Mid Autumn Festival

Mid Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Eve, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Meeting, Moon Pursuit Festival, Playing Moon Festival, Moonworship Festival, Daughter's Festival or Reunion Festival, is a traditional cultural festival popular in many ethnic and Chinese cultural circles in China, on August 15th of the lunar calendar; because it is exactly half of the three autumns, so the name of Mid-Autumn Fe The Festival is scheduled for August 16.

The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the Chinese traditional festivals with the same name as the Spring Festival. Influenced by Chinese culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in East and Southeast Asia, especially in the local areas. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. On May 20, 2006, the State Council was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has the customs of offering sacrifices to the moon, observing the moon, worshipping the moon, eating moon cakes, appreciating osmanthus fragrans, drinking osmanthus wine and so on. It has been handed down for a long time. The Mid-Autumn Festival, with the reunion of the full moon as a symbol of people's longing for their homeland and their relatives, wishes for a bumper harvest and happiness, and becomes a rich and precious cultural heritage. The Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Spring Festival and the Qingming Festival are also known as the four traditional festivals in China.

Historical Evolution

origin

There are many theories about the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival. The term Mid-Autumn Festival was first used in Zhou Li, and the Book of Rites, Yueling, said, "The Moon of Mid-Autumn Festival nourishes senility and eats porridge."

It originated from the sacrificial activities of ancient emperors. "Ritual Records" records: "Spring morning sun, autumn evening moon", the evening moon is the sacrifice to the moon, indicating that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, the emperor has begun to sacrifice the moon, worship the moon. Later, noble officials and scholars followed suit and gradually spread to the people.

Second, the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn when crops are ripe". Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and fruits matured one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers take Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. The August of the lunar calendar is the middle month of autumn, and the 15th day is the middle day of this month. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival may be a custom inherited from the "Autumn Newspaper" of the ancients.

Historians have also pointed out that the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival should be the late Sui Dynasty Tang Army in Daye 13 August 15, Tang Jun Pei Jing took the full moon as the idea, successfully invented the moon cakes, and widely deployed the army as a military salary, successfully solved the problem of military food derived from the absorption of large quantities of anti-Sui Rebel Army.

Development

According to historians, the custom of Moon-watching in Mid-Autumn Festival originally sprang up by ancient court scholars, and then spread to the folk. As early as in the Yuefu Song of Midnight in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a song entitled "Autumn has a moon" which described: "Looking up at the bright moon, feeling thousands of miles of light". In the Tang Dynasty, Moon-watching and Moon-playing were very popular. Many famous poets have verses chanting the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival began to become a fixed festival. The book Taizong Ji of Tang Dynasty recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. Legend has it that Xuanzong in Tang Dynasty sleepwalking in the Moon Palace and getting neon clothes and feathers, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival began to prevail among the people.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15 was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the festival food of "small cakes such as chewing the moon, with crispy and bait" appeared. "On Mid-Autumn Night, your family decorated the terraces and people competed for the restaurant to play on the moon," said Meng Yuanlu, an elder man in Tokyo, and "the chords were boiling again and again, and the residents in the vicinity of the extension heard the sound of Sheng Yao at night, just like clouds outside the clouds. Children in the room, night marriage drama; night market parallels, as to know. Wu Zimu's "Dream Liang Lu" said: "At this time Jinfeng recommendation is cool, Yulu is cool, Dangui fragrance is floating, and Yinchan is full of light. Prince Wang Sun-tzu, the rich family's giant house, not only climb the dangerous building, Linxuan play on the moon, or open the Xiexie, tortoise feast, music, drinking and singing, in order to divine evening's joy. As a mattress home, it also boards a small platform, arranges family feasts and surrounds children for the festival. Although the poor people in poor alleys and baskets are reluctant to waste their time, they are reluctant to greet with pleasure. This night, the street sells and buys, until the five drums, play with the moon tourists, mother-in-law in the city, until burning. More interestingly, the newly compiled Talk Record of Drunken Wong describes the custom of worshiping the moon: "Children of Qingcheng families do not use rich and poor to go to 123 by themselves. They all worship the moon with the eyes of adults. They go upstairs or burn incense in the atrium, and each has its own way; men prefer to walk early in the Toad Palace and climb high in Xiangui... Women want to look like Chang'e and round like the bright moon.

