These traditional cultural customs of Mid-Autumn Festival must be told to children! Transfer it to your parents!

Mid-Autumn Festival, the director of kindergarten teacher service platform wishes you a family reunion and a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival familiar to children. How to seize this opportunity to let children know the connotation of festivals and better inherit and carry forward the traditional culture of China?

Now, Bian Xiao, a kindergarten teacher service platform, leads everyone to popularize knowledge about the origin, traditional customs and holiday stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It is suggested that parents and friends can tell their children to inherit the traditional culture of Mid-Autumn Festival.

First, the origin and origin of Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year. August is the second month of autumn, which was called Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient times. Because it is in the middle of autumn and August, it is called Mid-Autumn Festival, also called Autumn Evening, August Festival, August Half Day, Moon Festival, and because the moon is full on this day, it symbolizes reunion, so it is also called Reunion Festival. Let's take a look at the detailed introduction of the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival:

There are many theories about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival. The word Mid-Autumn Festival first appeared in Zhou Li. The Book of Rites and the Moon Order said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival moon nourishes aging and follows the porridge diet."

1. It is said that it originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors.

It is recorded in the Book of Rites that "the sun rises in spring and the moon sets in autumn", and the moon is a sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, emperors began to offer sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. Later, aristocratic officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.

The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production.

Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn when crops are ripe" In the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits are maturing one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers regard the Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival.

"Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August in the lunar calendar is a month in autumn, and the 15th is a day in this month. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be a custom passed down from the ancient Autumn Newspaper.

Some historians have also pointed out that the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival should be August 15th, 13th year of Tang Jun's great cause at the end of Sui Dynasty. Pei Ji and Tang Jun, with the idea of a full moon, successfully invented moon cakes and distributed them to the army as military salaries, which successfully solved the problem of military rations derived from absorbing a large number of anti-Sui rebels.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

Second, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day are also called the four traditional festivals in China.

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival, there have been customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating Yue Bai, enjoying osmanthus flowers and drinking osmanthus wine, which have been passed down to this day and last forever. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful and precious cultural heritage. The full moon is a symbol of people's reunion, a sustenance for missing their hometown and relatives, and hopes for a bumper harvest and happiness.

1, sacrifice to the moon

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a very old custom in China.

In the Book of Rites, it has been recorded that "autumn twilight and the moon" means to worship the moon god. At this time, a ceremony to welcome the cold Yue Bai will be held, and an incense table will be set up.

In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, and watermelons should be cut into lotus shapes.

Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.

Among ethnic minorities, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is also very popular.

According to 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.

Step 2 enjoy the moon

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures.

The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets have poems about the moon in their masterpieces.

In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. On this day, "your family decorates pavilions, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon."

The Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in the Wei and Jin Dynasties and prevailed in the Tang Dynasty.

The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets have poems about the moon in their masterpieces.

In the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. On this day, "your family decorates pavilions, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon."

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai enjoyed more moon-watching activities, and many places of interest such as Yue Bai altar, moon-worshipping pavilion and moon-watching building remained in various parts of China.

Literati and literati climbed the stairs to get the moon or invited the moon by boating, drank wine and wrote poems, leaving many well-known poems.

To this day, it is still one of the essential activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival for the whole family to sit together and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the bright moon in the sky.

3. Yue Bai

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon".

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dai people in Yunnan also have the custom of "Yue Bai".

Step 4 drink osmanthus wine

Every Mid-Autumn Festival night, people look up at the bright moon, smell osmanthus fragrance, think of WU GANG cutting osmanthus flowers, drink a glass of osmanthus wine, celebrate the sweetness of the family and get together, which becomes a holiday enjoyment.

Step 5 eat moon cakes

Watching the moon and eating moon cakes is an essential custom in Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. As the saying goes, "Moon cakes are sweet and fragrant when they are full on August 15th".

The word moon cake originated from Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty, when it was just a snack. Later, people gradually combined moon viewing with moon cakes to symbolize family reunion and miss.

At the same time, moon cakes are also an important gift for friends to contact their feelings during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Step 6 observe the tides

In ancient times, Zhejiang Mid-Autumn Festival was another Mid-Autumn Festival activity besides watching the moon.

The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which is described in detail in Mei Cheng's Seven Mao Fu in Han Dynasty.

After the Han Dynasty, Mid-Autumn tide watching became more popular.

There are also records of watching the tide in Zhu Tinghuan's Ming Bu Wulin Past and Zi Mu's Meng Lianglu.

7.light lanterns/tie lanterns

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is the custom of burning lanterns to help the moon.

Nowadays, there is still the custom of piling tiles and burning lamps on towers in Huguang area.

In ancient Guangdong, when the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, children made rabbit lanterns, carambola lanterns or square lanterns out of bamboo paper with the help of their parents.

In addition, many children will use water Pi Zha lanterns. In addition, there are papaya lamps and banana lamps. The simplest one is the "pomelo lamp", which is made by almost every family's children. The tied lanterns are not only used to "tree the Mid-Autumn Festival", but also couples hold lanterns to enjoy the moon.

There is a custom of making lanterns in Jiangnan area, and the custom of burning lanterns in modern Mid-Autumn Festival is more prosperous.

Guangdong has the largest number of lanterns, and every household ties lanterns to bamboo sticks ten days before the festival.

