Introduction to the Origin and Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival

1, origin: Mid-Autumn Festival is a relic of ancient celestial worship-the custom of worshipping the moon. In the "autumnal equinox" season of the 24 solar terms, it is an ancient "Mid-Autumn Festival", and the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "Mid-Autumn Festival". In traditional culture, the moon and the sun are the same, and these two alternate celestial bodies become the objects of ancestor worship. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebration originated from ancient people's sacrifice to the moon, which is the legacy and derivative of China people's custom of sacrificing to the moon. Sacrificing to the moon is a very old custom in China. In fact, it is a ritual activity of the ancients in some places in ancient China to "Moon God". According to research, "Mid-Autumn Festival" was originally set on the day of autumnal equinox in the twenty-four solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar. However, due to historical development, the lunar calendar (summer calendar) was later used, so the Mid-Autumn Festival was transferred from the autumnal equinox among the 24 solar terms in the dry calendar to the 15th day of August in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). Mid-Autumn Festival is a synthesis of autumn seasonal customs, most of which have ancient origins.

2. On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, 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. Jiangnan has the custom of making lantern boats. The custom of burning lanterns in modern Mid-Autumn Festival is more prosperous. Today, Zhou Yunjin and He He said in their article "Talking about the Four Seasons": "The lanterns in Guangdong are the most prosperous, and every household 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 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 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. The city is full of lights and glass. " The custom of burning lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to Lantern Festival in scale.

3. The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed enjoyment. It is said that this night the moon is closest to the earth, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so there has been a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her parents' house will go back and forth to express her happiness and good luck. Written records of folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities appeared in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces.