Date:Sep 10th,2022

The origin and legend of the Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in ancient times.According to legend, in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, and the crops withered to death, and the people were struggling. A hero named Hou Yi was extremely powerful. He sympathized with the suffering people and climbed the top of the Kunlun Mountain. He shot down more than nine suns in one go, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and set on time for the benefit of the people. Hou Yi was therefore respected and loved by the people, and Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang'e.

Traditional activities

1.Burning lamp

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of lighting lanterns to help the moonlight. Today, there is still the custom of using tiles to stack towers on the towers to light lanterns. In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a custom of making light boats. The custom of lighting lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival is even more popular in modern times. Today's Zhou Yunjin and He Xiangfei said in their article "Let's Try Talking About Seasonal Events": "Guangdong has the most lanterns, and each family uses bamboo strips to tie lanterns more than ten days before the festival. And the words 'Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival', etc., painted with various colors on the paste-colored paper. The inner burning candle of the Mid-Autumn Night Light is tied to a bamboo pole with a rope, erected high on the eaves or on the terrace, or built with small lamps into glyphs or various shapes, hanging At the height of the house, it is commonly known as 'the tree mid-autumn' or the 'vertical mid-autumn'. The lanterns hung in the rich and noble homes can be several feet high. You can also enjoy yourself. The lights in the city are like a world of colored glass." The custom of burning lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the Lantern Festival.

2.Enjoy the moon

The custom of appreciating the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have turned into relaxed entertainment. It is said that the moon is the closest to the earth on this night, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there has been the custom of feasting and enjoying the moon since ancient times. In ancient times, the customs of the North and the South were different, and the customs were different in different places. The written records of the Mid-Autumn Festival Moon Appreciation activities appeared in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a custom. In the Tang Dynasty , viewing the moon and playing with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival were quite popular, and many poets' famous poems included poems about the moon.

3.Chasing the moon

The so-called "chasing the moon" means that the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar has passed, and the excitement is still unfinished, so the next night, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to appreciate the moon, which is called "chasing the moon". According to the preface of Chen Zihou's "Lingnan Miscellaneous Notes": "On the 16th night of the eighth month, people who do good things in Guangdong gather relatives and friends to eat and drink to enjoy the moon, which is called chasing the moon."

4.Watch the tide

In ancient times, in addition to watching the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival, watching the tide in Zhejiang was another Mid-Autumn Festival event. The custom of watching tides in the Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, as early as the Han Dynasty Meicheng's " Seven Hair " Fu has a fairly detailed description. After the Han Dynasty, the trend of watching tides during the Mid-Autumn Festival became more popular. There are also records of tide watching in Zhu Tinghuan 's " Supplement to Wulin's Old Stories" of the Ming Dynasty and Wu Zimu's " Mengliang Lu " of the Song Dynasty.

5.Guessing

There are many lanterns hanging in public places on the Mid-Autumn Festival full moon night. People gather together to guess the riddles written on the lanterns . Because it is an activity that most young men and women like, and love stories are also spread in these activities, so the Mid-Autumn Festival guessing lantern riddles It has also been derived a form of love between men and women.

6.Eat moon cakes

Moon cakes, also known as moon cakes, harvest cakes, palace cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the moon god in the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes were originally used as offerings to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Moon viewing and tasting moon cakes as a symbol of family reunion. Moon cakes symbolize great reunion. People regard them as festive food, offering sacrifices to the moon and gifts to relatives and friends. Up to now, eating moon cakes has become an essential custom for Mid-Autumn Festival in all parts of China. On this day, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion"