Traditional customs of Mid-Autumn Festival

In the traditional Chinese calendar in China, the Mid-Autumn Festival is on August 15th. In ancient times, emperors sacrificed to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" can already be found in the historical works of the Zhou Dynasty. Later, nobles and literati followed the example of the emperor and enjoyed the moon in autumn. Let me introduce some traditional customs in detail. Let's have a look.

1, sacrifice to the moon

Offering sacrifices to the moon is an activity of offering sacrifices to the "Moon God" in some places in ancient China. As one of the important ceremonies of Mid-Autumn Festival, offering sacrifices to the moon has gradually evolved into a folk activity of appreciating and praising the moon, and it has also become the main form of modern people's longing for reunion and pinning their hopes for a better life.

2, playing with lanterns as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, "Wulin Old Things", recorded the custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is an activity of putting a little red light into the river to drift and play. Lantern playing in Mid-Autumn Festival is mostly concentrated in the south. There will be all kinds of lanterns in the Lantern Festival: sesame lanterns, eggshell lanterns, sliced lanterns, straw lanterns, fish scale lanterns, chaff lanterns, melon seeds lanterns and birds, animals, flowers and trees lanterns, etc. , different shapes, amazing.

3. Drinking osmanthus wine in Mid-Autumn Festival, folks have the custom of drinking osmanthus wine since ancient times. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at the bright moon, smelling the bursts of Gui Xiang, thinking of WU GANG cutting sweet-scented osmanthus, drinking a glass of sweet-scented osmanthus wine, and celebrating the sweetness of the family, getting together has become a holiday enjoyment.

4. Walking on the Moon There is also a special activity called "Walking on the Moon" on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival. In the bright moonlight, people wear gorgeous clothes, travel in groups of three or five, or go boating on the Qinhuai River, or go upstairs to watch the moonlight, talking and laughing. In Ming Dynasty, there were Moon Tower and Moon Bridge in Nanjing, and Moon Tower under Lion Mountain in Qing Dynasty, all of which were scenic spots for tourists to enjoy the moon.

5, put the lanterns of Kongming, also known as sky lanterns, commonly known as wishing lanterns and blessing sky lanterns, is an ancient handicraft, which will be put in many places during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Kongming lanterns were mainly used for military purposes in ancient times. Modern people put lanterns on Kongming lanterns, mainly to pray for blessings.

The above is my understanding of the traditional customs of Mid-Autumn Festival. What do you know, my friend?