Manuscript about Mid-Autumn Festival 1
Manuscript about Mid-Autumn Festival II
Manuscript about Mid-Autumn Festival 3
Why is the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th?
Legend has it that Chang 'e was originally the wife of Hou Yi. After Hou Yi shot nine suns, the Queen Mother of the West gave her the elixir of youth, but Hou Yi was reluctant to eat it, so she gave it to Chang 'e for safekeeping. Hou Yi's disciple Peng Meng coveted the fairy medicine and forced Chang 'e to hand it over. Chang 'e swallowed it in desperation and flew to the sky.
It was the 15th of August, and the moon was big and bright. Because of giving up Houyi, Chang 'e stopped at the moon closest to the earth and lived in Guanghan Palace for a long time. After returning home, Hou Yi was very sad, so on August 15th every year, he put down a banquet to meet Chang 'e with the moon.
Why do you eat moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival?
When Chang 'e arrived at the Moon Palace, she missed her husband very much, and Hou Yi missed her day and night, hoping to see her again. One day, an immortal pointed out the method to Hou Yi: on the full moon night of August 15th, make a ball with flour, and put it in the shape of a full moon in the northwest of the house, and then keep calling Chang 'e's name. At midnight, Chang 'e can go home for reunion. Hou Yi did as he did, so he saw Chang 'e flying from the moon, and the husband and wife were reunited. The round balls made of this flour later evolved into various moon cakes.
Why are there jade rabbits on the moon?
Legend has it that WU GANG's wife had an affair with Sun Boling, the grandson of Emperor Yan. WU GANG killed Boling in a rage, which angered Emperor Yan, the sun god, and was sent to the moon to cut down the immortal tree. However, the laurel tree hit it off with cutting. Every time WU GANG cut an axe, the branches and leaves cut by the axe would grow back on the tree. After so long, WU GANG still failed to cut down the laurel tree. Feeling guilty, WU GANG's wife ordered her three sons to become toads, rabbits and snakes and fly to the moon to accompany WU GANG. In order to help his father cut down the laurel tree as soon as possible, Yutu kept mashing the cut branches and leaves.
Mid-autumn festival customs
Sacrificing the Moon, Appreciating the Moon and Yue Bai.
In the Book of Rites, it has been recorded that "the autumn dusk and the evening moon" means to worship the moon god. At this time, it is necessary to hold a ceremony to welcome the cold and worship the moon and set up a incense table. In the Zhou dynasty, every mid-autumn night was held to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon. Set up a big incense table, and put moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, and watermelons should 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 worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts up the reunion moon cake. Cut the people in advance to calculate the number of people in the whole family, at home and in the field, all together, can not cut more or less, the size should be the same. Among ethnic minorities, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is also popular.
Tidal bore watching
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.
Burning lamp
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is the custom of burning lights to help the moonlight. Nowadays, there is still a custom of burning lamps on the tower with tiles stacked on it in Huguang area. There is a custom of making lantern boats in the south of the Yangtze River. The custom of burning lanterns in modern Mid-Autumn Festival is more prosperous. Today, Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei said in their article "Talking about Seasons in Leisure": "Guangdong has the most prosperous lanterns, and families tie lanterns with bamboo strips ten days before the festival. Make fruit, birds and animals, fish and insects and' celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival' and so on, and paint various colors on paste paper. The candle burning in the Mid-Autumn Night Lantern is tied to a bamboo pole with a rope, which is high on the tile eaves or terraces, or it is built into a glyph or various shapes with small lights and hung at the height of the house, commonly known as' Mid-Autumn Festival on a tree' or' Vertical Mid-Autumn Festival'. "
Eat moon cakes
Watching the moon and eating moon cakes are the necessary customs for Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. As the saying goes, "August and 15th are full, and the moon cakes are sweet and fragrant". The word moon cake originated from Wu Zimu's "Dream of Liang Lu" in the Southern Song Dynasty, when it was only a snack food. Later, people gradually associate enjoying the full moon together with the mooncakes, symbolizing family reunion and carrying their thoughts. At the same time, moon cakes are also important gifts for friends to contact their feelings during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Enjoy osmanthus and drink osmanthus wine.
People often eat moon cakes and enjoy osmanthus in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and eat all kinds of foods made of osmanthus, among which cakes and sweets are the most common.
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at the osmanthus in the middle of the month, smelling the Gui Xiang, drinking a cup of osmanthus wine and celebrating the sweetness of the family have become a beautiful enjoyment of the festival. In modern times, people mostly take red wine instead.
Play with lanterns
There is no large lantern festival in Mid-Autumn Festival, and playing with lanterns is mainly between families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, in the Old Wulin Story, it was recorded that the Mid-Autumn Festival was a custom, and there was an activity of "putting a little red lamp into the river to drift and play". Playing lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival is mostly concentrated in the south.
In Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, Mid-Autumn Festival activities will be held on Mid-Autumn Night, and the trees will be erected, which means that the lights will be erected high. With the help of their parents, children make rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns out of bamboo paper, hang them horizontally in short poles, and then erect them on high poles. They are high-tech and colorful, adding another scene to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Children often compete with each other to see who stands tall and much taller, and the lights are the most exquisite. In addition, there are sky lanterns, that is, Kongming lanterns, which are made of paper and tied into large lights. Candles are burned under the lights, and the hot air rises, making the lights fly in the air and make people laugh and chase.