There is another reward for folk knowledge about the moon!

August 15th of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Zhuang people also attach great importance to this festival. In the Zhuang area, the Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to that of the Han nationality, and there are also a series of activities with strong national characteristics such as offering sacrifices to the moon, so it is also called the "Moon Festival".

The Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient ceremony, which expresses people's good wishes to pray for the moon god to bless the world.

Sacrifice of the Moon-Origin

China's ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. The time to worship the moon is when the moon rises in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The key to offering sacrifices to the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival is to pay tribute to the moon god. Mid-Autumn Festival, if there is no moon, or even no rain, you can sacrifice the moon and hold it where the moonlight can shine. In case of cloudy days, the sacrificial platform can be placed in the direction of the moon.

In China, the traditional worship of the moon is generally based on the family. To attend Yue Bai, a priest (in charge of work), a eulogy (equivalent to the host) and several deacons (the priest's assistant) are selected. Usually, older female elders or housewives serve as priests. According to tradition, "men don't Yue Bai, women don't offer sacrifices to stoves". Therefore, men generally serve as worshippers and deacons to help worship the moon.

Moon-offering props

1 Sacrificial platform or several sacrifices. An ordinary small table will do.

Some straw mats. For worship. Ordinary straw mats. You can add a cushion at the top.

3 A censer, some incense. Ordinary small incense burner.

4. Sacrificial utensils such as plates, bowls and lamps.

Two red candles. Light a lamp, set off the atmosphere and light incense.

One bottle of ordinary wine, three Dionysus. Wine glasses will do.

In addition, there are: moon cakes, game of hunting festivals, glutinous rice round cakes, drinking, melons and fruits, edamame and cockscomb flowers.

Sacrifice to the Moon-Procedure

Sacrifice the Moon

"Sitting" means that your knees are tight, your hips are sitting on your heels, your feet are on your back, your hands are on your knees, and your eyes are looking forward; "Xing" means to lift your hips, straighten your upper body, support your body with your knees, then bow your hands slowly (hands to the ground, head your opponent), and then get up slowly; Standing means that both feet stand up from the "sitting" position at the same time.

There is an incense burner in front of the sacrificial platform, and the red candles on both sides of the incense burner are swaying. Watermelon, moon cakes, oranges cut into lotus shapes and grapes are placed on the sacrificial table respectively. At a distance of 1.5m, a red carpet is laid. Everyone turns off their cell phones to show their piety. After the ceremony announced that "the deacon of the sacrificial ceremony was in place", two male Han friends dressed in Hanfu slowly walked to both sides of the sacrificial platform. Then, under the leadership of the main sacrifice, Han friends came to the sacrifice table neatly and knelt down with the command of "sitting".

The activities of offering sacrifices to the moon officially began. The priest sat on the red carpet, took three sticks of incense from the deacon, made a wish and put them in the incense burner. After repeating it three times in a row, the deacon filled the glass and handed it to the priest. The priest spilled wine on the floor in front of the table, and then put the glass on the sacrificial table. Then, with the help of candlelight, the priest read a message to the moon. The cable said: "In the Mid-Autumn Festival of Wei Dynasty, I sincerely cherished the children of the Yellow Emperor ... I was gentle and worshipped by the gods." Then, the priest put the congratulatory message and moonlight paper in a small basin in front of the table and burned it.

The road to the moon

Fire dragon chasing the moon performance

Every year in the middle of August in the summer calendar, someone will set up a sacrificial table in the open air at the end of the village for offering sacrifices and incense burners. On the right side of the table stands a branch or bamboo branch about a foot high, which symbolizes the country 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; Singers sing mantras and send the moon god back to heaven in four stages.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, Mongolians like 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.

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 walked along the river, followed the bright moon reflected in the water, looked for the moon shadow in the surrounding pond, and then went home to eat moon cakes.

Hezhe "Yue Bai" in Hezhe inhabited area in northeast China. On Mid-Autumn Festival, people pick grapes and Yue Bai. According to legend, it is to commemorate a clever and hardworking Hezhe daughter-in-law. She couldn't stand her mother-in-law's abuse, so she ran to the river and asked the moon for help, and finally ran to the moon.

Deang nationality "string the moon" Young men and women of Deang nationality in Luxi, Yunnan Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival is bright, and melodious cucurbit silk rings at the end of the mountain village from time to time. Young men and women "string the moon" together and pour out their hearts. Some also set an engagement by sending betel nuts and tea through "string month".