Moon-watching activities in Ming and Qing Dynasties were in vogue. "Their fruit cakes will be round". Every family should set up a "moonlight position" to "offer worship to the moon" in the direction of moonrise. Lu Qihong's Suihua Chronicle of Beijing contains: "On Mid-Autumn Night, people buy moon palace symbols, which are not like standing by people; Chen Guaguo is in the court, Moon Palace toads are painted on cake surface; men and women worship and burn incense, but burn it once." Tian Rucheng's "West Lake Tour Zhiyu" said: "It's the evening, people have a feast to enjoy the moon, or with the Baihu boat, along the tour thoroughly. Above the Sudi dyke, there is no difference between the day and the day, and "the people invite each other with moon cakes to get the meaning of reunion". "Mid-Autumn moon cakes were the first to go to Meizhai in Kyoto before, and they were not enough to eat elsewhere," said Fuchadun Chong's Yan Jing Sui Ji. Mooncakes are everywhere. The elder is more than a foot, and paints the shape of a wax rabbit in the moon palace. "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the Zhumen of Fudi are presented with moon cakes and fruits. By the end of the fifteenth full moon, Chen Guaguo was in the courtyard for the moon, and worshipped with Mao Dou and Cockscomb Flowers. It's the time. Hao Ming is in the sky. The clouds are scattered at the beginning. They pass cups and wash dishes. Their children are noisy. It's really a festival. Men don't worship only when offering the moon." At the same time, over the past five hundred years, festival activities such as "Burning Douxiang", "Walking the Moon", "Playing the Heavenly Lamp", "Tree Mid-Autumn Festival", "Lighting Tower Lamp", "Dancing Fire Dragon", "Tracing Stone" and "Selling Rabbit Father" have been launched, among which the custom of enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes and reunion dinner has been spreading to today.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li. By the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were records of "Jiao Shangshu town cattle confusion, Mid-Autumn Festival and left and right micro-clothes Pan Jiang". It was not until the early Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Tang Dynasty Taizong records the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. The popularity of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in China. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.

Vacation

Since 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a statutory holiday in mainland China. If the same day coincides with Saturday and Sunday, it will take another day off next Monday.

In Taiwan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a one-day holiday. If it overlaps with Saturdays and Days, there is no additional vacation. However, if there is only one working day apart from the weekend vacation, the working day will be transferred to a holiday, and another Saturday will be chosen to make up classes.

The public holidays of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong are scheduled for August 16 (the next day of the Mid-Autumn Festival) of the lunar calendar. If it happens to be Sunday, make up for one day off on Monday; if it happens to be Saturday, it doesn't.

South Korea classifies Mid-Autumn Festival as a statutory holiday with three days off.

Festival nickname

According to the Chinese calendar, August is in the middle of autumn, the second month of autumn, called "Mid-Autumn", and August 15 is in "Mid-Autumn", so it is called "Mid-Autumn".

Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: because the festival is on August 15, so it is called "August Festival" and "August Half". Because the main activities of Mid-Autumn Festival are around the "moon", it is also known as "Moon Festival" and "Moon Eve". The Moon of Mid-Autumn Festival is full and symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "Duanzhengyue".

The record of "reunion festival" was first seen in the Ming Dynasty. "The Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th is called Mid-Autumn Festival. People send moon cakes to each other to get reunion." "Emperor Beijing Scenery" also said: "August 15 month sacrifice, its cake will be round, dividing melons will be wrong teeth, petals carved like lotus flowers. Those who return to peace with their wives are bound to return to their husband's home every day, which is also called the reunion festival.

Social customs and habits

Traditional activities

- Sacrificing, appreciating and worshipping the moon

The Book of Rites has long recorded the "autumn twilight and evening moon", which means worshiping the moon god. At this time, it is necessary to hold greeting cold and offering sacrifices to the moon and set incense cases. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night was held to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon. Set up a big incense case, put on the moon cakes, watermelons, apples, dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices, of which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable, watermelons also cut into lotus-shaped. Under the moon, the moon god is placed in the direction of the moon. The candles are burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn. Then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. He who cuts must calculate in advance how many people there are in his family. He who is at home or in the field must count them together. He must not cut too many or too few. He must be of the same size. Among the minority nationalities, the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon is also prevalent.

