The Mid Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China. According to historical records, the word "Mid Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there are records of "Yu Shang Shu Zhen Niu Huan, Mid Autumn Festival Eve and about Wei Fu Pan Jiang". It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the mid autumn festival became a regular Festival. The Mid Autumn Festival is recorded in the book of Tang Dynasty. The popularity of the mid autumn festival began in the Song Dynasty, to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has become one of the main festivals in China. This is also China's second largest traditional festival after the Spring Festival.
What is the origin and legend of the Mid Autumn Festival
There are many opinions about the origin of the Mid Autumn Festival. The word "Mid Autumn Festival" was first found in the book of rites, and it is said in the book of Rites: "the moon of the Mid Autumn Festival will grow old and eat porridge on the Mid Autumn Festival. It originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors. "Book of Rites" records: "the emperor's spring Dynasty, autumn evening moon." the evening moon is a sacrifice to the moon, which shows that as early as the spring and Autumn period, emperors have begun to worship the moon and worship the moon.
Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the folk. Second, the origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn when crops are ripe.". In August, the Mid Autumn Festival, crops and fruits gradually mature. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers take the Mid Autumn Festival as a festival. "Mid Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August of the lunar calendar is a month in the middle of autumn, and the 15th day is a day in the middle of the month. Therefore, the mid autumn festival may be a custom inherited from the ancient "autumn newspaper". Some historians have also pointed out that the Mid Autumn Festival originated in the late Sui Dynasty. On August 15, the 13th year of Daye, the Tang army Pei Ji successfully invented moon cakes based on the idea of the full moon. He also widely distributed military salaries to the army, and successfully solved the problem of military food derived from the absorption of a large number of anti Sui rebels.
According to historians' inference, the custom of appreciating the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival originated from the ancient court literati, and then spread to the folk. As early as the Wei and Jin Dynasty Yuefu's "midnight forty songs", there is a "Autumn Moon" describes: "look up at the bright moon, send love to Qianli Guang.". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid Autumn Festival was very popular. Many famous poets had poems chanting the moon. The mid autumn festival began to become a fixed festival. The Mid Autumn Festival was recorded in the book of the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty dreamily visited the Moon Palace and got the music of colorful clothes and feathers. Only then did the folk begin to enjoy the custom of Mid Autumn Festival. In the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15 was officially designated as the Mid Autumn Festival, and there was a seasonal food of "biscuits like chewing the moon, with crispy and Yi" in it. Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Menghua Lu" said: "on the mid autumn festival night, your family will decorate the pavilions, and the people will fight for the restaurant to play on the moon"; moreover, the string is very hot, and the residents are close to each other. At night, the sound of Sheng and taro is like the sound outside the clouds. In the middle of the night, the children are engaged in marriage, and the night market is full of knowledge. "Wu Zimu's menglianglu said:" at this time, the Golden Phoenix is cool, the jade dew is cool, the cinnamon fragrance is floating, and the silver toad is full. Wang sun, a rich family and a huge family, had to climb dangerous buildings, visit the porch to play on the moon, or open a wide Pavilion, Dai banquet list, the piano and Harp sonorous, drink wine and sing songs, to predict the joy of the evening. To a place like a mat, you can also board a small platform to arrange a family dinner and gather around the children to celebrate the festival. Although the poor people in the poor lane, jienongshi wine, reluctantly welcome joy, not willing to waste. This night, the sky street to buy, until five drum, play on the moon, mother-in-law in the city, to burn. What's more interesting is that the newly compiled zuiwengtan records the custom of worshipping the moon: "the children of Qingcheng family do not think that the rich and the poor can go to 1233 by themselves. They all decorate them with the eyes of adults. They go to the tower or the atrium to burn incense to worship the moon, and each has his own court. Men are willing to go to the toad palace early and climb up to Xiangui. &Hellip & hellip; women wish to look like Chang'e, round like the bright moon. The activities of appreciating the moon in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were popular. Each family should set up a moon position to worship the moon in the direction of the rising moon.
Lu Qihong's Beijing year old records: "on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, people set up symbols of the Moon Palace, which are not like human beings standing on them; Chen Gua Guo is in the court, and the Moon Palace and Toad are painted on the cake surface; men and women worship and burn incense, and burn them once in a day. "Tian Rucheng's" West Lake Tour records "says:" in the evening, people have a feast to enjoy the moon, or take a boat along the lake to travel through the dawn. On the Bank of Su, singing together is just like a day ';' the people invite each other with moon cakes, which is the meaning of reunion '. Fu chadunchong's "Yanjing Suishi Ji" said: "in the past, the moon cake of the Mid Autumn Festival was the first in Kyoto, and there was not enough food in other places. There are moon cakes everywhere. The larger one is more than Chi, and the shape of the Moon Palace wax rabbit is painted on it. In every Mid Autumn Festival, moon cakes and fruits are presented to the Zhumen of the mansion. When the 15th month is full, the old melons and fruits are offered to the court for the moon, and green beans and cockscomb flowers are worshipped. It is also time, bright soul in the sky, clouds at the beginning of the spread, cup washing, children noisy, really so-called festival also. Most men do not kowtow to the moon. At the same time, during the past five hundred years, festival activities such as "burning Dou Xiang", "walking the moon", "setting off sky lights", "tree Mid Autumn Festival", "lighting tower lamp", "dancing fire dragon", "dragging stones" and "selling rabbit's master" were also launched. Among them, the customs of appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes and reuniting meals have been handed down to this day. The Mid Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China. According to historical records, the word "Mid Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there are records of "Yu Shang Shu Zhen Niu Huan, Mid Autumn Festival Eve and about Wei Fu Pan Jiang". It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the mid autumn festival became a regular Festival. The Mid Autumn Festival is recorded in the book of Tang Dynasty.
The popularity of the mid autumn festival began in the Song Dynasty, until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, has become one of the major festivals in China. It is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.
Customs of the Mid Autumn Festival
With the mid autumn festival coming, every place has its own customs. But the customs of the Mid Autumn Festival have nothing more in common: offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, watching lanterns and eating moon cakes. In addition, there are folk worship of the moon, moonlight horse, rabbit, mid autumn festival feast custom, dance of fire dragon, burning pagoda lamp, stealing vegetables to ask for Lang, stealing melon and praying for children, Mid Autumn Festival Bo cake, offering sacrifices to the moon and burning incense, praying for the moon to shine on the moon, walking on the moon and walking on the three bridges, etc.
The custom of the Mid Autumn Festival has been handed down from generation to generation. In the information age today, let us feel the cultural diversity of the Mid Autumn Festival. We all have the responsibility to inherit and carry forward this excellent tradition, let the family affection be eternal, let our life be more colorful!