Sacrifice to the Moon-Significance

Moon-watching sacrifice is an important part of Mid-Autumn Festival. When the bright moon rises in the east of Ran Ran, people will set up a box in the courtyard to worship the moon. Moon cakes are the main offerings, and melons and fruits, especially grapefruit, are indispensable. The offerings are mostly round, which means reunion. After the festival, the family sat together, drinking osmanthus wine, eating moon cakes, watching the bright moon and telling stories about the moon, such as Cowherd and Weaver Girl, and WU GANG cutting down trees.

In some places, after Yue Bai, young men and women rode horses in the clear moonlight and sang in droves in the beautiful field at night. They often stay up all night, whispering to each other in pairs with dew, and some of them have been married for a hundred years.

The traditional custom of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival is to "jump on the moon". On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, all the villages gathered in the open space of the mountain village. The girl in tulle jumped up, and so did the young man with big three strings. However, what is particularly provocative is the duet of young men and women expressing their love, as if the moon had heard it and was moved.

Gaoshan people "enjoy the moon" whenever the moon is high in the Mid-Autumn Festival and the glory is scattered all over the earth, they wear national costumes and sit around drinking and enjoying the moon, enjoying family happiness.

2. Hangzhou Su Causeway

Hangzhou Su Causeway was formed in the 5th year of Yuan You in the Northern Song Dynasty (1090). When Su Shi (Dongpo) was the governor of Hangzhou, he dredged the West Lake and built it with dredged mud, which evolved in later generations. Hangzhou people named it "Su Causeway" to commemorate Su Dongpo's achievements in managing the West Lake. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Xiao Chun, Su Causeway has been ranked first among the "Ten Scenes of West Lake". The waves lying on the long embankment connect the north and south mountains, adding a charming scenery to the West Lake. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Xiao Chun, Su Causeway was listed as the first of the ten scenic spots in the West Lake, and in the Yuan Dynasty, it was also called "Liuqiao Willow" and was listed as the ten scenic spots in Qiantang, which shows that she has been deeply loved by people since ancient times.

Su Causeway starts from the foothills of Nanping Mountain in the south and ends at Qixia Mountain in the north, with a total length of nearly three kilometers and an average dike width of 36 meters. Planting ornamental trees such as willows and peaches along the embankment, as well as a large number of flowers and plants. There are also six single-hole stone arch bridges. The names of these bridges are Yingbo, Suolan, Wangshan, Dike, Dongpu and Yue Hong from south to north.

Whenever the spring breeze blows, Su Causeway willows green, peaches burn, long dikes extend, and six bridges fluctuate. At the beginning of the morning, the lake is like a mirror, the bridge reflects the water, birds chirp, willows curl, peach blossoms greet each other and smiles like flowers. Located on the bank, the lakes and mountains are picturesque, with rich expressions and various customs for everyone to enjoy.

After the cold winter, Su Causeway is like a graceful messenger of spring. The willows on the shore are brilliant, the peaches are bright, and the lake waves are like mirrors, reflecting beautiful images and infinite tenderness. The most touching thing is that at dawn, the western hills are sinking, the breeze is blowing slowly, and the willows are floating on the embankment, which is fascinating.

Many ornamental flowers and trees, such as Magnolia, Cherry Blossom, Hibiscus, Osmanthus fragrans, are also planted in Su Causeway, which are colorful all year round. Time series changes, the morning is dark and sunny, the atmosphere is different, and the scenery is different. The picturesque scenery makes Su Causeway a place that people can enjoy all the year round. During the Southern Song Dynasty, a lake market was once formed here. "Old Wulin" recorded Tomb-Sweeping Day's grand tour around the lake and wrote: "In Su Causeway area, peaches and willows are dark, red and green are interlaced, and rope walking, riding a title of generals in ancient times, flying money, throwing balls, kicking wood, throwing sand, swallowing knives, spitting fire, jumping circles, fighting and various games of birds and insects abound." There are also trading fairs, fragrant teas and fruits, and wine. Makeup puppets, lotus boats, war horses, gongs and drums, and trivial toys are all available now.

Su Causeway plays the moon.

When Su Dongpo donated money to repair the dike, it was because he sympathized with Huizhou people's suffering in rowing and wading, and built a passage between Pinghu and Hu Feng to see the scenery of the West Lake, especially when there were few moon stars on the dike every half month, which was often refreshing. In the past 900 years, Su Causeway West New Bridge has been built several times, with dikes on the lake and moonlight still there. The changes of history and the vicissitudes of the world are all written in it. Whenever the moon is short of stars, the water is bright and golden, the lake is full moon, and the scenery is like Yao Island. Janice, a writer in Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem: "The moon is full of water. How many times have people caught a glimpse of boasting about the moon near Su Causeway? We can see that the moon is round here. "Su Causeway's theory of moon scenery has been passed down from generation to generation, which has become a very wonderful scene in the myriad scenery of the West Lake. After liberation, the embankment surface has been expanded. Strolling through Su Causeway, you can see Pinghu Lake and Hufeng Lake and enjoy their beautiful scenery. On the bright moon-lit night in Shui Ying, the lake reflects lonely mountains, tower shadows, bamboo buildings, green trees and flower boats ... The scenery is even more charming.

