Fortune Telling Collection - Fortune-telling birth date - Mid-autumn knowledge
Mid-autumn knowledge
Mid-Autumn Festival has been a national legal holiday since 2008. The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20th, 2006, the festival was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
[Edit this paragraph] The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival
The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. According to the ancient calendar of China, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is in the middle of August in autumn, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are four seasons in a year, and each season is divided into three parts: Bangladesh, China and Kyrgyzstan. Because the second month of autumn is called Mid-Autumn Festival, it is also called "Mid-Autumn Festival". In the Wei and Jin dynasties, there was a record of "telling Shangshu Town about the cow's confusion, crossing the river in mid-autumn, and traveling incognito around". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty (Volume XV) and Records of Rites and Music contain "Spring and Autumn Period in Wang Wenxuan and Wang Wucheng", and "In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, Taigong Fu Shang Temple was set up, with Sean in Liu Hou as its partner. In the Mid-Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are sacrifices, and the system of sacrificial music is like a text. " The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.
[Edit this paragraph] Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival
The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon
According to legend, there were ten suns in the sky one year in ancient times, which made the earth smoke and the sea dry up, and ordinary people could not live any longer.
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 made great contributions and was 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 you can live forever after taking half of this medicine, and you will become immortal immediately after taking this medicine.
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. Easily fooled Hou Yi.
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, like Chang 'e, looking at her husband in front of the moon every day.
Hou Yi hurriedly sent people to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on incense tables, put on her favorite honey fruits and moon cakes, 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.
This story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon praises and eulogizes Chang 'e with a clear gesture and gorgeous colors. Compared 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 Chang '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
Looking up at the bright moon, you can see some dark shadows. In our country, it is said that this is Wu Gang's felling of Guangxi. In the Tang Dynasty, the myth of Wu Gang cutting Guangxi was deduced. It is said that in the middle of the month, laurel trees are as high as 500 feet. This laurel tree is not only tall, but also has magical self-healing function. There was a Xihe man named Wu Minggang who turned out to be a woodcutter. He is obsessed with fairy tales, but he refuses to concentrate on his studies all the time. So the Emperor of Heaven was furious and stayed in the Moon Palace, ordering him to cut down the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace, saying, "You cut down the osmanthus tree and you get a fairy tale." 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. So WU GANG cut osmanthus trees in the Moon Palace all the year round, but he couldn't cut them down, so he kept cutting them. Finally, the tree was not cut down.
Yu Tu Daoyao
According to legend, three immortals turned into three poor old people and begged food from foxes, monkeys and rabbits. Both the fox and the monkey have food to help, but the rabbit can't. Later, the rabbit said, "You can eat my meat!" " He jumped into the fire and cooked himself. The fairy was so moved that she sent the rabbit to the Moon Palace and turned it into a jade rabbit. Accompany Chang 'e and make elixir of life.
Jade rabbit enters the moon palace
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a pair of rabbits who practiced for thousands of years and became immortals. They have four lovely daughters, all pure white and well-behaved.
One day, the Jade Emperor summoned the male rabbit to the Heavenly Palace. He reluctantly left his wife and children and went through the clouds to the Heavenly Palace. Just as it came to the worse heaven, it saw the Taibai Venus leading the heavenly soldiers to walk away with Chang 'e. The Rabbit Fairy didn't know what had happened, so she asked a nearby god who guarded the worse heaven. When Rabbit Fairy heard about her experience, she felt that Chang 'e had suffered innocently and sympathized with her. But my strength is meager. What can I do to help? Think of how lonely and sad Chang 'e is alone in the moon palace. If only there were company, suddenly she remembered her four daughters, so she flew home at once.
Rabbit fairy told the mother rabbit about Chang 'e and said that she would send a child to accompany Chang 'e. Although the mother rabbit deeply sympathizes with Chang 'e, she is reluctant to part with her precious daughter, which is equivalent to cutting off the meat in her heart! Several daughters are reluctant to leave their parents, and they are all in tears. The male rabbit said seriously, "If I am locked up alone, will you accompany me?" Chang 'e was tied up to save the people. Can we not sympathize with her? Son, we can't just think about ourselves! "
The children understood their father's heart and expressed their willingness to go. The male rabbit and the female rabbit laughed with tears in their eyes. They decided to let their youngest daughter leave.
Xiaoyu Rabbit bid farewell to her parents and sisters and flew to the Moon Palace to live with Chang 'e.
Xuanzong roamed the Moon Palace.
