Solar term antithesis

Mid-Autumn Festival is a relic of ancient celestial worship-the custom of respecting the moon. According to "Zhou Li? According to Guan Chun, in the Zhou Dynasty, there were activities such as "welcoming the cold in the mid-autumn night", "offering autumn clothes in the mid-autumn" and "setting the moon at the autumn equinox (Yue Bai)". In the Han Dynasty, on the Mid-Autumn Festival or in beginning of autumn, the elderly were respected and provided with male coarse cakes. Mid-Autumn Festival also existed in Jin Dynasty, but it was not very common. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival was combined with fairy tales such as Chu 'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting laurel, jade rabbit smashing medicine, Yang Guifei changing into a moon god, and Tang Dynasty visiting the moon palace, which was full of romance and the wind of playing the moon prevailed.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15th was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival, and seasonal foods such as "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and stuffing inside" appeared. Meng Yuanlao's Dream of Tokyo said: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, your home decorates the terrace, and people compete for restaurants to play the moon"; And "string full of enthusiasm, close to the residents. At night, it is like a cloud. Children in the room, even the wedding drama at night; As for the night market, as for familiarity. " Wu Meng said, "At this moment, golden phoenix is refreshing, the jade dew is cool, the sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant, and the silver toad is full of light. The son of Taizi, a rich man with a huge room, climbs dangerous buildings all the time, plays the moon in the porch, or opens a wide pavilion, puts on a big banquet and sings loudly with harps to predict the joy of the evening. Even in a cushioned house, you can board a small platform, arrange family dinners, gather around your children and reward festivals. Although the poor in the backcountry knew how to drink at the farmers' market, he reluctantly welcomed the joy and refused to waste it. This night, the street was sold until five drums, tourists were played on the moon, and the mother-in-law was in the city until the fire was endless. " More interestingly, the newly compiled Notes of the Drunken Man describes the custom: "Children of Qingcheng family, regardless of wealth, can go to twelve or thirteen by themselves, all decorated with the eyes of adults, burning incense in the building or atrium, each with its own direction; Men are willing to go to themoon early and climb the fairy laurel. ... women want to look like Chang 'e and be as round as the bright moon. "

Moon viewing was very popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. "Its fruitcake must be round"; Every family should set up a "moonlight position" and "Yue Bai" in the direction of the moon. Lu's "Year of Jinghua" contains: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone has a symbol of the Moon Palace, which symbolizes freedom as a person; Chen melon and fruit are in court, and the moon palace is painted on the cake surface. Men and women worship incense and burn it. " Tian Rucheng's Travel Notes on the West Lake says: "At dusk, people feast to enjoy the moon, or swim along the river with the white lake. Above Su Causeway, singing hand in hand is no different from daytime "; People invite each other with moon cakes to show their reunion. Fu Cha Dunchong's "Yanjing Chronicle" said: "The Mid-Autumn Moon Cake is the first in Kyoto, but there is not enough food elsewhere. There are moon cakes everywhere. It is more than a foot big, and it is painted with the shape of the moon palace wax rabbit. " "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhumen, the mansion, presents moon cakes and fruits. On the full moon in May, Chen Guaguo was in court for the month, offering sacrifices to edamame and cockscomb flowers. It's just the right time, the clouds are scattered and the children are noisy. This is really called a festival. Only when the moon is offered, men will not worship. " At the same time, in the past 500 years, festivals such as burning incense, walking on the moon, lighting lanterns, planting Mid-Autumn Festival, lighting tower lanterns, dancing dragons, dragging stones and selling male prostitutes have been launched one after another. Among them, the custom of enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes and having a reunion dinner has been passed down to this day.

Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky, pinning their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this Yue Bai custom, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Tang Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, which was popular in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was as famous as New Year's Day and became one of the major festivals in China.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

One of the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the crops died in the sun and the people were poor. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, made full use of his divine power, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last one to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.

Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple. Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Meng Peng with ulterior motives joined in. One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, but the villain Meng Peng saw it. He wants to steal the elixir to make himself immortal. Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy. In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Meng Peng escaped early. Angry and heartbroken, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and shouted the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright. There is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased it three times, the moon retreated three times, he retreated three times, and the moon advanced three times. He couldn't catch up anyway. Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offer a sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him at the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people set up an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e. Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.

WU GANG, the second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival, won the laurel.

