a sweet potato or taro), and one who makes tofu and rice balls along the way (placed on a big leaf), with a sacrifice every hundred steps or so.
Now, ancestor worship ceremonies have been simplified, and most areas hold ancestor worship ceremonies on the evening of July 15th or 14th of the lunar calendar. The ancestor worship ceremony has also been simplified, gradually eliminating the superstitious color and retaining the memorial form as a memory and commemoration of the ancestors.