Why do we eat mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival and what are the customs?

The origin of the custom of eating mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival

Mooncakes, also known as hu cake, palace cake, small cake, moon ball, reunion cake, etc., is the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival offerings to worship the moon god, along the transmission, the formation of Mid-Autumn Festival to eat mooncakes of custom.

Moon cake, in China has a long history. According to historical records, as early as in the Yin, Zhou period, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, there is a commemorative master Wen Zhong's thin side of the heart of the thick "Master Cake", which is China's moon cake "ancestor". Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian's mission to the West, the introduction of sesame, walnuts, moon cakes for the production of additional ingredients, then appeared in the walnut as the filling of the round cake, called "Hu cake".

The Tang Dynasty, the folk have been engaged in the production of cake masters, the capital Chang'an also began to appear cake store. It is said that one Mid-Autumn Festival night, the Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei enjoy the moon to eat Hu cake, Tang Xuanzong smacked "Hu cake" name is not good to hear, Yang Guifei looked up at the bright moon, the heart surging, out of the mouth and "moon cake", from the "Moon Cake "

The name of the mooncake has been gradually spread in the folklore.

The Northern Song Royal Mid-Autumn Festival like to eat a kind of "Palace cake", folk commonly known as "small cakes", "moon ball". Su Dongpo has a poem: "small cakes such as chewing the moon, there are crispy and Yi."

Zhou Mi, a writer in the Song Dynasty, mentioned the name of "mooncake" in his account of Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

During the Ming Dynasty, mooncakes were gradually popularized among the people during the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, the ingenious bakers, the Chang'e moon mythological story as food art patterns printed on the mooncakes, so that the mooncakes became more popular among the people of the Mid-Autumn Festival essential food.

Mid-Autumn Festival in stories

There are many legends passed down about the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many of them have become household myths. Chang'e Runs to the Moon

Legend has it that, in ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky, which withered the crops and made the people suffer. A hero named Hou Yi, who had great strength and sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of the Kunlun Mountain, transported all the power of the gods, drew his divine bow, and shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and strictly ordered the last one to rise and set on time for the benefit of the people.

Hou Yi was thus honored and loved by the people, and he married a beautiful and kind-hearted wife named Chang'e.

Many people came to learn from Hou Yi, and the evil-minded Peng Meng also got involved.

One day, Hou Yi met the Queen Mother and asked her for a packet of immortality medicine. It is said that by taking this medicine, one can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. But this medicine can only be eaten by one person, Hou Yi could not leave his wife behind, so he had to temporarily hand over the medicine to Chang'e to cherish. Chang'e will be hidden into the medicine dresser treasure box, unexpectedly by the villain Peng Meng saw, he wanted to steal the immortality of the medicine to become immortal.

Three days later, Houyi led a group of disciples to go out hunting, and Peng Meng pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Shortly after Hou Yi left, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the house with a sword in his hand and forced Chang E to hand over the Pill of Immortality. Chang'e made an immediate decision and swallowed it herself. Afterward, Chang'e immediately floated away from the ground and flew towards the sky. As Chang'e was attached to her husband, she flew down to the moon, which is the closest to the earth, and became an immortal. Hou Yi learned, grief, had to send people to Chang'e favorite garden, set up incense, put her usually favorite honey fresh fruit, remote sacrifice Chang'e. When the people heard about it, they also set up incense under the moon to worship Chang'e from afar. From then on, the custom of worshipping the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. Wu Gang folding laurel

On the Mid-Autumn Festival there is a legend: According to legend, the moon in front of the Guanghan Palace of the laurel tree grows luxuriantly, there are more than 500 feet high, under the side of a person often cut it, but every time after cutting down, the place that was cut down and then immediately close up. For thousands of years, it was cut down and closed up in this way, and the laurel tree could never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the tree was named Wu Gang, a man from Xihe in the Han Dynasty, who had followed the Immortals to the heavenly realm, but he made a mistake, and the Immortals relegated him to the Moon Palace, where he was punished by doing this kind of futile and hard work day after day. Li Bai's poem "I want to carve the laurel in the moon, and hold it as a salary for the cold". Zhu Yuanzhang uprising

Mid-Autumn Festival to eat moon cakes is said to have begun in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the majority of people in the Central Plains could not stand the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty ruling class, and they rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the imperial court officials and soldiers searched very closely, and it was very difficult to pass the news. Liu Bo Wen, the military advisor, came up with a plan, ordering his subordinates to hide a note with the words "Rise on the 15th of August" inside a cake, and then sent his men to send it to all the rebel armies, informing them that they would rise on the night of the 15th of August to respond to the revolt. On the day of the uprising, all the rebel armies responded together, and the rebel army was like a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan capital and the uprising was successful. The news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he hurriedly sent down an order, in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, so that all the generals and soldiers with the people to have fun, and will be the year when the army to secretly transmit information "moon cake", as a festival pastry reward for the ministers. Since then, the "moon cake" production more and more fine, more varieties, as large as a disk, become a gift of goodies. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes will be spread in folklore.

2 The origin of the custom of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival

The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival

According to historical records, the term "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book of "Zhou Li". But it wasn't until the early Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a regular holiday. The Book of Tang - Taizong Records recorded that "the Mid-Autumn Festival was held on the 15th day of the 8th month". But it was not until the Song Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival began to flourish, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become the second most popular traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival, on a par with New Year's Day.