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. They worshiped the moon piously when they were young. When they grew up, they entered the palace with superb morality, but they were not spoiled. On August 15th, the emperor saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Then she became queen. From this, the Mid-Autumn Festival worshipped the moon. Chang'e in the middle of the month is famous for her beauty. Therefore, the girl worships the moon and wishes to "look like Chang'e and look like the bright moon". And the Dai people in Yunnan are

On Mid-Autumn Night, the custom of "worshipping the moon" is also prevalent.

The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival was very popular in the Tang Dynasty, and many famous poets had poems chanting the moon. By the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. On this day, "your family decorated the terraces, and the people competed for the restaurant to play the moon". In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the activities of courts and folk worshipping the moon were more extensive. There are still many monuments such as "altar of worshipping the moon", "pavilion of worshipping the moon" and "tower of looking at the moon" all over China. Literati doctors are especially fond of moon appreciation. They either go upstairs to collect the moon or go boating to invite the moon, drink and write poems, leaving behind many well-known singers. For example, Du Fu's "August 15 Night Moon" uses the fifteen bright moons symbolizing reunion to contrast his thoughts of wandering abroad; Su Shi, a literary hero in the Song Dynasty, drank in the Mid-Autumn Festival and wrote "Water Tune Song Head" to signify human divorce by the full moon. To this day, it is still one of the essential activities of Mid-Autumn Festival for families to sit around and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the bright moon in the sky.

- Watching the tide

In ancient times, besides the Mid-Autumn Festival, tide watching was another Mid-Autumn Festival event in Zhejiang. The custom of Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, Mei Cheng's "Qifa" Fu had a fairly detailed description. After the Han Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more popular. There are also tide-watching records in Ming Zhu Tinghuan's Supplementary Wulin Old Stories and Song Wu Zimu's Dream Lianglu.

- Lighting

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of lighting lamps to help the moonlight. Nowadays, there is still a festival in Huguang area where tiles are stacked on towers to light lamps. In the south of the Yangtze River, there are festivals for lantern boats. The modern Mid-Autumn Festival lamp burning custom is even more prosperous. Nowadays, Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei wrote in their article "Talking about Time and Events in Leisure": "Guangdong has the most lanterns. Every family uses bamboo sticks to tie lanterns ten days before the festival. Make fruits, birds and animals, fish and insects, and "celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival" and other words. Paint various colors on paste paper. Mid-Autumn night lamp internal combustion candles are tied to bamboo poles with ropes, erected on the eaves or terraces, or built into zigzag or various shapes with small lights, hanging on the roof, commonly known as "tree Mid-Autumn" or "vertical Mid-Autumn". The lanterns hanging in a wealthy home are countless feet high. Families gather under the lanterns to enjoy themselves. Ordinary people erect a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The lights of the city are like the glazed world." It seems that the light-burning custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival is second only to the Lantern Festival in scale from ancient times to the present.

- Riddle-guessing

Mid-Autumn Moon Night hangs many lanterns in public places. People gather together to guess riddles written on lanterns. Because they are popular activities for most young men and women, and love stories are also spread in these activities, so Mid-Autumn Moon riddles are also derived from a form of love between men and women.

Eat mooncakes

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a necessary custom for all parts of China to enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes. As the saying goes, "The moon cakes are sweet and full in August and 15th." The word "moon cakes" originated from Wu Zimu's "Mengliang Lu" in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was only a snack food at that time. Later, people gradually combine moon appreciation with moon cakes, which means family reunion and longing. At the same time, mooncakes are also important gifts for friends to connect with each other during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In Xiamen, Fujian Province, there is also the custom of bocai, and BOCAI is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage project.