There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon are flourishing, reaching more than 500 feet. There is a man who often cuts down, but every time he finishes cutting, the cut place closes immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty, once went to heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace and did this kind of hard work in vain every day as a punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the month, you will pay for the cold."

Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III —— Zhu Yuanzhang and Moon Cake Uprising

It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent a message that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have also become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

August 15th of the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. In China's lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon on August 15 is rounder and brighter than the full moon in other months, so it is also called "moonlit night" and "August Festival". On this night, people look up at the bright moon like jade in the sky and naturally look forward to family reunion. Wanderers who are far away from home also take this opportunity to pin their thoughts on their relatives in their hometown. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival".

In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon".

In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Northern Song Dynasty. On the evening of August 15, people in the whole city, rich and poor, old and young, put on adult clothes and burned incense to express their wishes to Yue Bai and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave mooncakes to each other, which meant reunion. There are activities in some places, such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival has become more popular. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons.

Nowadays, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, feasting and enjoying the moon are still very popular. People drink alcohol in the middle of the moon to celebrate a better life, or wish their distant relatives health and happiness and spend a good time with their families.

There are many customs and forms of Mid-Autumn Festival, but all of them are entrusted with people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life.

Mid-Autumn Festival is also a day to honor parents! Don't forget to care about mom and dad!

The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China and the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. August 15th is in the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. The ancient calendar in China called August in the middle of autumn "Mid-Autumn Festival", so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Mid-Autumn Festival".

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight is bright. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion, so August 15 was also called "Reunion Festival". Throughout the ages, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows", and vagrants living in other places also rely on the moon to express their affection. Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote poems such as "Looking up, it's moonlight, then leaning back, suddenly thinking about hometown", "Knowing that the dew is frost tonight, the moonlight at home is bright!" Du Fu's "Spring Breeze is Green in Jiang Nanan" and Wang Anshi's "When Will the Moon Shine on Me" in the Song Dynasty are all timeless masterpieces.

Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient festival, and it is an important custom to offer sacrifices and enjoy the moon. Ancient emperors had a social system of offering sacrifices to the moon in spring, and folks also had the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, it was more important to enjoy the moon than to sacrifice it, and serious sacrifice turned into light entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai's court and folk activities to enjoy the moon were even larger. So far, there are many historical sites in China, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower. The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and was used for royal sacrifice to the moon. Whenever the moon rises in the Mid-Autumn Festival, a box is set up in the open air, with moon cakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits on the console table. After Yue Bai, the family sat around the dining table, chatting while eating and enjoying the bright moon. Now, the activities of offering sacrifices to the moon in Yue Bai have been replaced by large-scale and colorful activities of enjoying the moon by the masses.

Eating moon cakes is another custom of festivals, symbolizing reunion. Since the Tang Dynasty, the making of moon cakes has become more and more exquisite. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, and there is pulp in the cake", and Yang Guang copied in Qing Dynasty: "Moon cakes are filled with peach meat and ice cream is sugar paste". It seems that the moon cakes at that time were quite similar to those now.

According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin dynasties, there was a record of "telling Shangshu Town about the cow's confusion, crossing the river in mid-autumn, and traveling incognito around". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. "Tang Shu? Emperor Taizong recorded that the Mid-Autumn Festival was on August 15th. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.

August 15 is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to each other to show their reunion. "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, the cakes were round, the melons were wrongly divided, and the petals were carved with lotus flowers. ..... Those who get married and stay at home will return to their in-laws in the future. This is the so-called reunion festival. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of "reunion" in most parts of our country, that is, flipping a small cake symbolizing reunion, which is similar to a moon cake. The cake contains sugar, sesame, sweet-scented osmanthus and vegetables, and the moon, sweet-scented osmanthus tree and rabbit are pressed outside. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the elders at home will divide the cake into pieces according to the number of people, and each person will have one. If someone is not at home, leave one for them to show family reunion.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are fewer clouds and more fog, and the moonlight is bright and bright. In addition to a series of activities such as enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, eating moon cakes and wishing for reunion, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building stupas in some places. In addition to moon cakes, all kinds of seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits are also delicious in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Another explanation for the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is that the 15th day of the eighth lunar month happens to be the time when rice is ripe, and all families worship the land god. Mid-Autumn Festival may be the legacy of Qiubao.

