How did the ancients celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival?

Sacrifice the moon, admire the moon and admire Yue Bai.

It has been recorded in the Book of Rites that "autumn twilight and the moon" means to worship the moon god, and it will be held at this time.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon, and set up incense tables. [7] During the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, and watermelons should be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same. Among ethnic minorities, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is also very popular.

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon". The Dai people in Yunnan are

Folk Yue Bai

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of "Yue Bai" is also popular.

The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets have poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. On this day, "your family decorates pavilions, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon." During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai enjoyed more moon-watching activities, and many places of interest such as Yue Bai altar, moon-worshipping pavilion and moon-watching building remained in various parts of China. Literati have a soft spot for enjoying the moon. They went upstairs to admire the moon, or invited the moon by boating, drank wine and wrote poems, leaving many famous sentences. For example, Du Fu's "The Night of August 15th" uses the bright moon symbolizing reunion to set off his wandering worries in a foreign land; Su Shi, a literary giant in the Song Dynasty, was drunk in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and wrote "Water Tune Song Tou", which is a metaphor for people's separation due to the lack of the moon. To this day, it is still one of the essential activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival for the whole family to sit together and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the bright moon in the sky. [8]

Tidal bore watching

In ancient times, Zhejiang Mid-Autumn Festival was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity besides watching the moon. The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which is described in detail in Mei Cheng's Seven Mao Fu in Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, Mid-Autumn tide watching became more popular. There are also records of watching the tide in Zhu Tinghuan's Ming Bu Wulin Past and Zi Mu's Meng Lianglu. [9]

Burning lamp

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is the custom of burning lanterns to help the moon. Nowadays, there is still the custom of piling tiles and burning lamps on towers in Huguang area. Jiangnan has the custom of making lantern boats. The custom of burning lanterns in modern Mid-Autumn Festival is more prosperous. Today, Zhou Yunjin and He He said in their article "Talking about the Four Seasons": "The lanterns in Guangdong are the most prosperous, and every household uses bamboo sticks to tie lanterns ten days before the festival. Make fruits, birds and animals, fish and insects, and "celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival" and so on, and paint various colors on the paste paper. The internal combustion candles of Mid-Autumn Night Lights are tied to bamboo poles with ropes and hung high on tile eaves or terraces, or made into fonts or various shapes with small lights and hung high on houses, commonly known as' Mid-Autumn Festival on trees' or' Mid-Autumn Festival vertically'. Rich people can hang lights as high as tens of feet. Families gather under the lamp to enjoy drinking, and ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The city is full of lights and glass. " It seems that since ancient times, the custom of burning lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to Lantern Festival in scale. [9]

solve the riddle

On the Mid-Autumn Festival full moon night, there are many lanterns hanging in public places. People get together to guess the riddles written on lanterns. Because this is the favorite activity of most young men and women, love stories will also be heard in these activities, so solve riddles on the lanterns is also a form of love between men and women in the Mid-Autumn Festival. [7]

Eat moon cakes

Eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a necessary custom in all parts of China.

mooncake

As the saying goes, "August 15th is the full moon, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are sweet and fragrant". The word moon cake originated from Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty, when it was just a snack. Later, people gradually associated moon viewing with moon cakes, symbolizing family reunion and bearing their thoughts. At the same time, moon cakes are also an important gift for friends to contact their feelings during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

There is also the custom of Fugui cake in Xiamen, Fujian, and Fugui cake is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage project. [7]

Enjoy osmanthus and drink osmanthus wine.

People often eat moon cakes and enjoy osmanthus in Mid-Autumn Festival, and eat all kinds of foods made of osmanthus, among which cakes and sweets are the most common.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at osmanthus, smelling osmanthus fragrance and drinking a glass of osmanthus wine in the middle of the month to celebrate the sweetness of the family has become a wonderful enjoyment of the festival. In modern times, people mostly use red wine instead. [7] [ 10]

Play with lanterns

There is no large-scale Lantern Festival in Mid-Autumn Festival, and playing with lanterns is mainly between families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, it was recorded in Old Wulin that the Mid-Autumn Festival was a custom, and there was an activity of "putting a small red light into the river to drift and play". Lantern playing in Mid-Autumn Festival is mostly concentrated in the south. For example, in the autumn festival in Foshan, there are all kinds of colored lights: sesame lights, eggshell lights, wood shavings lights, straw lights, fish scales lights, chaff lights, melon seeds lights, birds and animals, flowers and trees lights and so on.