Huishan Spring in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province is known as "the second spring in the world". Author Hua named this piece of music "Two Springs Reflect on the Moon", which not only brought people into the artistic conception of quiet night, clear spring and Leng Yue, but also made people seem to meet that person-an upright and tenacious blind artist-when listening to the complete music, telling people about his bumpy life.

4. There are many handicrafts, Chinese knots, mobile phone pendants and alarm clocks.

5. the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, one year in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky, which made the earth smoke and the ocean dry up, and ordinary people could no longer live.

This incident alarmed a hero named Hou Yi. He climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, drew his bow and shot down nine redundant suns in one breath.

Hou Yi has made great achievements in the world and is respected and loved by the people. Many people with lofty ideals come here to study and be teachers. The treacherous and cunning Meng Peng also mixed in.

Soon, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal.

However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, but Meng Peng saw it.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill.

Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir.

Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp.

Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.

In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Meng Peng has escaped. I was so angry that Hou Yi beat his chest and shouted. The grief-stricken Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and called the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is particularly bright and bright, with a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e.

Hou Yi hurriedly sent someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, set up a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey-eating fresh fruit, and offered a memorial service to Chang 'e at the Moon Palace.

After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people set up an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e. Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.

The story of flying to the moon, with a clear posture and gorgeous colors, praises and praises E-E. Comparing with the records of Chang 'e in ancient literature, we can see that people have done a lot of processing and modification to the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, which makes the image of E-E as beautiful as the moon and accords with people's pursuit of beauty. Contrary to the goddess the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, which was widely circulated in modern times, all the ancient Chinese character series Lingxian in China recorded the story of "Chang 'e became a toad": "Chang 'e married his wife, stole the elixir from the Queen Mother and took it to the moon. Will go, occupy the grave. Zhi said, "Ji, you go back to your sister, and you go west alone." . You won't be surprised or afraid when it's dark, but you will prosper in the future.' Chang 'e entrusted herself to the moon for the sake of toad. "After Chang 'e became a toad, she was punished in the moon palace all day and lived a lonely and miserable life. Li Shangyin once lamented Chang 'e in a poem: "Chang 'e should regret stealing the elixir and stay awake at night. "

Wugang cut laurel

One of the legends

Legend: There is a laurel tree 500 feet high on the moon. There was a man named WU GANG in the Han Dynasty who was obsessed with fairy tales and didn't concentrate on reading. So the Emperor was furious, detained him in the Moon Palace, ordered him to cut down the osmanthus tree, and said, "Cutting down the osmanthus tree will have magic." WU GANG began to cut laurel trees, but every time WU GANG cut an axe, the tree wound healed immediately. Day after day, WU GANG's desire to cut laurel still hasn't come true. Therefore, WU GANG cut laurels in the Moon Palace all the year round, but he couldn't cut down trees. Later generations can see the image of Wu Gang cutting laurels endlessly in the middle of the month. See Tang Duan's "Youyang Miscellaneous Volume, My Days".

Legend 2

WU GANG, also known as Wu Quan, is a native of Xihe. Sun Boling, the son of Emperor Yan, had an affair with WU GANG's wife when he left home for three years in WU GANG, and gave birth to three children. WU GANG killed Boling in a rage, angered Emperor Yan, sent WU GANG to the moon, and ordered him to cut down the immortal tree-laurel. The laurel tree is 500 feet high and can be cut down together. Emperor Yan used this endless labor as a punishment for WU GANG.

WU GANG's wife also felt guilty about her husband's experience and ordered her three sons to fly to the moon to accompany WU GANG. One turned into a toad, one into a rabbit, and one unknown. See Shan Hai Jing.

Legend 3

WU GANG in The Worse Gate is close to Chang 'e on the moon, but he often hangs to greet Chang 'e and neglects his duty. When the Jade Emperor knew about it, he was very angry and sent WU GANG to cut down a big tree called laurel on the moon. If WU GANG hadn't cut down the moon tree, he wouldn't have returned to the worse gate, and he wouldn't have seen Chang 'e.