Enjoy Osmanthus fragrans and drink Osmanthus fragrans wine

People often eat moon cakes and sweet-scented osmanthus in the Mid-Autumn Festival. They eat all kinds of food made of sweet-scented osmanthus, especially cakes and candies.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at the Mid-Moon sweet osmanthus, smelling the fragrance of sweet osmanthus, drinking a cup of sweet osmanthus wine, celebrating the sweetness of the family, has become a beautiful festival enjoyment. In modern times, people mostly take the place of red wine.

Playing with lanterns

The Mid-Autumn Festival has no large-scale lantern festival like Lantern Festival. The main way to play with lanterns is between families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, "Old Stories of Wulin", recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival customs, there are "a little red" lights into the river drifting and playing activities. Mid-autumn Festival lanterns, mostly concentrated in the south. For example, at the autumn festival in Foshan, there are various kinds of colorful lights: sesame lamp, eggshell lamp, Particler lamp, straw lamp, fish scale lamp, grain husk lamp, melon seed lamp and bird and animal flower tree lamp.

In Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, the Mid-Autumn Festival Eve to carry out the activities of tree Mid-Autumn Festival, trees are also erected, that is to say, the lights will be erected. With the help of their parents, children tie up rabbit lights, carambola lights or square lights with bamboo paper, hang them horizontally in short poles, and then erect them on high poles. They are highly skilled and shiny, adding another scene to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Children compete with each other to see who stands taller, more erect and the most delicate lights. In addition, there are skylights, that is, Kongming lanterns, paper-bound large lights, candles under the lights, heat up, so that the lights fly in the air, causing people to laugh and chase. In addition, there are various lanterns carried by children playing in the lower reaches of the month.

In Nanning, Guangxi, in addition to paper and bamboo tied all kinds of lanterns for children to play, there are also very simple grapefruit lanterns, pumpkin lanterns, orange lanterns. The so-called pomelo lamp is to hollow out the pomelo, carve a simple pattern, put on the rope, light the candle inside, light elegant. Pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns are also made by removing the pulp. Simple as it is, it's easy to make and popular. Some children also float grapefruit lights into the river for games.

There are simple household autumn lanterns in Guangxi. They are made of six bamboo strip circles, pasted with white gauze paper and inserted with candles. It can be hung at the sacrificial table to offer sacrifices to the moon. It can also be used for children to play.

- Burning Towers

The game of burning tile lanterns (or burning flower towers, burning tile towers, burning panta) is widely spread in the south. For example, on Mid-Autumn Night in Jiangxi Province, children gather tiles in the field and pile them up into a round tower with many holes. At dusk, it is burned in a firewood tower under the bright moon. When the tiles were burned red, kerosene was sprinkled on them, and the fire was fuelled. All of a sudden, all the wilderness was red, shining like the day. Until late at night, nobody watches and starts to splash. It's called burning tile lamp. The fired tiles tower in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, is also a hollow tower made of bricks and tiles, filled with branches, and set on fire. At the same time, the smoke pile is to pile up the firewood and burn it after the end of the month worship. The Burning Panta in the border area of Guangxi is similar to this kind of activity, but folklore is to commemorate the heroic battle of Liu Yongfu, a famous anti-French general in the Qing Dynasty, who will flee into the tower and burn the ghosts (French invaders). Jinjiang, Fujian Province, also has the activity of "burning Tazai".

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 carried out bloody rule, so the Han people carried out unyielding resistance, around the Mid-Autumn Festival to start, ignition at the top of the pagoda as the symbol. Similar to the fire on a peak fire platform, the rebellion was suppressed, but the custom of burning a pagoda remained.

Local characteristics

The South

In Chaoshan, Guangdong, there is a custom of worshipping the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, mainly for women and children. There is a proverb that "men do not have a full moon, women do not sacrifice cooking stoves". There is also the habit of eating taro in the Mid-Autumn Festival. There is a proverb in Chaoshan: "The river is opposite to the mouth, the taro is eaten." In August, it was the harvest time of taro. Farmers used to worship their ancestors with taro. This is certainly related to farming, but there is also a widespread folk legend: in 1279, the Mongolian aristocracy destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, established the Yuan Dynasty, and ruthlessly ruled the Han people. Ma Fa defended Chaozhou against the Yuan Dynasty. After the city was broken, the people were massacred. In order not to forget the suffering of the Hu people's rule, later generations took taro and "Hu Tou" homonym, and the shape of human head, in order to honor ancestors, passed down from generation to generation, still exists today. Burning towers on Mid-Autumn Night is also popular in some places.