Festival lanterns (displayed on the Lantern Festival)

In Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, Mid-Autumn Festival activities will be held on Mid-Autumn Festival night, and trees will be erected, which means that lanterns will be erected high. With the help of their parents, children make rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns out of bamboo paper, hang them horizontally on short poles and then stand on high poles. They are high-tech and colorful, adding another scenery to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Children often compete with each other to see who stands tall, much taller and has the most exquisite lighting. In addition, there are sky lanterns, that is, Kongming lanterns, which are made of paper and tied into large lanterns. Burning candles under the lamp, the hot air rises, making the lamp fly in the air, making people laugh and chase. In addition, there are children carrying all kinds of lanterns to enjoy in the lower reaches of the moon.

In Nanning, Guangxi, in addition to all kinds of lanterns tied with paper and bamboo for children to play with, there are also simple grapefruit lanterns, pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns. The so-called grapefruit lamp is to empty the grapefruit, carve a simple pattern, put on a rope and light a candle inside, which is very elegant. Pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns are also made by removing pulp. Although simple, it is easy to make and very popular. Some children also put grapefruit lights into the pool water to play games.

There is a simple autumn lantern in Guangxi, which is made of six bamboo sticks, pasted with white gauze paper and inserted with candles. Hanging on the platform for offering sacrifices to the moon or for children to play with. [ 1 1]

Combustion tower

The game of burning tile lamp (or burning flower tower, burning tile tower and burning fan tower) is widely circulated in the south. For example, Volume 5 of China Folk Customs: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Jiangxi, children usually pick up tiles in the wild and pile them into round towers with holes. At dusk, it is burned in the firewood tower under the bright moon. As soon as the tiles burned red, kerosene was poured on the fire, and suddenly the fields were red and bright as day. It was not until late at night, when no one was watching, that it began to pour interest. This is the famous tile-burning lamp. " The tile-burning tower in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province is also a hollow tower made of bricks, which is filled with branches and burned to ashes. At the same time, it also burns smoke piles, that is, piles of grass and firewood burned after the end of Yue Bai. The fan-burning pagoda in the border area of Guangxi is similar to this kind of activity, but the folklore is to commemorate the heroic battle of Liu Yongfu, a famous anti-French fighter in Qing Dynasty, who burned the ghosts (French invaders) who escaped into the pagoda. There is also a "tower burning boy" activity in Jinjiang, Fujian.

Legend has it that this custom is related to the righteous act of resisting the Yuan soldiers. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people were subjected to bloody rule, so the Han people made unyielding resistance, held meetings in various places to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and lit trumpets on the top floor of the pagoda. Similar to the fire on the platform at the top of the mountain, although this resistance was suppressed, the custom of burning pagodas remained.

local color

south

There is a custom of Mid-Autumn Festival Yue Bai in Chaoshan, Guangdong, which is mainly aimed at women and children. As the saying goes, "men are dissatisfied with the moon, and women don't sacrifice stoves." There is also the custom of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival. There is a saying in Chaoshan: "River to mouth, taro to eat." August is the harvest season of taro, and farmers are used to using taro to worship their ancestors. Of course, this has something to do with farming, but there is also a popular folk legend: 1279, Mongolian nobles destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and brutally ruled the Han people. Mafa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were slaughtered. In order not to forget the suffering of Hu people's rule, later generations used taro as a homonym with "Hu tou", which looked like a human head, in order to pay homage to their ancestors and pass it on from generation to generation, and it still exists today. Burning towers on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is also very popular in some places.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the folk customs in Jiangnan are also varied. Nanjing people love moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, so they must eat them.

