China's people in ancient times, there is "autumn sunset" custom. The moon, that is, to worship the moon god. To the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Night will be held to welcome the cold and moon festival. A large incense burner was set up, and mooncakes, watermelons, apples, jujubes, plums, grapes and other offerings were placed on the table, of which mooncakes and watermelons were absolutely indispensable. The watermelon should also be cut in the shape of a lotus flower. Under the moon, the statue of the moon god is placed in the direction of the moon, red candles are lit high, the whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife in charge cuts the mooncakes for reunion. Cutting people counted in advance how many people in the family ***, at home, in the field, should be counted together, can not cut more or less, the size should be the same.
According to legend, the ancient Qi ugly girl without salt, young, had devoutly worship the moon, grew up, to the superb character into the palace, but was not favored. One year, on the 15th day of the 8th month to enjoy the moon, the son of heaven saw her under the moonlight, thought she was beautiful and outstanding, and later set her up as the queen, the mid-autumn festival to worship the moon thus came to be. Chang'e in the moon, known for her beauty, so young girls worship the moon, wishing "look like Chang'e, face like the moon".
In the Tang Dynasty, Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, playing with the moon is quite popular. In the Northern Song Dynasty. On the night of August 15, people all over the city, rich or poor, old or young, have to put on adult clothes, burn incense and worship the moon to say their wishes, and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave moon cakes to each other, taking the meaning of reunion. In some places, there are also dancing grass dragon, building pagodas and other activities. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival have become more prevalent; many places have formed special customs such as burning douxiang, tree mid-autumn, pointing pagoda lamps, releasing sky lanterns, walking on the moon, and dancing with fire dragons.
Today, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, it is still very popular to hold banquets to enjoy the moon, people drink wine and ask about the moon, to celebrate a better life, or to wish the health and happiness of distant relatives, and family members "thousands of miles of *** Canyuanjuan".
The Mid-Autumn Festival has many customs, and the forms are different, but they are all based on people's infinite love of life and the desire for a better life.
The origin and legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, and other traditional festivals, is also the slow development of the formation of the ancient emperors had a spring festival of the sun, the fall festival of the moon ritual system, as early as in the book of the "Zhou Rites", the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" has been recorded. Later, the aristocrats and scholars also followed suit, in the mid-autumn festival, to the sky and bright and round round moon, ornamental worship, to send feelings, this custom is so spread to the people, forming a traditional activity, until the Tang Dynasty, the custom of the moon festival more people attach importance to, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become a fixed festival, "the Book of the Tang Dynasty - record of the Emperor Taizong," recorded in the "15th of August, the Mid-Autumn Festival "
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the major festivals in China, and it was celebrated in the Song Dynasty, and has become one of the major festivals in China, along with the New Year's Day.
The legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, Chang'e Runs to the Moon, Wu Gang Falters the Cinnamon, the Jade Rabbit Pounds Medicine, and other mythological stories have been widely circulated.
One of the legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival - Chang'e Runs to the Moon
Legend has it that, in ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky at the same time, sunburned the crops withered and died, and the people were not enough to live on, and a hero named Houyi, a hero, with infinite strength, he sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of the Kunlun Mountains, and carried all the divine power, and pulled open the divine bow, and shot down the sun in one breath nine more, and strictly ordered the last one to be on time, and the last one to be on time. He also ordered the last sun to rise and set on time for the benefit of the people.
Hou Yi was thus honored and loved by the people, and he married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang'e. In addition to his hunting skills, Hou Yi also had the ability to hunt and hunt with his bow, which he used to shoot more than nine suns. Hou Yi in addition to the art of hunting, all day long and his wife together, people are envious of this couple of love.
Many people came to learn from Hou Yi, and Peng Meng, who had a bad heart, also came to learn from him.
One day, Hou Yi went to the Kunlun Mountains to visit friends and seek Taoism, and coincidentally met the Queen Mother passing by, so he asked the Queen Mother for a packet of immortality medicine. It was said that by taking this medicine, one could instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi could not leave his wife behind, so he temporarily gave the immortality pill to Chang'e to treasure. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dresser, but was unexpectedly seen by the villain Peng Meng, who wanted to steal the medicine to become immortal himself.
