Why does Mid-Autumn Festival become one of the most important festivals? What will the ancients do on this day?

For modern people, what day is the Mid-Autumn Festival's first concern, followed by enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes. No wonder many people complain that the flavor of the festival is getting weaker and weaker nowadays. So how did people spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient times? What does this day mean to the ancients?

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in China, and there are many opinions about its origin. Some people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the "Autumn Festival" activities of ancient emperors; Some people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the celebration of harvest in ancient agricultural production; Some people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the invention of moon cakes by Pei Ji, the first prime minister in the Tang Dynasty, and it gave birth to festivals. However, no matter where the Mid-Autumn Festival originated, there is no dispute that the Mid-Autumn Festival was really defined as a fixed festival from the Tang Dynasty, and the "Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th" was clearly recorded in the Book of the Tang Dynasty.

in the song dynasty, with the high social and economic prosperity, the mid-autumn festival began to become a very anticipated festival. On the Mid-Autumn Festival night every year, the princes and grandsons in Bianjing City (the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty) and the rich giants will climb to the top of their pavilions to enjoy the moon, or invite relatives and friends to have a big banquet, and everyone will "sing with their harps and harps". And ordinary people's families will also "board a small platform, arrange family dinners, and gather around their children to reward the festival." It is worth mentioning that on this day in Bianjing City, many people are playing all night, which is not inferior to our modern nightlife.

Why did Mid-Autumn Festival become such an important and lively festival? The fundamental reason is that the Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the concept of family perfection advocated by China people.

For China people, family is the most important part of life. Family harmony leads to prosperity, and family destruction leads to death. The Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion and beauty. On this day, the family can get along happily and feel the beauty of family happiness. The greatest happiness in the world is this. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival will become the second largest traditional festival after the Mid-Autumn Festival, because both of them uphold the same concept: family reunion.

So besides family banquets, moon viewing and eating moon cakes, what will the ancients do on the Mid-Autumn Festival? In fact, as in modern times, there will be different customs according to different places.

Sacrificing the moon is one of the oldest and most important customs in Mid-Autumn Festival. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, people put incense tables on the bottom of the moon with moon cakes, snacks, fruits and other sacrifices, and then the family began to worship from the elders to the younger generation in turn. The elders prayed for the moon god to bless the family's health, longevity and happiness. The younger generation "men would like to go to the toad hall early and climb the fairy laurel." Women are willing to look like Chang' e and round like a bright moon. "

Playing with lanterns and dancing with fire dragons are also important customs in Mid-Autumn Festival, which is somewhat similar to the Lantern Festival, but the scale and excitement are far less than that of the Lantern Festival, mainly among family members. Zhou Mi, a scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote in his book "The Past of Wulin" (here Wulin refers to Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty): "The lights and candles are gorgeous, but the evening is the end. This evening, Zhejiang put hundreds of thousands of small water lamps with a little red sheepskin, which floated on the water surface and rotted like stars. " Nowadays, in some areas in the south, the custom of playing lanterns and dancing fire dragons in the Mid-Autumn Festival is still preserved.

Mid-Autumn Festival tide watching is a long-standing custom in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Su Shi wrote in "Watching the Tide on August 15th": "You must know that the Jade Rabbit is very round, and it has been frosty and cold in September. Send a message to shut the door and close the key, and the night tide will stay in the moon. " Before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival every year, the special topography of the bell mouth of Qiantang River caused a huge tide, and its surging momentum was breathtaking.

enjoying osmanthus and drinking osmanthus wine is also one of the activities of the ancients in the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Jade dew is cool, and osmanthus fragrance is floating". The ancients smelled the fragrance of osmanthus in the courtyard and tasted the sweet osmanthus wine. The beauty of autumn is nothing more than this.

In addition to the traditional custom of Mid-Autumn Festival, many places have their own local customs. For example, male prostitute was popular in Beijing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some places in Jiangsu have the custom of "burning incense"; Hengyang, Hunan has the custom of "stealing food and praying for children"; In some places in Shandong and Fujian, there is a custom of "throwing a handkerchief to get married" ...

In a word, the Mid-Autumn Festival is not only the most important traditional festival for the ancients, but also a very interesting festival, and its wonderful degree is probably even more than ours today.

References: Dream of China in Tokyo, Dream of Liang, and Old Wulin Stories.