1. Mid-Autumn Festival Customs

(1) There is also a special moon-appreciating activity on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival called "Walking on the Moon". Under the bright moonlight, people were dressed in gorgeous clothes, traveling in small groups, or going to the market, boating on the Qinhuai River, or climbing upstairs to watch the moonlight, chatting and laughing. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing built the Moon Tower and the Wanyue Bridge, and in the Qing Dynasty, there was the Chaoyue Tower under the Lion Rock. They were all popular moon-viewing spots for tourists to "walk on the moon." Going out to enjoy the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival night is called "moon walking" by Shanghainese. In Wu region, there is a custom of walking on the moon and walking on three bridges, which means traveling under the moonlight and crossing at least three bridges (see Gu Lu's "Qing Jia Lu Volume 8"). This custom also exists in Shanghai (see "Haizouye Travel Records" by Yu Squid). The so-called people who walk on the three bridges obviously have the taste of surviving misfortune.

(2) Burn lamps to help with the moonlight. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, candles are burned in lamps and tied to bamboo poles, on tile eaves, on terraces and other high places, commonly known as "Tree Mid-Autumn Festival" or "Standing Mid-Autumn Festival".

2. Mid-Autumn Festival Story

(1) Wu Gang won the crown

There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: According to legend, the laurel in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon The tree grew luxuriantly and was more than five hundred feet high. There was a man below who was often cutting it down, but every time he cut it down, the cut area immediately closed up again. For thousands of years, this osmanthus tree has been cut down as it goes. This osmanthus tree can never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the tree was named Wu Gang, who was from Xihe in the Han Dynasty. He once followed the immortals to practice Taoism and reached the heaven. However, he made a mistake, and the immortals demoted him to the Moon Palace, where he did such futile and hard work every day as punishment. . There is a record in Li Bai's poem "If you want to cut the laurel in the moon, you will hold on to the salary of those who are cold".

(2) Chang'e flies to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, which caused the crops to wither and the people to live in dire straits. A hero named Hou Yi, with infinite power, He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, used his magical power, drew his magical bow, and shot down more than nine suns in one go, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and set on time to benefit the people.

As a result, Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind-hearted wife named Chang'e. In addition to spreading his skills and hunting, Hou Yi stayed with his wife all day long. People envied this loving couple with talent and beauty.

Many people with lofty ideals came here to learn from Tou Shi, and Peng Meng with evil intentions also got in.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek enlightenment. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who was passing by, and asked the Queen Mother for a package of elixir. It is said that if you take this medicine, you can immediately ascend to heaven and become an immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang'e for collection. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box on the dressing table. Unexpectedly, the villain Peng Meng saw it. He wanted to steal the elixir and become an immortal himself.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his disciples out for hunting. Peng Meng, who had evil intentions, pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Soon after Hou Yi led everyone away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng. In the critical moment, she made a prompt decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine, and her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew to the sky. Because Chang'e cared about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the world and became an immortal.

In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was frightened and angry, so he drew his sword to kill the villain, but Peng Meng had already escaped. Hou Yi was so angry that he beat his chest and was heartbroken. He looked up at the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that the moon today was particularly special. It is bright and bright, and there is a swaying figure that looks like Chang'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased three steps, the moon took three steps back, he took three steps back, and the moon took three steps forward. No matter what, he couldn't catch up.

Houyi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send people to Chang'e's favorite back garden, set up an incense table, put her favorite sweetmeats and fresh fruits, and offer sacrifices to him in the moon palace. of Chang'e. After the people heard the news that Chang'e flew to the moon and became an immortal, they all set up incense tables under the moon and prayed to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good luck and peace.

Since then, the custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.