Mid-Autumn Festival Ancient Customs and Changes in Present Customs

Ancient times: women worshipped the moon and prayed for a beautiful face

From ancient times to the present, the most famous legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival is Chang'e running to the moon. According to publicly available information, the folk Mid-Autumn Moon Festival activities began in the Wei and Jin dynasties, but did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, the mid-autumn appreciation of the moon, play the moon is quite popular, many poets in the famous poem there are moon poems.

By the time of the Song Dynasty, the formation of the Mid-Autumn Folk Festival centered on moonlight viewing activities. Tokyo Dreaming Records recorded: "before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the stores are selling new wine, the noble family decorative platforms and pavilions, the people's homes to occupy the restaurant to play with the moon, songs and songs heard thousands of miles away, the play even sat to the dawn," can be seen in the Song Dynasty Mid-Autumn Festival is a sleepless night, the night market is open all night long, to play with the moon tourists up to the day endlessly.

The pilgrimage ceremony to the moon since the Zhou Dynasty began to age. Previously, there was a saying that the ancient literati used to enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, poems and people; ordinary people are family reunion, eat "reunion cake", and there is a "moon worship" custom. Xiao Fang said, moon worship is the worship of the moon god activities, began to popularize after the Song Dynasty. Moon worship ceremony is largely in the evening of August 15, at home or outdoor set up the moon god tablet, set up offerings such as fruits, moon cakes, etc., and then kowtow, praying for the moon god to give blessings.

"In the Tang Dynasty, there was indeed a trend of enjoying the moon, but there was no moon worship; in the Song Dynasty, men and women worshipped the moon for different needs: men hoped to get good grades in the imperial examinations, and women prayed for a beautiful face. With the evolution of the times, after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there is 'men do not worship the moon, women do not sacrifice stove'." The expert affirmed.

The origin and evolution of the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival's rich customs had made many scholars quite considerate. It is said that the term "Mid-Autumn Festival" was first used in the Zhou Li, which originated from the moon worship of the ancestors. According to China's ancient calendar, there are four seasons in a year, three months in each season, respectively, known as the month of Meng, the middle month, the seasonal month of three parts, so the second month of autumn is called the mid-autumn, but also because the Mid-Autumn Festival for the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which coincides with the middle of the month, so it is called the "Mid-Autumn Festival". Legend has it that in ancient times, emperors had the ritual of sacrificing the sun in spring and the moon in fall. In folklore, every August Mid-Autumn Festival, there are also around the moon worship or moon sacrifice custom.

With the development of the times, the Tang Dynasty literati mid-autumn moonrise became a new cultural habit, but has not yet seen its combination with social life. Starting from the Song Dynasty, moon watching became one of the entertainment contents of family festival celebrations. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the tradition of moon viewing was gradually replaced by the folk custom of moon worship. Mooncakes are also a product of this process.

Modern: eat new rice future son-in-law door gift

Chinese food culture is flourishing, around the major festivals are all kinds of delicious food presentation, the Mid-Autumn Festival is no exception, which is represented by the moon cakes that have been handed down to the present day. It is reported that the moon cake, also known as hu cake, palace cake, moon ball, harvest cake, reunion cake, originated from the need to worship the moon god.

Since the Song Dynasty, mooncakes have gradually become popular among the people, and the text on mooncakes appeared earlier in the Northern Song Dynasty in Su Dongpo's poem, "Small cakes such as chewing the moon, there are crispy and syrup." Wu Zimu of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Dream Sorghum Records" book has the word "mooncake", but on the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the moon, eat mooncake description, to the Ming Dynasty, "West Lake Excursion Zhi Hui" Fang has recorded: "August 15 is called the middle of the autumn, the folk to mooncakes to each other, take the reunion of the meaning of", this kind of The description of the Qing Dynasty gradually increased, the recorded moon cake production methods have been gradually perfected.

"Mid-autumn coincides with the fall harvest, the new grain debut of the melon and fruit harvest, new wine listed at the same time, so the mid-autumn diet is rich." According to reports, in addition to eating moon cakes, people will be reunited on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival to drink wine, eat new rice, play moon soup (cinnamon, lotus seeds, lotus root powder together with the soup soup), Nanjing, there are cinnamon duck, and other things, the diet can not be said to be rich.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival around the moon worship, enjoy the moon, around the world also produced a lot of local folklore. According to reports, one of the more typical is the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship the rabbit master, worship the moon aunt, sacrifices to the moon mother, walking the moon, singing the moon, and burning pagoda lamps, release the lanterns, stealing the moon vegetables and other activities. When this period, the folk future son-in-law will also go to the door to send gifts to propose marriage, in some economic activities will be settled with the payment of wages and so on.

In the south, Jiangnan "divination scholar" game is more distinctive, that is, the moon cakes cut into three large, medium and small, stacked on top of each other, the largest on the bottom, for the "scholar"; medium in the middle, for the "top"; smallest in the top "The smallest one is on the top, as the "flower scout". And then the whole family rolled the dice, who has the most digital, that is, the first prize, eat a big piece; followed by the top, the flower, with this for fun.

"Mid-Autumn Festival customs in the north and south of the region is not much difference, the main moon cake taste is different. Of course, there are subtle distinctions in some specific festivals, such as the northern region has a rabbit and other god puppets, the southern region is mostly remote worship of the invisible moon god." According to reports, in the festival entertainment in the northern region favors the reunion of relatives within the family, the southern region of the Mid-Autumn Festival outdoor recreational activities are more, the introduction of the previous burning pagoda lamps, dancing grass dragon, etc. are such.