The folk customs of Mid-Autumn Festival in the south of the Yangtze River are also varied. Nanjing people like to eat moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. They must eat Jinling famous dish, sweet-scented osmanthus duck. "Osmanthus duck" should be in the market when osmanthus fragrance is flowing, fat but not greasy, delicious. After drinking, you must eat a small sugar taro and pour it with cinnamon syrup. "Cinnamon pulp", named after Quyuan's "Chuci Shaoshiming" to "help the north to close the drink Cinnamon pulp". Osmanthus syrup, a sweet osmanthus flower, is picked around the Mid-Autumn Festival and salted with sugar and sour plum. Jiangnan women are skillful in turning poetry chants into table delicacies. Nanjing people enjoy the moon as "celebrating reunion", "full moon" as a reunion drink, and "walking the moon" as a travel market.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was expected to visit the Moon Tower and the Moon Bridge. In the Qing Dynasty, the Chaoyue Tower was built under Lion Mountain for people to enjoy the Moon, and the most important one was to visit the Moon Bridge. When the moon is high, people go to the Moon Tower and visit the Moon Bridge in groups to enjoy seeing the Jade Rabbit. "Playing on the Moon Bridge" in the Confucius Temple, Qinhuai, Henan Province, beside the bridge is a famous prostitute Ma Xianglan residence. That night, scholars gathered at the bridge head to play and sing, recalling Niuzhu playing on the moon, and poems about the moon, so they called this bridge Playing on the Moon Bridge. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, it gradually declined, and later generations had poems to go: "Fengliao Nanqu has been sold out, leaving a long Banqiao of the West Wind, but recalled sitting on the Jade Man Bridge, the moon relatively teaches blowing Xiao." Long Banqiao, the original moon bridge. In recent years, the Confucius Temple in Nanjing has been renovated, restored some pavilions and pavilions in Ming and Qing Dynasties, dredged rivers, and when the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, you can enjoy the fun of the moonlight here together.

The Mid-Autumn Festival night in Wuxi County, Jiangsu Province, is to burn Douxiang. Around Xiangdou, there are silks pasted with yarn, and the scenery of the Moon Palace is painted. There are also fragrant doubles made of thread fragrance, with paper-tied Quexing and colored flags on them. The Mid-Autumn Festival in Shanghai is served with sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine.

On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Ji'an County, Jiangxi Province, each village burns pots with straw. When the pot is red, add the vinegar. At this time, there will be fragrance floating all over the village. During the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xincheng County, grass lanterns were suspended from the night of August 11 until August 17. On the Mid-Autumn Festival in Wuyuan, children build a hollow Pagoda with bricks and tiles. Decorations such as curtain plaques are hung on the tower, and a table is placed in front of the tower, displaying various utensils for worshiping the "god of the tower". At night, candles are lit inside and outside. Jixi Mid-Autumn Festival children play Mid-Autumn Cannon. Mid-Autumn cannon is braided with straw, soaked and then picked up to hit the stone, making a loud noise and the custom of touring fire dragons. Fire dragon is a dragon made of grass with incense pillars on its body. There are gongs and drums in the fire dragon tour. They travel all over the villages before they are sent to the river.

In addition to eating moon cakes, people in Sichuan Province also have to play bamboo, kill ducks, eat muffins, honey cakes and so on during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some places also light orange lanterns and hang at the door to celebrate. There are also children in the pomelo filled with incense, dancing along the street, called "meteor balls dance". Jiading County Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifices to land gods, plays zaju, vocal music, cultural relics, known as the "Watching Meeting".

