Mid-Autumn Festival中秋節

Every year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, it is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Chinese lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Zhongqiu. The moon on August 15th is rounder and brighter than the full moon in other months, so it is also called "Yuexi" and "August Festival". This night, when people look up at the bright moon in the sky, they naturally look forward to family reunions. Wanderers who are far away from home also use this to express their longing for their hometown and relatives. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the "Reunion Festival". In ancient times, there was the custom of "autumn twilight and evening moon". On the eve of the moon, worship the moon god. By the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night would be held to welcome the cold and worship the moon. Set up a large incense table and place mooncakes, watermelons, apples, dates, plums, grapes and other offerings. Mooncakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. The watermelon should also be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, the moon statue is placed in the direction of the moon, with red candles burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. The person who is cutting must calculate in advance how many people in the family there are. Those who are at home and those who are out of town must be counted together. They cannot cut more or less, and the sizes must be the same. There are many customs and forms of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they all express people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life. (1) According to legend, Wu Yan, an ugly girl from the ancient Qi State, worshiped the moon devoutly when she was a child. When she grew up, she entered the palace with outstanding moral character, but she was not favored. On August 15th of a certain year, the emperor saw her under the moonlight while admiring the moon. He thought she was beautiful and outstanding, so he made her his queen. This is how the Mid-Autumn Festival came to worship the moon. In the middle of the moon, Chang'e is famous for her beauty, so the girl worships the moon and wishes that she "looks like Chang'e and has a face like the bright moon." In the Tang Dynasty, admiring and playing with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was quite popular. In the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. On the night of August 15th, people all over the city, rich and poor, old and young, wear adult clothes, burn incense and worship the moon, express their wishes and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave each other mooncakes as gifts to symbolize reunion. In some places, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival have become more popular; many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn Festival trees, lighting tower lanterns, releasing sky lanterns, walking on the moon, and dancing fire dragons. Today, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the past. However, it is still very popular to hold banquets to appreciate the moon. People drink wine to celebrate the wonderful life, or wish their relatives far away to be healthy and happy, and "share the beauty of the moon with their families thousands of miles away". (2) According to legend, one year in ancient China, ten suns appeared in the sky. They were so scorching that the earth smoked and the sea water dried up. It seemed that the people could no longer live. This incident alarmed a hero named Hou Yi. He climbed to the top of the Kunlun Mountains, used his supernatural power, drew his magic bow, and shot down nine superfluous suns in one go. Hou Yi accomplished extraordinary feats and was respected and loved by the people. Many people with lofty ideals came here to learn skills from his master. The treacherous and evil-minded Peng Meng also sneaked in. Soon, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind-hearted wife named Chang'e. In addition to spreading his skills and hunting, Hou Yi stayed with his wife all day long. People envied this loving couple with talent and beauty. Three days later, Hou Yi led his disciples out for hunting. Peng Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Soon after Hou Yi led everyone away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e knows herself She was no match for Peng Meng. In the critical moment, she made a quick decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang'e swallowed the medicine, and her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew to the sky. Because Chang'e cared about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the world and became an immortal. In the evening, Hou Yi returned home, and the maids cried and told them what happened during the day. Hou Yi was frightened and angry. He drew his sword and went to kill the villain, but Peng Meng had already escaped. Hou Yi was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet and screamed. The grief-stricken Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and called his beloved wife's name. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon was particularly bright and bright, and there was a swaying figure that looked like Chang'e. Hou Yi hurriedly sent people to Chang'e's favorite back garden, set up an incense table, put her favorite sweetmeats and fresh fruits, and offered sacrifices to Chang'e who was nostalgic for him in the moon palace. After the people heard the news that Chang'e flew to the moon and became an immortal, they all set up incense tables under the moon and prayed to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good luck and peace. From then on, the custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. There is a custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. As the saying goes: "August and fifteen are full, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are fragrant and sweet." Moon cakes were originally used as sacrifices to worship the moon god. The word "moon cake" was first seen in "Meng Liang Lu" written by Wu Zimu in the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, it was just a cake-shaped food like caltrop cake. Later, people gradually combined the Mid-Autumn moon appreciation with the tasting of mooncakes, which symbolized family reunion.