dragon dance

A famous dish in Jinling, osmanthus duck. "Sweet-scented osmanthus duck" should be listed in Gui Xiang. It is fat but not greasy and delicious. After drinking, you must eat a small piece of sugar taro and pour cinnamon pulp on it. Beauty speaks for itself. "Guijiang" was named after Qu Yuan's "Helping the North to close its doors and drink Guijiang" in Chu Ci Shao Si Ming. Cinnamon pulp is a kind of sweet-scented osmanthus, which is picked around the Mid-Autumn Festival and pickled with sugar and sour plum. Jiangnan women are good at turning poems and songs into delicacies on the table. People in Nanjing enjoy the moon with their families, which is called "celebrating reunion", the group sitting and drinking is called "full moon", and the market trip is called "walking on the moon".

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were Moon Tower and Moon Bridge in Nanjing. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a moon-watching building under Lion Mountain, all of which were for people to enjoy the moon, and most people played the Moon Bridge. When the bright moon is high, people go to the Moon Tower to play the Moon Bridge, so as to enjoy watching the Jade Rabbit. "Xiyue Bridge" is located in the Confucius Temple on Qinhuai River, next to the mansion of Ma Xianglan, a famous prostitute. On this night, the literati gathered on the bridge to play the flute, sing songs and reminisce about Niuzhu playing with the moon and writing poems for the moon, so it was called playing with the moon bridge. After the death of the Ming Dynasty, it gradually declined. Later generations have a poem saying: "The romantic Southern Song Dynasty has been exhausted, leaving the west wind to be a long Banqiao, but remember to take the Yuren Bridge and teach the flute under the moon." Longbanqiao, the original Moon Bridge. In recent years, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing has been renovated, some pavilions and pavilions in the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been restored, and the rivers have been dredged. Until the Mid-Autumn Festival, you can enjoy playing with the moon together.

In Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, incense is burned on Mid-Autumn Festival night. There are silks around the incense barrel, which depicts the scenery in the Moon Palace. There are incense sticks made of thread Kaori with paper kuixing and colorful flags on them. Shanghainese Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet with Sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival in Ji 'an County, Jiangxi Province, every village burns crocks with straw. When the crock is red, put the vinegar in it. At this time, the whole village will smell a fragrance. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xincheng County, grass lanterns are hung from the evening of August 1 1 to August 17. On the Mid-Autumn Festival in Wuyuan, children build a hollow pagoda with bricks. Curtains, plaques and other decorations are hung on the tower, and a table is placed in front of the tower, displaying various utensils to worship the "tower god". At night, lights and candles are lit inside and out. Children in Jixi Mid-Autumn Festival play Mid-Autumn firecrackers. Mid-Autumn Festival firecrackers are braided with straw, picked up and smashed stones after soaking, making a loud noise, which is a custom in Youlong. A fire dragon is a dragon made of grass with incense in it. When you visit the dragon, there are gongs and drums teams. They tour the village before being sent to the river.

In Sichuan province, in addition to eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, people also eat cakes, ducks, sesame cakes and honey cakes. In some places, orange lanterns are also lit and hung at the door to celebrate. There are also children who burn incense on grapefruit and dance along the street, which is called "dancing meteor ball" Jiading County's Mid-Autumn Festival is called "Guanyin Club" for offering sacrifices to land gods and performing zaju, vocal music and cultural relics.

north

On August 15, farmers in Qingyun County, Shandong Province offered sacrifices to the god of land valley, which was called "Young Miao Society". Zhucheng, Linyi, Jimo and other places have to pay homage to their ancestors in addition to the moon. Landlords in guanxian, Laiyang, Guangrao and Postal City also entertain their tenants in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jimo Mid-Autumn Festival eats a kind of holiday food called "Wheat Arrow". Banquet for son-in-law at Mid-Autumn Festival in Lu 'an, Shanxi. Datong county calls moon cakes reunion cakes, and it is a custom to keep vigil on Mid-Autumn Festival night.

