Mid-Autumn Festival Customs (Short Story)

The custom of enjoying the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have become relaxed pleasures. 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.

Myths and legends

1, the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

The myth of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" originated from the ancient people's worship of the stars, and the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon first appeared in "Returning to Tibet". Later, the story was further developed by the people and evolved into several story versions. Chang 'e boarded the moon palace. According to Huainanzi in the Western Han Dynasty, it was because she ate the elixir that her husband Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West, flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad.

2. WU GANG won the crown.

WU GANG boarded the Moon Palace and won the laurel. According to the novel Youyang Za in the Tang Dynasty, it is precisely because of WU GANG's error in cultivating immortals that he was punished by cutting the laurel every month. This osmanthus tree grows with cutting, and it will never stop cutting. Li Bai wrote in the poem "To Cui Hu Si Wen Kun Ji": "If you want to spend Gui Yue, you will be rewarded if you are cold."