- North

Farmers in Qingyun County of Shandong Province sacrificed to the earth Valley God on August 15, which is called "Qingmiao Society". In addition to offering sacrifices to the moon, Zhucheng, Linyi and Jimo have to go to graves to sacrifice their ancestors. Landlords in Guanxian, Laiyang, Guangrao and Postal City also entertained tenants during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Jimo Mid-Autumn Festival eats a food called "wheat arrow". Lu'an, Shanxi Province, feasts her son-in-law on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Datong County calls mooncakes reunion cakes, and there is a custom of watching the night in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Wanquan County of Hebei Province calls the Mid-Autumn Festival "Little New Year's Day". Moonlight paper paints pictures of Taiyin Xingjun and Guandi reading the Spring and Autumn Festival at night. Hejian County people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival rain is bitter, if it rains, the local people think that vegetables must taste bad.

On Mid-Autumn Eve in Xixiang County, Shaanxi Province, men go boating to climb cliffs and women arrange feasts. Rich or poor, you must eat watermelon. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are drummers blowing along the door to beg for money. Luochuan County Mid-Autumn Festival parents led students to bring gifts for Mr. Festival, lunch more than school dinner.

Some places have also formed many special Mid-Autumn customs. In addition to moon appreciation, moon sacrifice and eating moon cakes, there are also Hong Kong's fire dragon dance, Anhui's pagoda piling, Guangzhou's Shuzhong Autumn Festival, Jinjiang's burning pagoda, Suzhou's Shihu to watch the moon crossing, Dai's worship of the moon, Miao's moon dancing, Dong's stealing moon vegetables, Gaoshan's ball-holding dance, etc.

Ethnic flavor

Mongolian

Mongolians like to play the game of "chasing the moon". People stepped on horses and galloped on the grasslands under the silvery moonlight. They galloped west, and the moon rose in the East and fell in the west. Persistent Mongolian riders, before the moon goes down to the west, "chasing the moon" is not over.

Tibetans

The custom of Tibetan compatriots in some areas of Tibet to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival is to search for the moon. It is day and night, young men and women and dolls, along the river, follow the reflection of the bright moon in the water, gather the moon shadows in the surrounding ponds, and then go home to eat moon cakes.

- Dong nationality in Guangxi

Dong people in Guangxi have the custom of "traveling on the moon". Mid-Autumn Night approaching, the Lusheng Song and Dance Team of the villages, walking along the moonlight, went to the nearby villages, and there the villagers gathered to enjoy the moon, singing and dancing competitions, all night long.

De'ang ethnic group in Yunnan

Yunnan De'ang ethnic group "crossing the moon". In Luxi, Yunnan, when the Mid-Autumn Moon is bright and especially bright, there comes a melodious and beautiful gourd from time to time, and young men and women are "stringing the moon" together to express their hearts. Some also engage in betel nut and tea delivery through the Moon String.

The Yi people in Yunnan

The traditional custom of the Yi people in Yunnan for the Mid-Autumn Festival is to jump the moon. In the evening, men, women, old and young people from all villages of this clan gathered in the open land of the mountain village. Girls with waist-bands and lads with head-bands, as well as old people, old women and young children, all sang and danced enthusiastically. Especially the couplets of young men and women expressing their love and affection, as if the moon could also listen to them passionately. Moving, more and more charming and clean.

The Gelao nationality

The Gelao people slaughtered a bull on Tiger Day before the festival. They kept the bull's heart in the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship ancestors and welcome the new valley. They called it "August Festival".

- Korean nationality

Korean people use wooden poles and pine branches to erect the "Moon-watching Frame". When the moon rises, several selected elderly people are invited to climb the lunar scaffold. After the old man looks at the moon, he lights the moon shelf, beats long drums and blows holes, and jointly dances "Farmer's Music and Dance".

- Zhuang nationality in Western Guangxi

The activities of "offering sacrifices to the moon and inviting gods" of the Zhuang nationality in Western Guangxi are more typical. Every year in mid-August of the summer calendar, some of them are on the Mid-Autumn Night. People set up a table for offering sacrifices and incense burners in the open air at the village head and village tail. On the right side of the table, there are branches or bamboo branches about one foot high, symbolizing trees, which are also used as ladders for the moon god to descend and ascend to the Ancient elements of moon myth. The whole activity is divided into four stages: inviting the moon god to go down to earth, with one or two women as the spokesperson of the moon god; the song of God to man; the divination of fortune telling by the moon god; the singer singing the magic song and sending the moon god back to heaven.

