Investigation on the custom of kneeling for Yancheng Mid-Autumn Festival. . .

August 15th of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is usually called "August and a half". Ordinary people want the whole family to get together and have a good meal, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". There is a saying in the Tang Dynasty that "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival". Later, activities such as Yue Bai and Moonlight Entertainment appeared. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a story of "eating moon cakes to kill Tartars on August 15th", which reflected the hatred of the oppressed people towards the brutal rulers at that time. Mid-Autumn Festival Yue Bai is a custom all over Yancheng. Because the autumn is crisp, the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is the roundest and brightest, so there is a saying that the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is particularly bright. In the old society, every Mid-Autumn Festival, every household prepared reunion cakes and other foods, and shops supplied all kinds of "moon cakes" with stuffing. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, when the moon rises, every household prepares ling, lotus root, moon cakes and other foods to set tables outside, burn incense and light candles, and set off firecrackers to show respect for the moonlight. After liberation, Yue Bai burned less and less incense, but every household prepared moon cakes, tea and had a reunion dinner.

Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival:

Most traditional festivals in China are related to eating, and the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival is no exception. Eating moon cakes and enjoying the moon in Mid-Autumn Festival is an essential program on this day. There is no exact record in the history books about the formation of the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there are mainly two kinds of folklore.

First of all, moon cakes originated from Zhu Jie food in Tang Jun. During the reign of Tang Gaozu, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned home in triumph on August 15. At that time, a commercial Tubo presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Gao Zu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cake, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "Please invite toad with Hu cake." After that, share the cake with the ministers. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival has been formed.

Another legend is that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty made the broad masses of people unbearable and rose up in succession. Of course, the imperial court won't let its country be overthrown so easily, so it's difficult to conduct large-scale search activities, and it's also difficult to transmit news among insurgents everywhere. Later, Liu Bowen thought of an idea, ordered people to put a note of "August 15 Uprising" in the cake, and then sent people to rebel troops in various places separately. On August 15, insurgents from all over the country responded at the same time and started a nationwide peasant uprising. Later, when Zhu Yuanzhang won the world, he sent word that in the coming August 15, all the soldiers would have fun with the people and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent during the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.