In the Tang Dynasty, the most legendary is the legend that Xuanzong roamed the Moon Palace. According to legend, Taoist priests Xuanzong, Shen and Hong all enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Suddenly, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty put forward the idea of visiting the Moon Palace, so Shi Tianzhao did it, and the three of them began to go to Qingyun and roam the Moon Palace. However, the palace is heavily guarded and cannot enter, so it can only overlook the imperial city of Chang 'an. This time, I suddenly heard a fairy-tale voice, beautiful and wonderful, moving! Tang Xuanzong was always familiar with melody, so he memorized it. This is precisely "this song should only be in the sky, and the world can listen to it several times!" Later, Xuanzong recalled Xian 'e's music and singing in the Moon Palace and composed and choreographed his own music. This is the famous "colorful feather" in history.
Legend of moon cakes around the world
Moon cakes symbolize reunion, and they are necessary sacrifices for Mid-Autumn Festival and worship of land gods. The custom of eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival was handed down from the end of Yuan Dynasty.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people tried to unite against Mongolian rule, but they couldn't deliver the message. Later, Liu Bowen came up with a plan and spread rumors everywhere, saying that there was a winter plague epidemic, which could be avoided unless every household bought moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival. People bought moon cakes and went home, only to find that there was a note hidden inside, which read: "Kill Tartars on Mid-Autumn Festival night and welcome the rebels!" " "So many people rebelled against the rulers, so the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival stayed.
People in Wuxi usually eat braised rose sugar taro on the morning of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is said to be related to this. According to legend, after Mongolia destroyed the Song Dynasty, the ethnic oppression was deep, and the Han people always wanted to resist. One year, everyone agreed to work together on Mid-Autumn Festival night. In order to get tired of winning, people want to eat braised taro, which symbolizes that the head of "Tatar" fell to the ground. This is the origin of eating sugar taro in Mid-Autumn Festival.
This legend changed in Chaoshan: at that time, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty stipulated that every trendy family should live in a Mongolian soldier, get the support of the Han people, and monitor their actions, and only three families were allowed to share a kitchen knife. The people hated this, so they took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to eat moon cakes and stuffed the letter of appointment into the stuffing of moon cakes. Chaozhou people uses taro as a homonym for "tiger head", which looks like a human head, so every Mid-Autumn Festival, it is passed down from generation to generation, and it still exists today.
There is a custom of eating taro in Mid-Autumn Festival all over Guangdong, which is said to commemorate the historical story of Tartars being killed at the end of Yuan Dynasty. After killing the Tatars in the Mid-Autumn Festival, they gave their heads to the moon, and later they were replaced by taro. Until now, when Cantonese peel taro, it is also called "peeling ghost skin".
[Edit this paragraph] Mid-Autumn Festival custom
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very old custom in China. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the earth at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumnal equinox, and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. The Moon Altar in Beijing is the place where emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties offered sacrifices to the moon. The Book of Rites records: "The son of heaven is sunny in spring and autumn is in the evening. The DPRK, the evening of the moon. " The moon here refers to offering sacrifices to the moon at night. This custom is not only pursued by the imperial court and the upper nobility, but also gradually affects the people with the development of society.
Scholars admire the moon
The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but it did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival centered on appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different from the Tang people, the Song people appreciate the moon more because they feel hurt by things, and often use the lack of rain or shine as a metaphor for human affairs. Even on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the bright moon can't hide the sadness of Song people. But for the Song people, there is another form of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a secular and joyful festival: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, shops sold new wine, and you decorated pavilions, and people competed for restaurants to play with the moon, listening to songs for thousands of miles, and playing until dawn" (Tokyo Dream China). The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Song Dynasty was a sleepless night. The night market is open all night, and there are endless tourists playing with the moon. Yue Bai
Folk Yue Bai
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life were prominent, and the secular flavor of Japan and China was rich. The lyrical and mythical literati tradition centered on "enjoying the moon" has weakened, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secular feelings and wishes constitute the main forms of Mid-Autumn Festival customs for ordinary people. Therefore, "folk Yue Bai" has become people's yearning for reunion, entertainment and happiness; Send love by the month.
In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must 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. Those who cut should calculate in advance how many people there are in the whole family, both at home and from other places. They should not be cut more or less, they should be the same size.