Wanquan County, Hebei Province called the Mid-Autumn Festival "Little New Year's Day", and there were pictures of Xing Jun and Guan Di reading the Spring and Autumn Festival at night on moonlight paper. Hejian county people think that the rain in Mid-Autumn Festival is bitter rain. If it rains in the Mid-Autumn Festival, the local people think that vegetables must be terrible.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province, men row boats and climb cliffs, while women set up banquets. No matter rich or poor, people should eat watermelons. On Mid-Autumn Festival, drummers blow drums along the door to ask for money. In Luochuan county, parents lead students to bring gifts to their husbands, and there are more lunches than school dinners.

Some places have also formed many special Mid-Autumn Festival customs. In addition to enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon and eating moon cakes, there are dragon dances in Hong Kong, piling towers in Anhui, Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangzhou, burning towers in Jinjiang, moon-watching in Shihu, Suzhou, moon-dancing by Dai and Miao, moon-stealing dishes by Dong and dancing by Gaoshan people. [ 12]

Distinctive national characteristics

the Mongol nationality

Mongolians love to play the game of chasing the moon. People are riding horses and galloping on the grassland in the silver moonlight. They galloped west, and the moon rose in the east and set in the west. Persistent Mongolian riders, until the moon goes down, "chasing the moon" is more than that.

right

The custom of Tibetan compatriots in some parts of Tibet to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival is "searching for the moon". That night, young men, women and dolls, along the river, followed the bright moon reflected in the water, took pictures of the moon shadows in the surrounding ponds, and then went home to eat moon cakes.

Dong nationality in Guangxi

The Dong people in Guangxi have the custom of "walking on the moon". On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, Song Lusheng and the dance teams from various cottages walked all the way to the nearby cottages, and spent a long night enjoying the moon, singing and dancing with the villagers.

Deang nationality in Yunnan

Yunnan Deang people "string the moon". Young men and women of De 'ang nationality in Luxi, Yunnan Province, when the Mid-Autumn Moon is high and exceptionally bright, the hills are blocked, and the melodious sound of cucurbits comes from time to time. Young men and women gather together to "string the moon" and pour out their hearts. Some also set an engagement by sending betel nuts and tea through "string month".

Yi nationality in Yunnan

The traditional custom of Yunnan Yi people to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival is to "jump on the moon". At night, men, women and children in this ethnic village gather in the open space of the mountain village. Girls wearing belts and veils, boys wearing cloth belts, old people, old women and children all sang and danced enthusiastically, especially the duet of young men and women expressing their love, as if the moon had been moved by it, which made it even more charming and bright.

Gelao (GL)

On the "Tiger Day" before the festival, the Gelao people slaughtered a bull in the whole village, leaving the heart of the bull for the Mid-Autumn Festival night to worship their ancestors and welcome the new valley. They call it "August Festival".

Korean nation

Koreans use wooden poles and pine branches to build a "moon-watching frame". When the bright moon is lifted off, please invite several elected old people to board the moon viewing frame. After watching the moon, the old man will light up the moon-watching frame, play the flute for a long time and dance the "peasant dance" together.

Zhuang nationality in western Guangxi

The activity of "offering sacrifices to the moon and asking god" of Zhuang nationality in western Guangxi is more typical. Every year in the middle of August in the summer calendar, some are on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. People set up an altar in the open air at the end of the village to offer sacrifices and incense burners. On the right side of the table, a branch or bamboo branch about a foot high symbolizes a tree and is also a ladder for the moon god to descend to earth. There are ancient moon myth factors preserved here. The whole activity is divided into: inviting the moon god to descend to earth, with one or two women as the spokespersons of the moon god; God and man sing to each other; Luna divination fortune-telling; The singer sings a mantra song and sends the moon god back to heaven. There are four stages.

nautical/sea mile

Li people call Mid-Autumn Festival "August Meeting" or "Sound Adjustment". At that time, a song and dance party will be held in each market town, and young men and women in each village will be led by a "turn around" (that is, the leader). Moon cakes, sweet cake, cookies, flower towels, colored fans and vests will be presented to each other in droves. In the evening, they gather around the fire, roast game, drink rice wine and sing duets. Unmarried young people take the opportunity to find their future partners.