According to China's calendar, the lunar August in the middle of autumn, the second month of autumn, known as the "mid-autumn", and the 15th of August in the "mid-autumn" in the middle of the month, so that "Mid-Autumn Festival "The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known by many aliases. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known by many other names: "August Festival", "Half of August", "Moon Festival", "Moon Festival" and so on; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are centered around the "moon", the moon is complete, symbolizing the reunion, and therefore also called "reunion festival".

The term "Reunion Festival" was first used in the Ming Dynasty. West Lake Tourism Zhiyu" said: "August 15 is called Mid-Autumn Festival, the folk to the moon cake to send each other, to take the meaning of reunion. The Imperial Capital Scenic Spectacle" also said: "August 15 moon festival, the cake must be round, the melon must be wrong teeth, petals carved like a lotus flower. ...... whose women return to the Ning, is the day will return to the husband's home, said the reunion festival also." Mid-Autumn Festival night, most areas of China and branding "reunion" custom, that is, branding a symbol of reunion, similar to the moon cake, small cakes, cakes wrapped in sugar, sesame, cinnamon and vegetables, etc., outside the pressure of the moon, cinnamon trees, rabbits and other patterns. After the moon festival, the elders of the family cut the cake into pieces according to the number of people, each person a piece, if someone is not at home, that is, to leave a copy for them, to indicate the reunion of the family.

Asian countries Mid-Autumn Festival customs Japan: do not eat moon cakes

Japan's Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Taro Moon, also known as the Kurimine Moon. On this day the Japanese people will be mango grass, Hu Zhi Zi, yellow flowers and dragon buds and other autumn grass in the bottle, offering fruit and glutinous rice dumplings. The Japanese call this time of year the Soybean Moon. This is because it is the time of the soybean harvest, and it is meant to be a festival for the harvest of soybeans. This is the only day when the Japanese allow outsiders to steal taro potatoes from their fields and consider it a good thing to do. Many children brazenly steal offerings from neighboring houses using bamboo poles with nails. The Japanese also have a custom of viewing the moon on this day, which is called "Tsukimi" in Japanese.

The Japanese custom of viewing the moon originated in China, and when it was introduced to Japan more than 1,000 years ago, a local custom of holding a banquet while viewing the moon began to emerge, known as a "moon-viewing banquet. Unlike the Chinese who eat mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Japanese eat rice balls called "Tsukimi Dumplings" while viewing the moon. Since this is the time when various crops are harvested, various celebrations are held to show appreciation for the bounty of nature. Although the lunar calendar was abolished in favor of the solar calendar after the Meiji Restoration, the custom of enjoying the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival is still practiced in various parts of the country, and some temples and shrines hold special moon-viewing sessions on the festival.

Unlike the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival is dominated by children. The market is full of different flavors of moon cakes, lanterns, colorful children's toys and other festive food and toys, and children's faces are overflowing with desire for the festival. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, lantern festivals are held in all parts of Vietnam and lantern designs are evaluated, with the winners receiving awards. In addition, some localities in Vietnam organize lion dances during the festival, which often take place on the 14th and 15th nights of the eighth lunar month. During the festival, local people sit around the whole family on the balcony, in the yard, or go out to the field with their families, setting up moon cakes, fruits and other kinds of snacks, enjoying the moon and savoring the delicious moon cakes. Children carry lanterns and play in groups.

With the gradual improvement of Vietnamese people's living standards in recent years, the millennium Mid-Autumn Festival custom has quietly changed. Many young people spend the festival either gathering at home, singing and dancing, or going out in groups to enjoy the moon and improve understanding and friendship among peers. Therefore, in addition to the traditional family reunion, Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival is adding new connotations, gradually favored by young people. For the Chinese in Singapore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a great opportunity to bond and show appreciation. Friends, family and business associates give each other mooncakes to express their greetings and wishes.

Singapore is a tourist city, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is undoubtedly a great opportunity to attract tourists. Every year, as the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the famous Orchard Road, Singapore River, Chinatown and Jurong Point are decorated. At night, when the lights come on, the whole street is a red scene, which is exciting. Malaysia, the Philippines: float parade in full bloom

Eating mooncakes, enjoying the moon and carrying lanterns in the parade are the Mid-Autumn Festival customs of the Malaysian Chinese that have been passed down from generation to generation. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, long-established merchants around Malaysia have launched a variety of moon cakes. The capital city of Kuala Lumpur, major shopping malls are equipped with mooncake counters, newspapers, television mooncake advertisements all over the world to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival to create a festive atmosphere. Chinese associations in some parts of Kuala Lumpur recently held lantern parades to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition to dragon and lion dances, a float carrying "Chang'e" and "Seven Fairies" roamed around, and brightly-dressed entertainers and young people sang and danced, making for a lively event.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival that is highly valued by overseas Chinese living in the Philippines. Chinatown in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is bustling with activities held by local Chinese communities to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. The main commercial streets of Chinese neighborhoods were decorated with lights, banners were hung at major intersections and on bridges entering Chinatown, and many stores sold a variety of mooncakes, either homemade or imported from China. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations included a dragon dance parade, a parade of national costumes, a lantern parade and a float parade, which attracted large crowds and filled the historic Chinatown with a joyful and festive atmosphere. In the past, when transportation was not as developed, people used to take advantage of this period to go back to their hometowns to visit their relatives. Today, a month before the festival, major companies in South Korea offer big discounts to entice people to shop and give to each other.