The origin and customs of the Mid Autumn Festival, the origin and customs of the Mid Autumn Festival

What is the origin and customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival?

The origin and customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival are as follows:

The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty, and by the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it had become one of the traditional Chinese festivals on a par with the Spring Festival. Influenced by Chinese cultural discourse, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially the local Chinese and overseas Chinese. Since 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national holiday.

On May 20, 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had customs such as worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, worshiping the moon, eating moon cakes, appreciating osmanthus flowers, drinking osmanthus wine, etc., which have been passed down to this day and endured for a long time. The Mid-Autumn Festival uses the full moon to reunite people, as a sustenance of missing hometown, missing relatives, praying for a good harvest and happiness, and becoming a colorful and precious cultural heritage. The Mid-Autumn Festival, together with the Dragon Boat Festival, the Spring Festival and the Qingming Festival, is known as the four traditional festivals in China.

Stories and legends

1, Chang'e to the moon

The myth of "Chang'e to the Moon" originated from the worship of the stars by the ancients, and the story of Chang'e to the Moon first appeared in "Returning to Tibet". Later, the folk further developed the story and evolved it into multiple story versions. Chang'e ascended to the Moon Palace, and according to the Western Han Dynasty's "Huainanzi", it was because she stole the immortal medicine that her husband Hou Yi asked for from the Queen Mother of the West, so she flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad pounding medicine.

2, Wu Gang won the laurels

Wu Gang ascended to the Moon Palace to win the laurel, according to the Tang Dynasty's ** "Youyang Miscellaneous", it was because Wu Gang made a mistake in cultivating immortals in the west, so he was punished to cut down the laurel tree in the moon. This laurel tree grows as it grows, and it will never be cut again. Li Bai wrote in the poem "Gift to Cui Sihu Wen Kunji":

If you want to cut the laurel in the moon, hold the salary of the cold. ”

1. The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival:

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient worship of the moon and has a long history. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first recorded in the "Zhou Li". Because of the ancient calendar of our country, August 15 of the lunar calendar is exactly the autumn of the year, and it is the middle of August, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".

In addition, in the four seasons of the year, each quarter is divided into three parts: "Meng, Zhong, and Ji", so the second month of Xizhou in autumn is called "Zhongqiu". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. There is still a myth of "Wu Gang cutting Gui and Chang'e running to the moon".

In short, according to the records of historical books, the ancient emperors had many moon worship activities, and the date was set on August 15 of the lunar calendar. Because it is half of the three autumns at this time, it is called the "Mid-Autumn Festival". Hanci.com believes that this is the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

2. The customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival:

The Mid-Autumn Festival is here, and each place has its own customs. But the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival have nothing more in common: worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, watching lanterns, and eating moon cakes.

In addition, there are also folk moon worship, moonlight horses, rabbit lords, Mid-Autumn Festival banquet customs, fire dragon dance, burning pagoda lamps, stealing vegetables and begging for Lang, stealing melons and praying for children, Mid-Autumn Festival cakes, burning incense buckets for the moon, begging for the moon and climbing the moon, walking on the moon and walking on the three bridges and so on.

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of the moon in ancient times and has a long history. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first recorded in the "Zhou Li", because of the ancient calendar of our country, the lunar calendar on August 15 was judged to be cheating, which happened to be the autumn of the year, and it was the middle of August, so it was called "Mid-Autumn Festival". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival.

As early as the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival had the folk customs of worshipping the moon, admiring the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine.