The Origin and Customs of Pupils in Mid-Autumn Festival

1, the history and origin of Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the autumn moon in ancient times. At first, the festival of "Sacrificing the Moon" was held on the "Autumn Equinox" of the twenty-four solar terms in the Ganzhi calendar, and later it was moved to August 15th in the summer calendar (lunar calendar). In some places, the Mid-Autumn Festival is set on August 16 in the summer calendar.

The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li, a document of the Han Dynasty. In the pre-Qin period, there were activities such as "welcoming the cold on Mid-Autumn Night", "Giving good clothes on Mid-Autumn Festival" and "Celebrating the Moon at the Autumn Equinox (Yue Bai)".

In the Tang Dynasty, it became an officially recognized national festival. Emperor Taizong's book records that August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is very popular in Chang 'an. Many poets' representative works contain poems about the moon, which are combined with fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, WU GANG, Jade Rabbit and Yang Guifei, making them full of romance.

2. Myths and legends of Mid-Autumn Festival

The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon

The fairy tale of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" originated from people's worship of stars in ancient times, and first appeared in "Returning to Tibet". Huai Nan Zi in the Western Han Dynasty said that Chang 'e ate the elixir that her husband Yi Xi Wu Niang wanted, then flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad.

WU GANG won.

According to the novel Youyang Za in the Tang Dynasty, WU GANG, a native of Xihe, made a mistake and was sent to cut down osmanthus trees in the middle of the month. However, osmanthus trees grow 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."

Yu Tu Daoyao

Jade rabbit exercises medicine, which was first seen in Qu Yuan's "What is the sense of standing up, while Gu and Tu are in the abdomen". Fu Xuan in the Jin Dynasty also said: "What's in the middle of the month, the white rabbit is working on medicine." According to Mr Wen Yiduo's textual research, this "white rabbit mashing medicine" was changed from "toad mashing medicine".

It is said that the Jade Rabbit was brought to the Moon Palace by Chang 'e, where there was a pestle to pound the elixir at night. After this myth was spread to Japan, it became a jade rabbit mashed rice cake.

Moon cake uprising

According to legend, eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty, when the ruling class was very cruel and the people rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty. In the uprising, Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces, hid a note containing the words "August 15 Uprising" in a cake and sent it to the uprising troops in various places. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, and soon the uprising was successful.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang gave the "moon cake" that was secretly transmitting information at that time as a holiday cake to ministers. Since then, "moon cakes" have become more and more exquisite, with more and more kinds. They are as big as disks and become the best gifts.

3. Traditional customs of Mid-Autumn Festival

Appreciate the bright full moon

Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, people will put fruit on it, talk about enjoying the moon, and drink alcohol during it to celebrate a better life.

In addition, many places in our country have the custom of offering sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai. In the Book of Rites, there is a record of "autumn twilight and the moon", that is, to worship the moon god and hope for the bright moon in the future.

Eat moon cakes

As the saying goes, "August 15th is full, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are sweet and fragrant". People combine moon viewing with moon cakes, symbolizing family reunion and missing.

Enjoy the laurel

People often appreciate osmanthus fragrans in Mid-Autumn Festival and eat all kinds of foods made of osmanthus fragrans, especially cakes and sweets. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at osmanthus, smelling osmanthus fragrance and drinking a glass of osmanthus wine in the middle of the month to celebrate the sweetness of the family has become a wonderful enjoyment of the festival.

Play with lanterns

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the three major Lantern Festival in China, so we should play with lanterns in festivals. Playing lanterns in Mid-Autumn Festival is mostly concentrated in the south. In Guangdong, lanterns are hung high, which is called "Mid-Autumn Festival on trees" or "Mid-Autumn Festival vertically".

Tidal bore watching

The custom of watching tide in Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history, which is described in detail in Mei Cheng's famous poem Qi Fa in Han Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival became more popular.

Su Shi wrote "Watching the Tide on August 15th" and said: "I know that the Jade Rabbit is round, and it has been frosted in September. Send a message to close the door and close the key, and the night tide stays in the moon. "

Combustion tower

The game of burning tile lamp (or burning flower tower, burning tile tower and burning fan tower) is widely circulated in the south. For example, Volume 5 of China Folk Customs: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Jiangxi, children usually pick up tiles in the wild and pile them into round towers with holes. At dusk, it is burned in the firewood tower under the bright moon. As soon as the tiles burned red, kerosene was poured on the fire, and suddenly the fields were red and bright as day.

Solve riddles; solve lantern riddles; guess riddles on hanging lanterns

On the Mid-Autumn Festival full moon night, there are many lanterns hanging in public places. People get together to guess the riddles written on lanterns. Because this is the favorite activity of most young men and women, love stories will also be heard in these activities, so solve riddles on the lanterns is also a form of love between men and women in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

4, Mid-Autumn Festival poetry appreciation

Looking at the moon, thinking of a distant one.

Don Zhang Jiuling

The moon, at this time is at sea, over the end of the world.

People who love hate long nights and sleepless nights and miss their loved ones.

Put out the candle to love this moonlit room, and I wander in the deep night dew in my clothes.

You can't have beautiful moonlight, just want to meet you in your dreams.

moonlit night

Don du fu

Look at it alone from the window of her room tonight.

For our boys and girls, poor little baby, too young to know where the capital is.

Her cloudy hair is sweet with mist, and her jade-white shoulders are cold in the moonlight.

When can we lie on the screen again and look at the bright light and stop crying? .

Magnolia slowness

Song Xin qi Ji

How lovely the moon is tonight, the long west, where is it going?

Did another person just see you rise in the East?

Or outside the vast universe, there is nothing but vastness to take this beautiful moon away?

It is like a mirror that flies to the sky, but it won't fall off. Who tied it with an invisible long rope? _ Who will stay if you don't marry?

I heard that the moon swam across the bottom of the sea, but I can't see why. This is an unpredictable thing, but also a worrying and terrible thing.

I'm afraid that the whale in the sea will hit the Jade Palace and Qionglou in the Moon Palace.

From the bottom of the sea, water won't worry about water, but did rabbits ever learn to swim?

If all this is safe, why does it gradually become a link?

Prelude to Water Melody

Song sushi

Chen Bing Mid-Autumn Festival, drinking happily. Drunk, for this article, and pregnant by)

When did the moon begin to appear? I take my glass from a distance.

I don't know the palace in the sky, and I don't know the month and time.

I'm willing to ride the wind to the sky, I'm afraid I can't stand the cold for nine days in a pavilion of fine jade.

Dance and enjoy the shadow of the moon, which is in the world.

The moon turned into a scarlet pavilion, hanging low on the carved window, shining on the sleepy self.

The moon should not have any resentment against people. Why is it round when people are gone?

People are sad and happy, and they are separated and reunited. The moon has yin and yang, and there are gains and losses. Nothing is perfect, even in the past.

I hope people will live for a long time and have a good scenery thousands of miles away.