Li nationality

The Li people call the Mid-Autumn Festival "August Meeting" or "Tone Festival". At that time, there will be singing and dancing parties in each town, and each village will be led by a "tuner" (i.e. leader) to participate in the participation of young men and women. Mooncakes, fragrant cakes, sweet pottery, towels, fans and vest will be presented to each other in groups. At night, they gathered by the fire, roasted game, drank rice wine, sang songs, and unmarried young people took the opportunity to find their future partners.

Foreign Customs

- Korean Peninsula

In Korean, it is called "Ni (Autumn Festival)", "Ni (Mid-Autumn Festival)", "Ni (Jia Li)", "Ni (Mid-Autumn Festival)", "Ni (Mid-Autumn Festival)", "Ni Lu (Jia Li Day)", "Ni Ni Ni (Mid-Autumn Festival)". It is the day to sweep graves and sacrifice ancestors with newly harvested grains and fruits. It is also the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival to return home to visit relatives and give gifts to relatives and friends. So the Mid-Autumn Festival on the Korean Peninsula is also called "Korean Thanksgiving Day" in English.

Vietnam

Mid-Autumn Festival is also a festival for Vietnamese children. That night, the children listened to the legend about Agui and went to see the lion dance. Some of them also got their father to buy him a lion for lion dance and play with their friends. Vietnamese children in the Mid-Autumn Festival night to carry carp lanterns to play, but also foreshadowed the growing up of "leaping dragon gate" meaning.

Japan

The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in Japan is called the Fifteen Nights, also known as the Mid-Autumn Famous Moon and Taro Famous Moon. Japanese people eat rice dumplings when they enjoy the moon, which is called "Evening Evening Dumplings". Because this period is the harvest season of all kinds of crops, in order to express gratitude for the benefits of nature, the Japanese will hold various celebrations. Japanese people also enjoy the moon, known as the "Moon See", the house will display moon-watching dumplings, awn grass, taro and so on.

Singapore

Singapore is a country where Chinese people account for the vast majority of the population. It has always attached great importance to the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. For Singaporean Chinese, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a godsend opportunity to connect feelings and express gratitude. Relatives, friends and business partners present mooncakes to each other to express their greetings and wishes.

Malaysia, Philippines

Eating moon cakes, enjoying the moon and carrying lanterns are the Mid-Autumn Festival customs handed down from generation to generation by Malaysian Chinese. With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, many well-known businesses in Malaysia have launched various kinds of mooncakes. Major shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur have mooncakes counters. Newspapers and TV stations advertise mooncakes everywhere, creating a festive atmosphere for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese associations in some parts of Kuala Lumpur are holding lantern parades to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition to dragon and lion dancing, floats carrying "Chang'e" and "Seven Fairy Daughters" roam through the parade, while artists and young people in bright costumes sing and dancing.

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival that overseas Chinese living in the Philippines attach great importance to. The Chinatown in Manila, Philippines, is very busy. Overseas Chinese hold activities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The main commercial streets in the areas where overseas Chinese live are decorated with lanterns, and the main intersections and bridges entering Chinatown are hung with coloured pictures. Many stores sell mooncakes made by themselves or imported from China. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations include dragon dance parade, national costume parade, lantern parade and float parade.

Mid-Autumn Feast Custom

In ancient China, the Mid-Autumn Feast was the most elegant. For example, crabs were popular in the court of Ming Dynasty. After steaming crabs with cattail bags, people sat around and tasted them, accompanied by wine and vinegar. After eating, drink Suye soup and wash your hands with it. During the banquet area week, flowers, pomegranates and other fresh performances were performed in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Qing Palace mostly put a screen eastward in a certain courtyard. On both sides of the screen, there were cockscombs, beans, taro, peanuts, radishes and fresh lotus root. In front of the screen, there is an eight immortal table with a huge moon cake surrounded by pastries and fruits. At the end of the month sacrifice, the moon cakes were cut into several pieces according to the Royal population, each of them tasted a symbolic mouthful, which was called "eating reunion cakes". The size of the moon cakes in the Qing Palace is inconceivable. A moon cake rewarded by Puyi, the last emperor, to Shao Ying, the Minister of Internal Affairs, is "about two feet in diameter and weighing about twenty kilograms".

