Feelings about the Mid-Autumn Festival

My feelings about the Mid-Autumn Festival are that when it comes to the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will reunite with their families. People will be particularly happy and warm, and at the same time realize that this is the feeling of home.

Origin of the festival:

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a combination of various customs and events such as the emperor's sunset, autumn society, moon appreciation and the legend of the moon palace. It originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty and finally It was finalized in the Tang Dynasty.

The eclipse moon is the ancient emperor who worshiped the moon at the autumnal equinox. Zheng Xuan's note in "Zhou Li, Spring Official Zong Bo, Dian Rui": "The emperor always faces the sun on the spring equinox and the moon on the autumn equinox." In "Historical Records: The Benji of Xiaowu", Pei Piao's explanatory quote from Ying Shao says: "The emperor always faces the sun in spring and the moon in autumn." , worshiping the sun outside the East Gate. The morning sun comes to the morning, and the evening moon rises to the evening. "The Moon Altar in Beijing, formerly known as the Xiyue Altar, was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped the moon during the autumnal equinox.

Since there may not necessarily be a moon on the night of the autumnal equinox, and the moon may not be round even if it is there, which would greatly ruin the scenery, so people gradually put the autumnal equinox moon worship in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in August is the harvest season. The ancients held a ceremony to worship the earth god, which was called "Autumn Report" and "Autumn Society". "Baihutong·Sheji" records: "In the month of Mid-Autumn, choose the first day to order the people's society. "The Deed of Assistance to the Gods" says: 'Pray for grain in mid-spring, harvest grain in mid-autumn, report to the society and offer sacrifices to Ji.'" Xiyue and Qiushe can be It is regarded as the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Evolution to the present:

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the secular interest in festivals became more and more intense. In the moon-appreciating activities of the Ming and Qing dynasties, "the fruit cakes must be round", and each family must set up a "moonlight position" and "offer offerings to the moon" in the direction of moonrise.

Lu Qihong's "Beijing Suihua Ji" records: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, people set up symbols of the Moon Palace, and the symbols on the symbols stood like people; they put melons and fruits in the courtyard, and the moon palace toads were painted on the cakes; men and women worshiped in solemnity "Burn incense and burn it at dawn." "The Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also says: "On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the cakes will be round, the melons will be broken, and the petals will be carved like lotus flowers... Those who have wives will return to peace." People must return to their husband's house every day, which is called the Reunion Festival."

To this day, eating mooncakes has become a must-have custom during the Mid-Autumn Festival in northern and southern China. Moon cakes symbolize reunion, and people regard them as festive food, using them to worship the moon and give them to relatives and friends. In addition to mooncakes, various seasonal fresh and dried fruits are also delicacies on Mid-Autumn Night.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are few clouds and fog, and the moonlight is bright and clear. Folks have a series of activities such as appreciating the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, eating moon cakes, eating sweet potatoes, carrying lanterns, dancing grass dragons, planting Mid-Autumn trees, and building pagodas. of festivals.