Three days later, Houyi led a group of disciples to go out hunting, and Peng Meng pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Shortly after Hou Yi left, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the mansion with a sword in his hand and forced Chang E to hand over the immortality pill. Chang'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng, and in a moment of crisis, she made a snap decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, and took out the Pill of Immortality and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine, her body immediately floated away from the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew to the sky. As Chang'e attached to her husband, it flew down to the closest to the earth on the moon became immortal.
In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and his maids cried about what happened during the day. Houyi both shocked and angry, drew the sword to kill the villains, Peng Meng early escape, Houyi angry chest thumping, grief, looking up at the night sky calling his wife's name, then he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright, and there is a swaying figure resembles Chang'e. He desperately chased towards the moon, and the moon is the closest to the earth. He desperately chased the moon, but he chased three steps, the moon back three steps, he retreated three steps, the moon into three steps, no matter how can not catch up with the front.
Hou Yi had no choice but to send someone to Chang'e's favorite garden, set up incense, put on her favorite fruit and honey, and sacrificed to Chang'e, who was fond of her in the Moon Palace. When the people heard the news of Chang'e's journey to the moon, they set up incense under the moon and prayed to the kind Chang'e for good luck and peace.
Since then, the custom of worshipping the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
Mid-Autumn Festival Legend No. 2 - Wu Gang folded the laurel
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is another legend: According to legend, the laurel tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grows luxuriantly, with a height of more than 500 zhang, and there is a man who often cuts it down, but every time he cuts it down, the cut place immediately closes up again. For thousands of years, it was cut down and closed up in this way, and the laurel tree could never be cut down. It is said that the man who chopped down the tree was named Wu Gang, a man from Xihe in Han Dynasty, who had followed the immortals to the heavenly realm, but he made a mistake, and the immortals relegated him to the Moon Palace, where he was punished by doing this kind of futile and hard work day after day. Li Bai's poem, "I want to carve the laurel in the moon, and hold it as a salary for the cold".
Mid-Autumn Legend No. 3 - Zhu Yuanzhang and mooncake uprising
Mid-Autumn Festival eating mooncakes is said to have begun in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the people of the Central Plains were unable to endure the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty ruling class, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the imperial court officials and soldiers searched very closely, and it was very difficult to pass the news. Liu Bowen, the military advisor, came up with a plan to order his subordinates to hide the note with the message "Rise on the 15th of August" inside a cake, and then sent people to deliver it to the rebel armies around the world, informing them to rise on the night of the 15th of August to respond to the revolt. On the day of the uprising, all the rebel armies responded together, and the rebel army was like a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan capital and the uprising was successful. The news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he hurriedly sent down an order, in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, so that all the generals and soldiers with the people to have fun, and will be the year when the army to secretly transmit information "moon cake", as a holiday pastry reward for the ministers. Since then, the "moon cake" production more and more fine, more varieties, as large as a disk, become a gift of goodies. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating mooncakes has spread among the people.
Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival, people's main activity is to enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes.
Moon Appreciation
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, China has had the custom of enjoying the moon since ancient times, as recorded in the Book of Rites, which states that "the moon is set in the autumn sunset," i.e., the moon god is worshipped. By the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night is held to welcome the cold and moon sacrifice. A large incense burner was set up and seasonal fruits such as mooncakes, watermelons, apples, plums, grapes, etc. were placed on the table, among which mooncakes and watermelons were absolutely indispensable. The watermelon is also cut into lotus shapes.
During the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Song Dynasty, the mid-autumn moon festival is even more prevalent, according to the "Tokyo Dreaming Records" records: "Mid-autumn night, the noble family decorative platforms and pavilions, the folk compete to occupy the restaurant to play the moon". Every this day, the capital of all the stores, restaurants are to redecorate the facade, the pagoda on the silk hanging color, selling fresh fruit and refined food, the night market is bustling, the people more than on the platform, some rich families in their own pavilions and pavilions to enjoy the moon, and set up food or arrange a feast, reunion of the children, *** with the moon to talk.
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival Moon Festival customs remain the same, many places have formed a burning incense, tree Mid-Autumn Festival, point tower lamps, sky lanterns, walk the moon, dance fire dragon and other special customs.
