1, sacrifice to the moon
This festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena. Because the ancients were superstitious, they all had a primitive worship psychology for everything in nature. When they saw the moon in the sky, they thought it might be a sign of heaven. As early as in ancient times, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon has appeared, and offering sacrifices to the moon in autumn is a relatively grand ritual activity. At first, the "Moon Festival" was scheduled on the day of the autumnal equinox, and later it was changed to August 15th of the lunar calendar.
2. the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon
Ten suns suddenly appeared in the sky one year. Hou Yi shot nine. Later, I happened to meet the Queen Mother and asked her for a pack of elixir. However, Hou Yi couldn't bear to leave his wife, so he temporarily gave the medicine to Chang 'e for safekeeping. Every Meng threatened Chang 'e with a sword to hand over the fairy medicine. In desperation, Chang 'e took out the medicine and swallowed it. Immediately flew to the sky, and after hearing the news that Chang 'e became an immortal, people put incense tables under the moon to pray for Chang 'e's good luck and peace. Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.
The tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival
1, 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; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her mother's house will return to her husband's house in the future, in order to express her happiness and good luck. The written records of folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities appeared 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.
2. Chasing the Moon
The so-called "chasing the moon" means that after the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the excitement is still unfinished, so the next night, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to enjoy the moon, which is called "chasing the moon". According to the preface of Lingnan Miscellaneous Notes by Chen Zihou, a Qing dynasty, "Good people in central Guangdong gather in Izayoi in August to treat wine and dishes and enjoy the moon, which is called chasing the moon."
3. 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.