Myths and legends

The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon

In ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the sun withered the crops and the people were not bored with life. A hero named Hou Yi was so powerful that he sympathized with the suffering people, opened his bow and shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people. Hou Yi's wife's name is Chang'e. Hou Yi was with his wife all day except hunting. Many ambitious scholars come to teach and learn art, and incorrect Pengmeng also mixes in.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountains to visit friends and ask the Queen Mother for a package of non-lethal drugs. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife and temporarily handed the immortal medicine to Chang'e for collection. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dressing table. Three days later, Hou Yi led all his disciples to go hunting, and Pung Meng, who was pregnant with ghost fetuses, pretended to be ill and did not go out. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd away, Pengmeng broke into the backyard of the house with his sword and forced Chang E to hand over the immortal medicine. Chang'e knew she was not a rival of Pengmeng. When she was in crisis, she turned to open the treasure box, took out the medicine and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew to the sky. Because Chang'e was concerned about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.

In the evening, Hou Yi came home and the maids cried about what had happened during the day. Houyi was both frightened and angry. He drew his sword to kill the villains. Pengmeng had already fled. Houyi was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. He looked up at the night sky and called for Chang'e. At that time, he found that the moon today was very bright and bright, and there was a shaking figure like Chang'e. When Hou Yi missed his wife, he sent people to Chang'e's favorite back garden, put on incense cases, put on the honey and fresh fruits Chang'e usually liked, and offered a remote sacrifice to Chang'e in the Moon Palace. After people heard the news that Chang'e had gone to the moon to become immortal, they set up incense cases under the moon to pray for good luck and peace to the kind Chang'e. Since then, the custom of worshipping the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.

Wu Gang Following Gui

According to legend, there was a man named Wu Gang in the Moon Palace, a man from Xihe River in the Han Dynasty, who had followed the immortals to practice Taoism and reached the heavenly realm, but he made a mistake. The immortals banished him to the Moon Palace and felled the osmanthus trees in front of the Moon Palace every day to punish him. This sweet-scented osmanthus tree grows luxuriantly and has a height of more than 500 feet. Every time it is cut down, the cut area will close immediately. Li Bai wrote in his poem "Give Cui Si Hu Wen Kun Ji" that "If you want the laurel in the midst of the moon, you should keep it as a salary for the cold".

Jade Rabbit Massage

Chang'e has a jade rabbit beside her. It is said that Chang'e's body became lighter, and when she began to fly, she took up the white rabbit she had been feeding in fear. The white rabbit went to the moon with her. The Jade Rabbit has a pestle in the Moon Palace. At night, it pounds the elixir of immortality in the mortar. This myth spread to Japan and became the Jade Rabbit making New Year's Cake.

The Story of Xuanzong

According to legend, Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, Shentian Master and Taoist priest Hongdu looked at the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Suddenly Xuanzong began to visit the Moon Palace. As a result, the three of them went to Qingyun and wandered around the Moon Palace together. But there are guards in front of the palace. They can't enter the palace. They can only overlook the Imperial City of Chang'an outside. At this time, he heard the immortal voice bursts, and Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was always familiar with the tune, so he remembered it silently. This is precisely "this song should only exist in the sky, the world can hear several times!" Later, Xuanzong recalled the music and singing of Xian'e in Yuegong, compiled and danced his own music, and created the famous "Neon Dress and Feather Dress" in history.

Mooncake Uprising

Moon cakes are traditionally eaten on Mid-Autumn Festival in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the people of Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the court officers and soldiers searched very closely, and it was very difficult to transmit information. Liu Bowen, the military commander, came up with a plan to order his subordinates to hide the note containing the "August 15th Uprising" in the cake and send it to the local rebels separately to inform them of their response to the uprising on the evening of August 15th. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded.

Soon Xu Da captured Yuandu and the uprising succeeded. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly passed down an oracle. In the coming Mid-Autumn Festival, all the officers and soldiers would be happy with the people. He would reward the ministers with "moon cakes" which secretly conveyed information when he started the army. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more sophisticated, more varieties. After that, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people.