Moonlight horse
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the image of Luna changed greatly, from the Taoist Moon Palace with Chang 'e as the main image in the early days to the secular image of Moonlight Bodhisattva and Jade Rabbit. During this period, people presented moonlight paper painted with a moonlight bodhisattva, also called "moonlight horse". Yanjing Time by Fu Cha Deng Chong (1996). Records: "Riding a horse in the moonlight, with paper as its object, is painted on the Taiyin Star King, such as the Buddha statue, painted on the Moon Palace, and rabbits use medicine. People stand up and hold the pestle, the algae are exquisite and resplendent, and they sell much in the market. Seven or eight feet old and two or three feet short, with two flags on the top, red, green, basket and yellow, all dedicated to the moon. Burn incense and salute, and burn thousands of ingots. "
Rabbit-headed clay figurine
Male prostitutes originated in the late Ming Dynasty. Amin Jikun (born around 1636) wrote in "The Legacy of Kaoting": "The Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing is mostly in the shape of a mud rabbit, posing as a human being, and is worshipped by children." By the Qing dynasty, the function of male prostitutes had changed from offering sacrifices to the moon to children's Mid-Autumn Festival toys. It is becoming more and more exquisite, some dressed as military commanders in armor robes, some with paper flags or umbrellas on their backs, or sitting or standing. Sit down, there are Kirin, tiger leopard and so on. There are also vendors dressed as rabbit heads, or shaving masters, or sewing shoes, selling wonton and tea soup.
"Every Mid-Autumn Festival, smart people in the city make a toad and rabbit statue out of loess to sell, called a prostitute." In the old society, there were often male prostitutes' stalls around Dongsipailou, selling male prostitutes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, Nanzhi Store and incense sticks are also available for sale. This male prostitute has been personalized through the bold creation of folk artists. That's a rabbit's head with a jade pestle. Later, some people shaped male prostitutes into warriors wearing golden helmets and shining armor, some riding animals such as lions and elephants, and some riding birds such as peacocks and cranes. It is a strange thing for male prostitutes to ride a tiger, but it is a bold creation of folk artists. There is also a male prostitute whose elbows and jaws can move, commonly known as "scratching", which is more pleasing. Although it is provided by Yue Bai, it is really a wonderful toy for children.
On the streets of Beijing decades ago, old Beijing, who was over 60 years old, can still remember it. After July 15, the stall of male prostitutes was put out. There are male prostitute stalls everywhere, big and small, high and low, and they are very lively.
Mid-Autumn Festival banquet custom
In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet custom of Han people was the most elegant in the court. For example, eating crabs was very popular in the court of the Ming Dynasty. After steaming the crabs with cattail, everyone sat around and tasted them, served with wine and vinegar. Drink Su Ye Tang after eating and wash your hands with it. The banquet table was filled with flowers, pomegranates and other fashionable things, and the Mid-Autumn Festival drama was staged. In the Qing Palace, a courtyard placed a screen to the east, with cockscomb flowers, soybean crafts, taro, peanuts, radishes and fresh lotus roots on both sides of the screen. There is a square table in front of the screen, with an extra-large moon cake on it, surrounded by cakes and fruits. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are cut into several pieces according to the royal population, and each person symbolically tastes them, which is called "eating reunion cakes". The size of moon cakes in Qing Palace is unimaginable. For example, the moon cake given by the last emperor Puyi to Ying Shao, Minister of the Interior, was "about two feet in diameter and weighed about twenty pounds".
Play with lanterns
There are many games in Mid-Autumn Festival, the first is playing lanterns. Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the three major Lantern Festival in China, so we should play with lanterns in festivals. Of course, the Mid-Autumn Festival does not have such a large lantern festival, and playing with lanterns is mainly between families and children.
As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, the Lantern Festival recorded the custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival, 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, the autumn festival in Foshan mentioned earlier has all kinds of colorful lights: sesame lights, eggshell lights, wood shavings lights, straw lights, fish scales lights, chaff lights, melon seeds lights, birds, animals, flowers and trees lights, which are amazing.
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 hollow out the grapefruit into a simple pattern, put a rope on it, and light a candle inside, with elegant light. 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.
Now, in many areas of Guangxi and Guangdong, the Lantern Festival is arranged on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, large modern lanterns illuminated by electric lights are made, and new lanterns made of various plastics are used for children to play, but the simplicity of the old lanterns is gone.
In addition, the game of burning tile lamp (or burning flower tower, burning tile tower and burning fan tower) is widely circulated in the south, and it is circulated in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places. 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, and burn the ghost (French invader) who escaped into the pagoda to death, which is quite patriotic. 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. This legend is similar to the legend of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival.
dragon dance
Dragon dancing is the most traditional custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. From the evening of the 14th August of the lunar calendar every year, a grand dragon dance has been held in the Tai Hang area of Causeway Bay for three consecutive nights. This fire dragon is more than 70 meters long, and it is tied into 32 dragon bodies with pearl grass, which is full of longevity incense. On the night of the grand event, the streets and alleys in this area are very lively, and the winding dragon dances with joy under the light and dragon and drum music.
