2. Introduction of Mid-Autumn Festival customs
(1) Sacrifice the moon. It is a very old custom in our country, and it is actually a worship activity of the ancients to the "Moon God". In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn dusk and evening moon". Evening moon, that is, worship the moon god.
(2) burn the lamp. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of burning lanterns 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.
(3) enjoy the moon. The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there is a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times.
(4) Watch the tide. 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.
(5) guessing. On the Mid-Autumn Festival full moon night, there are many lanterns hanging in public places. People gather together to guess the riddles written on the lanterns. Because they are the favorite activities of most young men and women, love stories are also heard at these activities, so solve riddles on the lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival has also been derived as a form of love between men and women.
(6) eat moon cakes. Moon cakes, also known as moon cakes, harvest cakes, palace cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion.
(7) 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.