According to legend, after Houyi shot the sun, he got a pack of immortal medicine from the Queen Mother and gave it to his wife Chang 'e for safekeeping. Peng Meng took advantage of Houyi to go hunting and forced Chang 'e to hand over the fairy medicine. Chang 'e swallowed the fairy medicine and ran to the moon in a hurry. After Hou Yi returned, he could only look up at the night sky, call to the figure in the middle of the month, put on incense tables, put on fruits, and offer sacrifices to Chang 'e from afar.

Second, Wu Gang cut Guangxi

According to legend, the osmanthus trees in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grow luxuriantly, with a height of more than 500 feet. WU GANG, a native of Xihe River in Han Dynasty, once followed the immortal to practice Buddhism. When he went to heaven and made a mistake, the immortal relegated him to the Moon Palace to cut down osmanthus trees. Every time it is cut down, the cut place is closed immediately. For thousands of years, this osmanthus tree can never be cut down.

Third, the jade rabbit smashed the medicine

Legend has it that there is a rabbit in the moon, which is as white as jade, so it is called "Jade Rabbit". This kind of white rabbit holds a jade pestle, kneels down and smashes medicine into toad pills. Taking these pills can lead to immortality.

Extended data

Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival:

1, enjoy the moon

Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. By the time of the Song Dynasty, a Mid-Autumn Festival centered on the activities of appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival.

2. Eat moon cakes

According to Records of Luozhong, Tang Xizong ate moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was very delicious, so he ordered the imperial kitchen to wrap the moon cakes in HongLing and give them to the new Jinshi. This may be the earliest record of moon cakes that we can see.

3. Play with lanterns

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. For example, at the aforementioned Foshan Autumn Festival, there were all kinds of colorful lights: sesame lights, eggshell lights, wood shavings lights, straw lights, fish scales lights, chaff lights, melon seeds lights and flowers and trees lights of birds and animals, which were amazing.

4. Watch the tide

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.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Mid-Autumn Festival