Make fruits, birds and animals, fish and insects, and "celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival" and so on, and paint various colors on the paste paper. The internal combustion candles of Mid-Autumn Night Lights are tied to bamboo poles with ropes and hung high on tile eaves or balconies, or made into glyphs or various shapes with small lights and hung on the heights of houses, commonly known as "Mid-Autumn Festival on trees" or "Vertical Mid-Autumn Festival".

The internal combustion candles of Mid-Autumn Night Lights are tied to bamboo poles with ropes and hung high on tile eaves or terraces, or made into fonts or various shapes with small lights and hung high on houses, commonly known as' Mid-Autumn Festival on trees' or' Mid-Autumn Festival vertically'. Rich people can hang lights as high as tens of feet. Families gather under the lamp to enjoy drinking, and ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves.

It seems that since ancient times, the custom of burning lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to Lantern Festival.

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. At the same time, love stories also spread in these activities. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival solve riddles on the lanterns is also a form of love between men and women.

9. Play with Grandpa Rabbit

Playing with rabbits began in the late Ming Dynasty and became popular in Beijing.

Ji Kun of Amin Dynasty (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.

Yearbook of Yanjing: "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, smart people in the city make a toad and rabbit statue out of loess to sell, and call it a prostitute."

The court in Qing Dynasty called the Jade Rabbit on the Moon Taiyin Jun .. However, Beijingers called it a prostitute.

In the folk customs around Beijing, the Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifice to male prostitutes is actually not so solemn, but more of a game.

10, hit Lu Zi

"Play with Luzi" is a very popular children's game in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Grapefruit shells are carved with flowers, and lights can be hung in the middle. Children play in groups of three or five, or walk along the street with lights in the shape of various animals and melons, singing "Play with Brother Lu":

"Playing Lu Zi, playing Lu Er, lighting a lamp. Those who know sven value sven, and reading is the best in the world. Don't say the article is useless. As the old saying goes, in a word, people write books ... "

After having fun, the children dispersed and went home to eat moon cakes and fruits.

1 1, 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.

Shanghai folks also have the custom of burning incense and hat.

12, ancestor worship

Mid-Autumn Festival custom in Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province.

On the afternoon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, tables were set up in each hall to offer sacrifices, ancestors and various offerings.

After the sacrifice, cook the sacrifices one by one and have a big dinner at the same time.

13, 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.

14, listening to 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.

15, combustion tower

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. The middle of the tower is for the Tibetan king, and lights are burned around it, which is called "tower lamp".

Guangzhou children burn "Fanta lamps" and give them 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 lamps (or burning flower towers, burning tile towers and burning fan towers) is widely spread in the south, spreading in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places.

For example, on the Mid-Autumn Festival night in China Folk Customs (Volume 5: Jiangxi), children usually pick up tiles in the wild and pile them into a round tower 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 interest began to fall. It's called a burning earthen 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 burning fan tower in the border area of Guangxi is similar to this kind of activity.

There is also a "tower burning boy" activity in Jinjiang, Fujian.

Third, the legend of Mid-Autumn Festival.

1, the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

Legend has it that Chang 'e was originally the wife of Hou Yi. After Houyi shot nine suns, the Queen Mother of the West gave her the elixir of life, but Houyi refused to take it, so she gave it to Chang 'e for safekeeping. Meng Peng, a disciple of Hou Yi, coveted the fairy medicine and forced Chang 'e to hand it over. Chang 'e swallowed it in despair and flew into the sky.

It was August 15th, and the moon was big and bright. Because she didn't give up Houyi, Chang 'e stopped on the moon closest to the earth. After living in Guanghan Palace for a long time, Hou Yi came home heartbroken, but helpless. So on August 15th every year, she goes to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, puts a table of incense, puts her favorite honey fruit on the moon and reunites with Chang 'e.

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.

2. WU GANG cut Guangxi.

Legend has it that WU GANG's wife had an affair with Sun Boling, the grandson of Emperor Yan. WU GANG killed Boling in a rage, angered the Sun God of Emperor Yan, and was sent to the moon to cut down immortal trees.

However, laurel and cuttings hit it off. Every time WU GANG cuts an axe, the branches and leaves cut by the axe will grow back on the tree. After so long, WU GANG still failed to cut down the laurel tree.

Feeling guilty, WU GANG's wife ordered her three sons to become toads, rabbits and snakes and fly to the moon to accompany WU GANG. In order to help his father cut down the osmanthus tree as soon as possible, Yutu kept mashing the cut branches and leaves.

3. Zhu Yuanzhang and the Moon Cake Uprising

It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news.

Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent a message that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have also become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

Fourth, ancient literati's poems and folk songs about the moon.

Prelude to Water Melody

Song sushi

When did the moon begin to appear? I take my glass from a distance.

I don't know about palaces in the sky. What year is tonight?

I want to go home by wind, but I'm afraid of Qionglou Yuyu.

It's too cold up there. Dance to find out what the shadow looks like on the earth.

The moon turned into a scarlet pavilion, hanging low on the carved window, shining on the sleepy self.

The moon should not have any resentment against people. Why is it round when people are gone?

People are sad and happy, and they are separated and reunited. The moon will darken or shine, and it will become round or round. Nothing is perfect, even in the past.

I hope people will live for a long time and have a good scenery thousands of miles away.

folk song

Moonlight shines on the threshing floor, and farmers are busy on the threshing floor.

This year's rice harvest has made everyone happy.

The moon is in the sky, eating big cakes. Don't eat pancakes,

Don't eat fragrant cakes. After eating the cake, the weather is fine.

Eat barnyard grass and live a better life.