The custom of Mid-Autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, which is deeply loved by everyone. Let's take a look at this favorite custom of "Reunion Festival".

1, walking in the middle of the moon

There is also a special activity to enjoy the moon in the evening of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is called "Walking on the Moon". In the bright moonlight, people wear gorgeous clothes, travel in groups of three or five, or stroll the streets, or lack boats on the Qinhuai River, or go upstairs to watch the moonlight, talking and laughing. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing had a building to look at the moon and a bridge to play with the moon. In the Qing Dynasty, there was the Moon Tower under Lion Mountain, which was a scenic spot for tourists to enjoy the moon. Traveling on Mid-Autumn Festival night to enjoy the moon, Shanghainese call it "walking on the moon".

2. Sacrifice the moon

Sacrificing the moon is a very old custom in China, and it is actually a worship activity of the ancients to the "Moon God". In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In ancient times, in some places in Guangdong, people had the custom of worshipping the moon god on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. In Yue Bai, a big incense table was set up, and the sacrifices included moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes. Under the moon, put the "Luna God" tablet in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family took turns in Yue Bai to pray. Sacrificing the moon to admire the memory of the moon expresses people's good wishes.

Step 3 enjoy the moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. It is said that the moon is closest to the earth and brightest that night, so there has been a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her parents' house will go back and forth to express her happiness and good luck. Written records show that folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they 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.

4, begging for the moon.

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".

Step 5 observe the tides

The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. "I know that the Jade Rabbit is very round, and it has been frosty in September." The message is that the door should be closed and the night tide will stay on the moon. "This is the poem" Watching the Tide on August 15th "written by Su Shi, a great poet in the Song Dynasty. In ancient Zhejiang, besides enjoying the moon, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity.

Step 6 eat moon cakes

Eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. On this day, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion". Moon cakes, also called moon dumplings, harvest cakes, palace cakes and reunion cakes, are offerings to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Mooncakes symbolize a happy reunion. People regard them as holiday food, use them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends.

Step 7 burn incense

In Jiangsu, incense is burned on Mid-Autumn Festival night. There are silks around the incense barrel, which depicts the scenery of the Moon Palace. There are incense sticks made of thread Kaori with paper kuixing and colorful flags on them. There is also the custom of burning incense and fighting among the people in Shanghai.

Burning lamp: burning lamp helps moonlight. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, candles are lit in lanterns and tied to bamboo poles, tile eaves, terraces and other heights, commonly known as "Mid-Autumn Festival on trees" or "Mid-Autumn Festival vertically".

8. riddles

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, many lanterns are hung in public places, and people get together to guess the riddles written on the lanterns, because this is the favorite activity of most young men and women.

9. Play with Grandpa Rabbit

Playing with rabbits originated in the late Ming Dynasty and was popular in Beijing. 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. Rabbits are made of mud. The rabbit head is armored, flags are inserted to protect its back, its face is covered with gold mud, and it is also harmonious to paint, sit or stand, pound or ride a beast, and its two big ears stand upright. In the folk customs around Beijing, the Mid-Autumn Festival for male prostitutes is actually not as solemn as the game.

10, playing 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, 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.

1 1, listen to the incense

Listening to incense is an ancient Mid-Autumn Festival custom in Taiwan Province. In ancient times, a girl who wanted to marry a good wife burned incense in front of the gods at home, told her worries, prayed for guidance from the gods and listened to the incense. Then, according to the instructions, they remembered the first sentence they overheard on the road, and then threw it at home to judge the quality of divination. For example, divination is a lifelong event, and what you hear is eating cookies or flowers and the full moon, which means it is a good omen and the happy event is near.

12, burning pagoda lamp

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns are different from Lantern Festival lanterns. Pagoda lights are lit on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is mainly popular in the south. Pagoda lamp is that the children in the village pick up rubble and build a pagoda-shaped lamp. In the Qing Dynasty, villagers in Suzhou used tiles to build a seven-level pagoda in the wild. In the middle of the tower is the Tibetan king, surrounded by lights, which are called "tower lights". Guangzhou children burn "Fanta lamps" and exchange them with broken tiles; There is also a pomelo peel lamp, carved with red pomelo peel, with a glass lamp in the middle, glowing red. 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.

13, throw a handkerchief to get married

In some areas of Fujian, China, there is a custom of "throwing handkerchiefs to attract relatives" on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. Generally, colorful tables are set up in the square, arranged in the shape of a moon palace, with jade rabbits and osmanthus trees. Some unmarried women dressed as Chang 'e threw handkerchiefs embroidered with different colors on the stage. If someone receives a handkerchief of the same color as Chang 'e, they can go on stage to receive the prize. When some unmarried boys return handkerchiefs, if Chang 'e likes them, they can make friends, and like-minded boys can tie the knot.

14, stealing food for lang

According to legend, if an unmarried girl steals vegetables or onions from another vegetable garden on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, it means that she will meet a Mr Right in the future. 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 them, it indicates that she will meet the only thrill. Therefore, Taiwan Province Province has "stealing onions and marrying a good husband; The proverb "steal vegetables and marry a good husband".

15, enjoy osmanthus.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people look up at the sweet-scented osmanthus in the middle of the month, smell the sweet-scented osmanthus, drink a cup of sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine, celebrate the sweetness of the whole family and get together, which has become a wonderful enjoyment of the festival.

In short, no matter how many customs there are, the Mid-Autumn Festival should tell children the meaning of reunion. You don't need to go home with honor and clothes. As long as the family is together, it is the best happiness!