There is also a legend about the origin of Hong Kong Mid-Autumn Festival dancing dragon: a long time ago, after the typhoon hit Tai Hang District, a python appeared and did evil everywhere. The villagers searched everywhere and finally killed it. Unexpectedly, the python disappeared the next day. A few days later, a plague broke out in the pit. At this time, the elders in the village suddenly got a dream from the Bodhisattva, saying that as long as they jumped the fire dragon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, they could drive away the plague. Coincidentally, it did work. Since then, the dragon dance has been passed down to this day.
No matter how superstitious this legend is, China is the hometown of dragons, and it has been 100 years since the Mid-Autumn Festival in Taihang Mountain, which is worth cherishing. At present, the dragon dance activities in Dakeng District are quite large, including head coach, coach, general commander and conductor, security team and so on. More than 30,000 people take turns dancing dragons.
The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon by some ethnic minorities in Yue Bai.
The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai is also popular among ethnic minorities. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dai people in Yunnan are popular with the custom of "Yue Bai". According to Dai's legend, the moon was changed by the emperor's third son. In short, he is a brave and strong young man. He led the Dai people to defeat the enemy and won the love of the Dai people. Later, after his unfortunate death, he became the moon, rose to the sky, and continued to emit soft moonlight, bringing light to the Dai people in the dark. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, young people go to the mountains early in the morning with gunpowder guns to shoot fire finches and pheasants to hunt holiday game. Girls and daughters-in-law are busy catching fish in the lake pond. They are all busy preparing holiday dinner. The old lady is busy frying glutinous rice and cooking different sizes of food. Put a glutinous rice round cake on each corner of the four tables, and insert a wick of Leng Xiang into each cake. As soon as the moon rises above the mountains, Leng Xiang will be lit, and the whole family will begin to "Yue Bai". Then, put a gunpowder gun in the air to show respect for the hero's rock tip. Finally, the family happily sat around the small square table, enjoying delicious food and enjoying the moon.
When the Oroqen people sacrifice to the moon, they put a basin of clear water in the open space, and then kneel in front of the basin and bow to the moon; The Tu people filled the basin with clear water and put the reflection of the moon in the basin. Then, people kept hitting the moon in the basin with pebbles, commonly known as "hitting the moon".
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 the community 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.
Mongolian "Chasing the Moon". 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, 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.
Hezhe people "Yue Bai". During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people pick grapes and offer sacrifices to the moon in Hezhe settlement in northeast China. 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 and ran to the river to ask the moon for help. Finally ran to the moon.
De 'ang people "string the moon". Young men and women of De 'ang nationality in Luxi, Yunnan Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival is bright and the mountains are blocked. From time to time, melodious cucurbit silk is heard, and young men and women "string the moon" together to pour out their hearts. Some also set an engagement through "string of moons", sending betel nuts and tea.
Assisi people "jump on the moon". The traditional custom of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival is to "jump on the moon". On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people from various villages gather in the open space of the mountain village. The girl in gauze jumped up, and so did the big three-stringed boy. However, what is particularly provocative is the duet of young men and women expressing their love, as if the moon was moved by Li.
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Miao people bathed in moonlight, played melodious lusheng and danced with them. In the "Moon Festival" activities, young people, like the moon and clear water, look for suitable people and confess to each other. Their hearts are pure and bright, and they can get along well for a hundred years.
Gaoshan people "enjoy the moon" The Gaoshan compatriots who live in the mountainous areas of Taiwan Province Province wear national costumes, sit around singing and dancing, drink and enjoy the moon, and share family happiness.
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival in Dong nationality township of Hunan province, an interesting custom "stealing moon dishes" is popular.
According to legend, in ancient times, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, fairies in the Moon Palace came to the underworld, and they spilled nectar all over the world. Fairy nectar is selfless, so people can enjoy fruits and vegetables sprinkled with nectar together on this night. Dong Jia named this custom "stealing moon dishes".
