What's the story of Yue Bai in Mid-Autumn Festival?

Yue Bai originated from offering sacrifices to the moon, and China's ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon has existed since the Zhou Dynasty. The time to worship the moon begins when the moon rises in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The key to offering sacrifices to the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival is to pay tribute to the moon god. There is no moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, even if it rains, you can worship the moon, and you can hold it wherever the moonlight can shine. In case of cloudy days, a sacrificial platform can be placed in the direction of the moon.

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dai people in Yunnan are popular with the custom of "Yue Bai". According to Dai's legend, the moon was changed by the emperor's third son. In short, he is a brave and strong young man. He led the Dai people to defeat the enemy and won the love of the Dai people. Later, after his unfortunate death, he became the moon, rose to the sky, and continued to emit soft moonlight, bringing light to the Dai people in the dark.

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Yue Bai ceremony:

Yue Bai ceremony has strict procedures and props. Participants in Yue Bai must prepare several pieces of Hanfu. In addition, they should also arrange tables, fruit offerings, incense, candles, moonlight paper, large pottery pots, matches or lighters. There are sacrificial tables, mats, an incense burner, a candlestick ②, a wick of high incense, some scattered incense, three mugs, twelve fruit bowls, a proper amount of firecrackers and a knife.

The offerings should be prepared with seasonal fruits such as lotus root, lotus seed, water chestnut, taro, pomegranate, apple, watermelon, green beans and persimmon, food such as moon cakes, reunion cakes, pagoda cakes and descendants cakes, a bowl of purified water, a cup of tea and a bottle of wine.

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Baidu Encyclopedia-Mid-Autumn Festival