Eating moon cakes
China's urban and rural masses over the Mid-Autumn Festival have the custom of eating moon cakes, as the saying goes: "August 15, the moon is round, Mid-Autumn Festival moon cakes fragrant and sweet". Mooncake is initially used to worship the moon god's offerings, "mooncake" word, first seen in the Southern Song Dynasty Wu Zimu's "Dream Liang Records", at that time, it is just like the diamond flower cake like cake-shaped food. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with mooncakes, a symbol of family reunion.
Mooncakes were initially made at home, and Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty recorded the practice of mooncakes in his "Sui Yuan Food List". In modern times, there are workshops specializing in the production of moon cakes, moon cake production more and more fine, the filling is exquisite, beautiful appearance, in the moon cake is also printed on the outside of a variety of exquisite patterns, such as "Chang'e Moon", "Galaxy Night Moon", "Three Pools of the Moon" and so on. To the moon's round omen people's reunion, to the cake of the round omen people's life, with the moon cakes to send thoughts of home, missing their loved ones, praying for a good harvest, happiness, have become the world's people's wish, the moon cakes are also used as gifts to send friends and relatives, contact feelings.
Other Mid-Autumn Festival customs
China's geography is vast, the population is large, customs are different, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a variety of ways, and with a strong local characteristics.
In Pucheng, Fujian Province, women spend the Mid-Autumn Festival walking across the Nanpu Bridge for longevity. In Jianning, the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, hanging lamps as an auspicious omen to the Moon Palace to seek children. When people in Shanghang County celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, their children mostly invite the Moon Aunt when they worship the moon. When Longyan people eat mooncakes, parents will dig out round cakes two or three inches in diameter in the center for the elders to eat, meaning that secret things should not be known to the younger generation. This custom stems from the legend that the mooncake hides a message against the Yuan and kills the enemy. In Kinmen, before worshipping the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, one has to pay homage to the God of Heaven.
All over Chaoshan, Guangdong Province, there is a custom to worship the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, mainly women and children, and there is a proverb that says, "Men don't worship the full moon, women don't worship the stove". At night, when the moon rises, women will set up a case in the yard, on the balcony to pray in the air. Silver candles burning high, smoke, the table is also full of good fruit and cakes as a gift. There is also a local custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chaoshan has a proverb: "Hexi to the mouth, taro food to". In August, it is the taro harvest time, farmers are accustomed to taro to worship ancestors. This is certainly related to farming, but there is also a widely circulated folk legend: in 1279, the Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty and established the Yuan Dynasty, which ruled the Han Chinese brutally. Ma Fa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan, and when the city was destroyed, the people were massacred. In order not to forget the suffering of the Hu people rule, the descendants of taro and "Hu head" resonance, and resembles a human head, in order to pay tribute to their ancestors, passed down through the generations, and still exists.
Mid-Autumn Night burning tower in some places is also very popular. Tower height ranging from 1-3 meters, mostly made of broken tiles, large towers are also made of bricks, accounting for about 1/4 of the tower height, and then stacked with tiles and into the top of the tower to leave a mouth, for the release of fuel. Mid-autumn night will be burning fire, fuel wood, bamboo, husk, etc., when the fire is strong, splash rosin powder, lead flame to help, extremely spectacular. Folk there is a race to burn tower regulations, who burned the whole seat of the tower red through the win, not as good as or in the burning process of the collapse of the negative, the winners by the host to send colorful flags, prizes or prizes. Rumor has it that the burning tower is also the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han Chinese people against the brutal rulers, in the Mid-Autumn Uprising for the origin of the fire.
Jiangnan folk in the Mid-Autumn Festival people customs are also diverse. Nanjing people love to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, must eat Jinling famous dish osmanthus duck. "Cinnamon duck" in the cinnamon fragrance when the market, fat but not greasy, delicious flavor. After drinking, we must eat a small sweet taro, poured with osmanthus syrup, the beauty of it goes without saying. The name "osmanthus syrup" is taken from Qu Yuan's "Chu Rhetoric - Shao Shi Ming", "Aid the North closed and drink osmanthus syrup". Osmanthus syrup, a sugar osmanthus, is picked around mid-autumn and pickled with sugar and sour plums. The women of Jiangnan are so skillful that they transformed the aphorisms in the poem into delicacies on the table. In Nanjing, people enjoying the moon as a family are called "celebrating reunion", sitting and drinking together are called "full moon", and going out to the market is called "walking moon".