WU GANG cut and cut for half a year from winter to summer. When the tree was about to be cut down, the Jade Emperor sent a crow to the moon tree, and with a swish, he took WU GANG's coat hanging on the tree. WU GANG immediately put down his axe and went after the crow. After the clothes were taken back, WU GANG returned to the tree and saw that all the branches and leaves that had been cut were born on the tree again. From then on, whenever Wu Gang wanted to cut down a tree, crows would stand on the tree and crow loudly. As long as WU GANG stops to take a look at the axe, the tree will grow branches again.

In this way, year after year, WU GANG cut down more trees than this moon tree. Only on August 16 every year will a leaf fall from the moon to the ground. Whoever finds this laurel leaf will get inexhaustible gold and silver jewelry.

Legend No.4

WU GANG cut osmanthus to make the best wine in the world-osmanthus wine.

WU GANG cuts down trees every day. Thousands of years have passed, and that magical osmanthus tree is still as old and full of vitality. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the garden is full of fragrance. Knowing that there were no osmanthus trees in the world, WU GANG passed the seeds of osmanthus trees to the world.

In ancient times, there lived a widow selling wild grapes at the foot of two mountains in Hangzhou. She is generous and kind, and her wine is mellow and delicious. People respected her and called her Brewmaster. One winter, there was ice and snow. Early in the morning, Miss Xianjiu just opened the door and suddenly saw a skinny, naked middle-aged man lying outside, obviously a beggar. Miss Fairy Wine touched the man's nose and mouth, but it still smelled a little, so she was very kind. No matter what she said, she carried him home, first filled him with hot soup and fed him half a glass of wine.

The man woke up slowly and said excitedly, thank you, madam, for saving your life. I am paralyzed. If I go out, I won't freeze to death, but I will starve to death. Please be kind and take me in for a few more days.

Lady Xianjiu was embarrassed, because as the saying goes, there was nothing in front of the widow's door. If a man like this lives at home, others will gossip. But think again, you can't watch him freeze to death or starve to death! Finally agreed to let him stay for a while.

As expected, the gossip about Miss Xianjiu spread quickly, and everyone alienated her, and fewer and fewer people came to the hotel to buy wine.

But miss Xianjiu endured the pain and took care of the man wholeheartedly. Later people didn't come to buy wine, and she couldn't keep going. The man didn't take French leave and didn't know where to go.

Mrs. Xianjiu was uneasy, looking around, and met an old man with white hair on the hillside, carrying a load of dry wood and walking hard. Mrs. Xianjiu was about to help when the old man suddenly fell down and the dry wood was scattered all over the floor. The old man closed his eyes, his lips trembled, and he shouted feebly: Water, water … Where is water on the barren hills and slopes? Fairy wine lady bit her middle finger, suddenly, blood flowed. She put her finger on the old man's mouth and he suddenly disappeared.

A breeze, a yellow cloth bag flying in the sky, containing many small yellow paper bags, and a yellow note that read:

The Moon Palace gives laurel seeds and rewards good people. Gao Fu Gui Shu Bi, life is full of flowers and trees. Pick flowers to brew osmanthus wine, and send it to mom and dad first. WU GANG is helpful, but treacherous.

Mrs. Fairy Wine realized that this paralytic and the old man with firewood were all changed by Wu Gang. As soon as the story spread, people from far and near came to ask for cinnamon.

Good-hearted people plant cinnamon seeds, and will soon grow osmanthus trees, which will bloom with sweet and infinite scenery.

For people with ulterior motives, the planted cassia seeds just don't take root and sprout, which makes them feel embarrassed and turn their hearts to goodness.

Everyone is very grateful to miss fairy wine. It was her kindness that moved WU GANG Daxian, who managed osmanthus trees in the Moon Palace, and brought osmanthus wine to the world. Since then, osmanthus and osmanthus wine have emerged in the world.

At that time, WU GANG's wife, because of her inner guilt, called her three sons, one named Drum, one named Yan and the other named Yan, and flew to the moon together to accompany their nominal father through the long and endless cold years. WU GANG's three sons, named Drum, became a toad, Yan, Rabbit and Yan, an unknown genius. Since then, arrows have been made, bells and chimes have been made of drums and drums, and the composition of music has also been formulated. So the lonely Guanghan Palace is often filled with Yue Xian.

Later, when Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty roamed the Moon Palace, he recorded these pieces of music and returned to the world and created Song of Nishang. Legend has it that when Emperor Tang Ming roamed the Moon Palace, WU GANG also met him! It's just that his face was tired, his axe was covered with black rust, and his worn-out sleeves were worn out because no one mended them.

This is the first time that WU GANG made osmanthus wine, the best wine in the world, in the era of five emperors in ancient China!