The custom of Mid-Autumn festival

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 says: "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.

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.

"burning pagoda"

In some places, there is the custom of burning pagodas in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Whenever night falls and the moonlight shines everywhere, friends come to the open space in front of the house, pick up broken bricks, pile up small pagodas, and set up large pagodas in some large open spaces or squares, similar to the main pagodas, which are hollow and filled with firewood. Adults often come to participate in such activities with great interest. Especially for some old people, they will put a small altar in front of the pagoda, with round offerings such as moon cakes, sweet lotus roots, oranges and grapefruit on the table, and light incense and candles. When all the pagodas were piled up, someone shouted "light", so they lit the firewood in the pagodas together, and the red flame rose and sparks flew. Soon, the stupa burned red inside and outside, which was very spectacular and beautiful.

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.

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 (1906). 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. "

Tuyel

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 elbow joint and mandible can move, commonly known as "big mouth", 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.

Bo cake

Xiamen also has the custom of eating rich cakes. Put six stocks in a big bowl. According to the number of red ideas, there are six levels of rewards: one show, two moves, four advances, three reds, opposite the door and first prize.

The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon of the 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 lakes and ponds. 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; Tu people filled a basin with clear water and put the reflection of the moon in it. Then, people kept hitting the moon with pebbles in the basin, 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; The singer sings a mantra song and sends the moon god back to heaven. There are four stages.

The moon cakes on August 15th are round.

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 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 Xiongnu and returned home in triumph during 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.

Play with lanterns and dance with fire dragons.

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 Southern 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, 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. Light a candle under the lamp, the heat rises, let the light fly in the air, and attract people to 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 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 oil lanterns into the pool 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.

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, a series of winding and undulating fire dragons danced happily under the light and dragon and drum music, which was very lively.

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.

Mid-Autumn Festival customs in various places

Courtship and prayer

The Mid-Autumn Festival is full of poetry because of the wonderful moonlight. Under the moon, it is the best time for young men and women to find spouses, so it is also a festival to pursue love. Young men and women dance and play under the moon, and when they meet the right person, they can become spouses. In modern times, this ancient custom still exists and is full of interest.

Throw handkerchiefs to attract relatives

In some areas of Fujian Province, there is a custom of throwing handkerchiefs on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival to attract relatives. That night, colorful platforms were set up in the square, decorated in the shape of the Moon Palace, and jade rabbits and osmanthus trees were also set up. Some unmarried girls dress up as Chang 'e. After celebrating the song and dance, the girls threw handkerchiefs embroidered with different colors at the audience. If the handkerchief received by the audience is the same color as the handkerchief in Chang 'e's hand, they can go on stage to receive the prize. When some unmarried boys return handkerchiefs, Chang 'e can give them rings if she likes them. From then on, the two sides can be friends, and all's well that ends well.

Beg for the moon, shine on it and climb it.

In the old society, some women in Dongguan believed that "Yue Lao was the matchmaker". Anyone who has adult men and women at home but no Mr. Right can burn incense and light candles under the moon on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, and ask the old man to fix him up. According to legend, the quiet moonlight on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival can make women pregnant. In some areas, on the Mid-Autumn Festival moonlit night, some infertile women who have been married for a long time will go out to bathe in the moonlight, hoping to have children early, which is called "depending on the moon".

Steal vegetables and beg for lang.

In Taiwan Province Province, unmarried women have the custom of "stealing vegetables to beg for husbands" on the Mid-Autumn Festival night. The beautifully decorated woman stepped on the moonlight and stole onions and vegetables from other people's gardens. After stealing it,

It indicates that she will meet Mr. Right. Therefore, Taiwan Province Province has "stealing onions and marrying a good husband; The proverb "steal vegetables and marry a good husband".

Dong people steal moon dishes.

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 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.

Miao people jump on the moon.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival night, the bright moonlight fills Miao's hut. After the Miao men and women get together, they all want to sing and dance in the open space of the forest and hold a "jumping on the moon" activity.

According to an ancient Miao legend, Moon is a loyal, honest, hardworking and brave young man. There is a beautiful young girl named Shuiqing. She turned down 99 young men who proposed to her in Jiujiuzhou and fell in love with the moon. Finally, she also experienced all kinds of hardships made by the sun, and finally happily combined with the moon.

In order to commemorate their happy love, Miao parents have danced Miao songs and dances in the Mid-Autumn Festival night for generations, bathed in the glory of the moon, and called this custom "jumping on the moon". Young men and women look for each other's sweetheart in the "jumping on the moon" and pour out their feelings, saying that they should be as pure and bright as water and the moon and have a good relationship forever.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of finding children is still popular in many places. This is the embodiment of ancient fertility worship. This is because the moon belongs to the Yin, that is, the goddess, and there are activities to pursue love, so the custom of seeking children is circulating in the Mid-Autumn Festival custom. Customs of finding children vary from place to place.

Stealing melons and praying for children

In Hengyang, Hunan Province, there is a saying, "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, melons are delivered". Feng lived in his original place, married a woman who had been infertile for many years, and relatives and friends entrusted people to send melons. A few days ago, he stole a melon in the garden, so that the owner didn't know it, and painted it with color. His clothes were wrapped around it and he became a human figure. Give people who are good at it a long life, "beating gongs and firecrackers and sending them to their homes." Older people put wax gourd on the bed and watch the sun under the crack of the door. As you sow, you reap. Those who suffer from melons hold a grand banquet to entertain them, if it happens again. When a woman gets a melon, she will cut it off. As the saying goes, stories are the best. " In Hengyang, whoever is married and has no children in the village, "as long as the popularity is good, someone in the village will give them a gift."

In other parts of Hunan, there is also the custom of sending melons to children. Similar to Hengyang, on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, while the master is not at home to enjoy the moon, good neighbors secretly send their children for him. The person who sends the child must be someone who already has a child. They first selected the melon wheel of the worst family in the village, stole a big wax gourd from the garden, painted the doll's face on the melon, and then inserted a small bamboo tube five inches long into the belly of the wax gourd, and filled it with water along the bamboo tube until it was full. The sender hid the wax gourd in the master's bed, waited for the master to go back to his room to sleep, and pulled the quilt with his hand. When the wax gourd doll moves, water will flow out along the bamboo tube, just like a child wetting the bed. People who throw melons curse when they get up early in the morning. It is said that the more fierce the curse, the stronger the dolls will be in the future. If you have a baby in the second year, you should worship the giver "michel platini" and "dopted mother".

In Guizhou, there is also the custom of stealing melons and giving them away. When you steal melons at night, you deliberately let the stolen people know, so that you can get a scolding. The uglier the curse, the better. After the melon is stolen, you should dress it, draw eyebrows, pretend to be a child, beat gongs and drums, carry it with bamboo tools, and send it to a childless family. The person who receives the melon must invite the person who sends the melon to eat a moon cake, then sleep with the melon for one night and cook it the next morning, thinking that they can get pregnant from now on.

In Shexian County, Anhui Province, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, adults let children's melons or mother-in-law taro brought by their mothers be put into the quilts of newlyweds, making the mattresses extremely dirty. In this way, the sender is represented. There is a poem that says, "It's beautiful to send a child to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Guading taro is always suitable for men. Innocent people cherish HongLing's quilt the most, and it is a shame to drag the mud. "