In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing had the Moon Watch Tower and the Moon Bridge, and in the Qing Dynasty, the Moon Tower was built under the Lion Rock, all for people to enjoy the moon, and the Moon Bridge was the most popular one. People in the bright moon hanging high, with the company of the moon tower, play the moon bridge, to **** see the jade rabbit for fun. "Play Moon Bridge" in the Fuzhi Temple Qinhuai River South, next to the bridge for the famous whore Ma Xianglan residence, this night, scholars gathered at the bridge sheng xiao playing and singing, reminiscent of the cattle islets playing the moon, poetry to the moon, so this bridge for the play moon bridge. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, gradually declining, the descendants have a poem to: "the wind flow of the South Qu has been smoke, left the west wind longboard bridge, but remember the jade sitting on the bridge, the moon relative to teach blowjob". Longboard Bridge, that is, the original play moon bridge. In recent years, Nanjing Fuzimiao has been repaired, restored some of the pavilions during the Ming and Qing dynasties, dredging the river, to the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can come with a partner to enjoy the fun of playing the moon here.
Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival night to burn incense. The incense is surrounded by gauze and silk, painted with the scenery of the moon palace. There are also incense pipes made of threaded incense, which are inserted with a paper star and colorful flags. Shanghai Mid-Autumn Festival banquet with osmanthus honey wine.
Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province, in the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, every village burns a tile pot with straw. When the tiles are burned red, then vinegar is put in. At this time there will be a fragrance floating all over the village. In Xincheng County, when the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated, the straw lanterns are hung from the 11th night of August until the 17th day of August.
Anhui province wuyuan mid-autumn festival, children to brick pile a hollow pagoda. Pagoda hanging to tent plaque and other decorations, and set a table in front of the tower, furnished a variety of honor "tower god" apparatus. At night, inside and outside are lit with lights and candles. Jixi Mid-Autumn Festival Children's Mid-Autumn Cannon. The Mid-Autumn Cannon is made of straw tied into a braid, soaked in wet and then picked up to the stone to strike, making a loud noise and the custom of swimming fire dragon. The fire dragon is a dragon made of straw with incense sticks stuck in its body. When the fire dragon swims, there are gongs and drums with the same team, and then sent to the river after traveling all over the village.
Sichuan province people over the Mid-Autumn Festival in addition to eating moon cakes, but also to hit the poi, kill ducks, eat hemp cake, honey cake. Some places also light orange lanterns and hang them at the door to celebrate. There are also children in the pomelo full of incense, dancing along the street, called "dance meteor incense ball. Jiading County, the Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifices to the land god, play miscellaneous dramas, vocal music, cultural relics, known as "see will".
In the north, in Qingyun County, Shandong Province, farming families in the August 15 festival to the God of the Valley, known as "Qingmiao She". Zhucheng, Linyi and Jimo, in addition to sacrificing to the moon, but also have to go to the graves of their ancestors. Landlords in Guanxian, Laiyang, Guangrao and Yucheng also feasted their tenants at the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Jimo, a kind of food called "wheat arrow" is eaten on Mid-Autumn Festival. Lu'an, Shanxi Province, feasted their son-in-laws on the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Datong County, the moon cake is called "reunion cake", and there is a custom of keeping vigil on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival.
Wanquan County, Hebei Province, said the Mid-Autumn Festival is "a small new year's day", the moonlight paper is painted with Taiyin Xingjun and Guandi night reading spring and autumn statues. The people of Hetao County consider mid-autumn rain to be bitter rain, and if it rains on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the locals believe that the green vegetables must not taste good.
Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province, the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the men boarded a boat on the cliff, the women arranged a good feast. No matter how rich or poor, they must eat watermelon. Mid-autumn drummers blowing drums along the door to ask for reward money. Luochuan County, the Mid-Autumn Festival parents rate of students with gifts for Mr. worship festival, lunch more than in the school dinner.
Some places have also formed a lot of special mid-autumn customs. In addition to viewing the moon, moon worship and eating moon cakes, there are also Hong Kong's fire dragon dance, Anhui's piling up pagodas, Guangzhou's tree mid-autumn festival, Jinjiang's burning pagodas, Suzhou's Shihu to see the string of the moon, Dai's worship of the moon, Miao's moon jumping, Dong's stealing of the moon's vegetables, and Gaoshan's tokusatsu dance, among others.