Dietary customs of Mid-Autumn Festival

In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet custom of Han people was the most elegant in the court. For example, eating crabs was very popular in the court of the Ming Dynasty. After steaming the crabs with cattail, everyone sat around and tasted them, served with wine and vinegar. Drink Su Ye Tang after eating and wash your hands with it. The banquet table was filled with flowers, pomegranates and other fashionable things, and the Mid-Autumn Festival drama was staged. In the Qing Palace, a courtyard placed a screen to the east, with cockscomb flowers, soybean crafts, taro, peanuts, radishes and fresh lotus roots on both sides of the screen. There is a square table in front of the screen, with an extra-large moon cake on it, surrounded by cakes and fruits. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are cut into several pieces according to the royal population, and each person symbolically tastes them, which is called "eating reunion cakes". The size of moon cakes in Qing Palace is unimaginable. For example, the moon cake given by the last emperor Puyi to Ying Shao, Minister of the Interior, was "about two feet in diameter and weighed about twenty pounds".

More than 20 ethnic minorities in China also celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, but the festivals and customs are different. Zhuang people are used to using rice cakes and Yue Bai on bamboo rafts in the river. Girls put lanterns on the water to measure the happiness of their lives and sing the beautiful folk song "Please take care of the moon". Koreans set up a "moon viewing frame" with wooden poles and pine branches. First, invite the old man to explore the moon on the shelf, then light up the moon viewing shelf, play long drums, play caves and dance "peasant dance" together. On the "Tiger Day" before the festival, the Gelao people slaughtered a bull in the whole village, leaving the heart of the bull for the Mid-Autumn Festival night to worship their ancestors and welcome the new valley. They call it "August Festival". Dong people let young people have an outing and get together at this time, which is called "Ganping Festival". The first day is Lusheng Club, and the second day is Errenzhuan. Young people should put on makeup to show their love for their sweetheart. Dai people set fire to the air, then sat around drinking, tasting dog meat soup pot, dried pork, salted eggs and dried eel, and smiling at the moon. Li people call Mid-Autumn Festival "August Meeting" or "Sound Adjustment". At that time, each market town will hold a song and dance party, and each village will be led by a "U-turn" (that is, the leader). After arriving in Jiang Qi, people exchanged mooncakes, sweet cake, cookies, flower towels, colored fans and vests, and there was an endless stream. In the evening, they gather by the fire, roast game, drink rice wine and sing Daqu, so unmarried young people take the opportunity to find their future partners.

Mid-autumn festival and moon cake

Eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. It was first seen in Su Dongpo's sentence, "A small cake is like chewing the moon, and there is crispy glutinous inside". In the Tang and Five Dynasties, there were only "playing with moon soup" and so on, and there were no moon cakes. Moon cakes, as the name of a kind of food, are associated with enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, which first appeared in the Wulin story in the Southern Song Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, there have been more accounts about enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Wan Bu Miscellaneous Notes said that every Mid-Autumn Festival, people make cakes and give them to each other in different sizes, which are called "moon cakes". Moon cakes sold in market stores are often filled with fruits with different names. Some moon cakes cost hundreds of dollars. It is also said in Xi Chao Le that August 15 is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and people give each other moon cakes as gifts to get the meaning of reunion. On this night, every household holds a feast to enjoy the moon, or takes a box with moon cakes and a hip flask to the lake to play all night. On the Su Causeway of the West Lake, people are singing and dancing in small groups. Same as during the day. From these records, we can see the grand occasion of enjoying the moon in autumn night in Hangzhou.

For a long time, China people have accumulated rich experience in making moon cakes, with more and more kinds of moon cakes and more exquisite craftsmanship. Salty, sweet, meaty and vegetarian all have peculiar smells; Smooth surface and lace have their own characteristics. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Peng wrote in "Youzhou Local Records": "Moon Palace cakes are silver toads and purple shadows, and a pair of rabbits are everywhere. Regret the year when Nene stole the medicine. I can't go back to the cold, and staying in Yan Dan is also very tired. " This shows that this ingenious chef reproduces the beautiful legend of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon on the moon cakes and becomes the image of food art patterns. Fu Cha Dunchong's "Yanjing Years" in Qing Dynasty: There is also a description of "moon cakes everywhere, the largest of which is more than a foot long, drawing the shape of a rabbit in the Moon Palace". It shows that ancient moon cakes have blossomed from content to form.