Legends related to the Mid-Autumn Festival:
1, Wu Gang folded the laurel
Legend has it that the laurel tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grew luxuriantly, and it was more than 500 zhang high, and there was a man underneath who used to cut and fell it, but every time he cut it down, the place where he cut it down closed up again immediately.
For thousands of years, it was cut down and closed up like this, and the laurel tree could never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the tree was named Wu Gang, a native of Xihe in the 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".
2, Yuanzhang and moon cake uprising.
It is said that mooncakes were eaten at the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the vast majority of the people in the Central Plains could not tolerate the cruelty of the Yuan Dynasty ruling class and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising.
However, the officials and soldiers of the Joseon court conducted very strict searches and it was difficult to pass on information. Liu Bo Wen, a military expert, came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide a note saying "Uprising on the night of August 15" in a cake and then sent it to the rebel forces in different places to inform them of the reaction to the uprising on the night of August 15, which was to be held on the day of the uprising. On the day of the uprising, all kinds of rebel forces responded together like a starburst.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan capital and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he hastened to pass the message of "mooncake" to the verbal instruction. During the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, all soldiers and civilians would have fun together, and the mooncakes, which were used to secretly deliver the message when the troops departed, would be given to the ministers as holiday cakes. Since then, the mooncakes have become more elaborate and varied, with large disc-like mooncakes making excellent gifts. Since then, the custom of eating mooncakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
Mid-Autumn Festival Customs:
1. Moon Appreciation
China has had the custom of enjoying the moon since ancient times, and the Book of Rites has recorded that "the moon is set in the autumn sunset", which means worshipping the moon god. By the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Night is held to welcome the cold and moon festival. A large incense burner was set up and seasonal fruits such as mooncakes, watermelons, apples, plums and grapes were placed on the table, of which mooncakes and watermelons were absolutely indispensable.
2, eat moon cakes
The saying goes: "The moon is full on the 15th day of the 8th month, and the mooncakes are fragrant and sweet during the Mid-Autumn Festival". Mooncakes were initially used to offer sacrifices to the moon god, "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 the cake-shaped food. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with mooncakes, a symbol of family reunion.
Expanded Information
Origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival:
The earliest origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is the worship of the moon in ancient times, and the custom of dancing and singing under the moonlight to look for puppets; and the second one is the custom of worshiping the God of the Land in ancient autumn.
As early as thousands of years ago, our people have the custom of "autumn sunset". The moon is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Night, we have to welcome the cold and sacrifice the moon.
Set up a large incense burner and place mooncakes, watermelons, apples, jujubes, plums, grapes and other offerings, of which mooncakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. The watermelon should be cut into lotus shape. The idol of the moon god is placed in that direction of the moon under the moon, red candles are lit high, and the whole family worships the moon in turn.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Mid-Autumn Festival