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, Dong girls use umbrellas to pick melons and vegetables from their beloved garden, which is not considered as "stealing". They also deliberately shouted: "Hey! I stripped all your fruits and vegetables. Come to my house to eat camellia oleifera! " It turns out that they passed the red line with the help of the Moon Palace Fairy. If you can pick a melon and fruit, it means that they can have a happy love. So the beans that grow in pairs become the objects of their picking. Sister-in-law also went to other gardens to "steal moon dishes" that night, but they hoped to get the fattest melon or a handful of fresh green edamame, because it symbolized the child's fatness and the health of the hairy head (the homonym of edamame refers to the child). Boys also have the custom of "stealing moon dishes" because they also want the moon fairy to give them happiness. However, they can only cook and eat in the wild and can't take them home. Stealing Moon Dishes adds infinite joy and magical brilliance to the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Dong Village.
[Edit this paragraph] Mid-Autumn Festival food customs
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion". Moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, Palace cakes, Moon dumplings, Harvest cakes, Reunion cakes, etc. It is an offering to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. According to legend, in ancient China, the emperor had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is also a custom about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the Mid-Autumn moon cake is sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn night. At first, moon cakes were used to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually, moon cakes became a necessary gift for the festival.
Moon cakes originally originated from Zhu Jie food in the Tang Dynasty. During his stay in Tang Gaozu, General Li Jing conquered the Turks through the hidden information of moon cakes, and returned home in triumph on August 15. Since then, eating moon cakes has become an annual custom.
Turpan people who were doing business at that time presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Gaozu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cake, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "We're going to invite toads with Hu cakes." After that, share the cake with the ministers.
The word "moon cake" has been used in the book Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty, but the description of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival is recorded in the West Lake Travel Agency in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people use moon cakes to get together". In the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.
With the development of moon cakes today, there are more varieties and different tastes. Among them, Beijing-style, Soviet-style, Cantonese-style and Chaozhou-style moon cakes are deeply loved by people all over the country.
Moon cakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat food for the Mid-Autumn Festival. On holiday nights, people also like to eat some reunion fruits, such as watermelons, and wish their families a happy, sweet and safe life.
According to historical records, as early as 3,000 years ago in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, there was a "Taishi cake" to commemorate Taishi Wenzhong. In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, introduced walnuts and sesame seeds, and a round "Hu cake" filled with walnuts appeared. When Tang Gaozong was in China, Li Jing went to Turkey, and returned home triumphantly in the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, a Tibetan businessman presented Hu cakes, and Li Yuan was very happy. Pointing to the bright moon in the sky, he said, "We should invite toads (the moon) to eat Hu cakes." And give it to ministers. If this is true, it may be the beginning of sharing moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, the word "moon cake" first appeared in the red scarf cake made by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Moon cakes are round, and the time when they are endowed with the meaning of reunion is the Ming Dynasty. Liu Dong's "A Brief View of the Imperial Capital" says: "On August 15th, the moon is sacrificed, and its fruit cakes are round." "Notes on Tian Rucheng's Visit to the West Lake" said: "August 15th is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and people also take moon cakes as a symbol of reunion." In Wan Bu Miscellaneous Notes, Shen Bang also described the grand occasion of making moon cakes in Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Ming Dynasty: the moon cakes made by people in the Fang Dynasty were different in size, so they were called moon cakes. The market is even full of fruits with different names. There is a cake worth hundreds of dollars. " Ingenious cake-makers are surprisingly refurbished and make various patterns on moon cakes. Peng's "Youzhou Folk Songs" describes: "The symbol painting of the Moon Palace is the Jade Rabbit Kiln Residence; Moon Palace cake, made of silver toad and purple house shadow. A pair of toads and rabbits spread all over the world, regretting the year when Chang 'e stole medicine; I can't go back to the cold, I'm in Yan Dan. "
In the Qing Dynasty, eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival has become a common custom, and the production skills are getting higher and higher. Yuan Mei of the Qing Dynasty introduced in "Suiyuan Food List": "Crispy moon cakes are filled with pine nuts, walnuts, melon seeds, rock sugar and lard, which are not sweet or fragrant, soft or greasy, which is unusual." Moon cakes in Beijing were first made by Qianmen Zhimeizhai. Across the country, five flavor series of Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Guangzhou and Chaozhou have been formed, and many local folk customs have also appeared around the Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai and during the period of enjoying the moon. For example, the "cloth champion" in Jiangnan: moon cakes are cut into three pieces, big, medium and small, stacked together, and the biggest one is placed below, which is the "champion"; The medium is placed in the middle, which is the "second place"; The smallest one is on the top, which is "flower exploration". Then the whole family rolls dice, and whoever has the most numbers is the champion, eating big pieces; Followed by the second place, exploring flowers and playing games for fun.
Nowadays, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, feasting and enjoying the moon are still very popular. People drink and pray for the moon to celebrate a better life, or wish their distant relatives health and happiness and "live a better life together" with their families.
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