Ask about some Mid-Autumn Festival contents and sacrificial activities.

The custom of putting on lights in the Mid-Autumn Festival on July 15th is that every household puts on water lanterns (also called river lanterns or lotus lanterns). Monks, Taoists and customs all have their own traditions. Generally, it is made into the shape of lotus petals, lit with candles, and floated on the river to be ghosts, which is also the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Shangyuan Festival" is the "Lantern Festival" on earth, and people decorate lanterns to celebrate the Lantern Festival. "Central Plains" comes from "Shangyuan". People think "Mid-Autumn Festival" is "Ghost Festival", and lanterns should be put on to celebrate the festival for ghosts. However, people and ghosts are different, people are yang and ghosts are yin; The earth is yang and the water is yin. So Shangyuan lanterns are on land, and Zhongyuan lanterns are in water. Numerous river lanterns are placed in the slowly flowing river, dotted and twinkling, leaving endless feelings for the festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival customs all over the country

Hebei Province

Nanpi County took fruit, bacon, wine and money to the ancestral grave on July 15. And holding the hemp valley to the field stalk is called "recommending something new." The Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangping County is called "sending sheep" by offering fresh food to ancestors and preparing fruits, vegetables and steamed sheep for grandchildren. On July 15, Qinghe County went to the grave to pay a sacrifice and offer steamed sheep to her daughter.

[Shanxi Province]]

On this day, scholars in Yonghe County offered sacrifices to Kuixing. The shepherd family in Zhangzi County slaughtered sheep in the Mid-Autumn Festival, competing with the gods. It is said that this can increase the output of sheep. Meat is also given to relatives, while those who are poor and have no sheep use steamed noodles in the shape of sheep instead. Farmers in Yangcheng county make cats, tigers and grains from wheat crumbs and offer sacrifices in the fields, which is called "going to the fields". In Mayi County, the Mid-Autumn Festival takes wheat flour as a child's shape, which is called "dough figurine" and is given to children by relatives. Farmers in Xinxian County hang colored paper on the stalks of fields on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Henan Province

When the Central Plains paid homage to the local officials in Shangqiu County, a paper flag was hung at the door, which is said to be insect-proof. Flying kites during Mid-Autumn Festival in Mengjin County. On July 15, the magistrate of a county drew a gray circle in front of the door and burned paper gongs in the circle to worship the ancestors.

[Shandong Province]

Fishermen in Long Island made boats out of wooden boards, put "for XXX" notes on them, or set up a memorial tablet for people drowned in the sea, put food, clothes, shoes and socks on it, and then light candles. The married man put the boat into the sea. In Zhanhua County, every household collects Kyle and fresh grass leaves to build a shed, which is called "Horse House" and asks ancestors to put it in for sacrifice. Ling Du county calls the Mid-Autumn Festival "pinch festival", and every family eats humble meals.

Shanxi(Province)

Lintong county burned paper to worship Magu on July 15. Farmers in Chenggu County will drink alcohol on the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is called "hanging hoes". Yannong went to the field on the morning of Mid-Autumn Festival, picked the highest and densest ear of rice, hung a five-color paper flag and named it "Tian Zan".

Jiangsu Province

Residents of Wuxian County fold gold ingots with tin foil during the Mid-Autumn Festival and burn them along the road, which is called "ghost fate". There is still a kind of paper ghost circulating in Yizheng county, which contains bowl lamps, gamblers, drunkards and senior officials. There are four boats in the Zhongyuan Festival River in Yixing County, one is the flame mouth, the other is the Buddha chanting, the other is the tin foil ingot burning, and the other is the river lantern. On this day, villagers in Dong Xian eat flat food, which is a dustpan-shaped food made of flour and sugar. When releasing river lanterns in Shanghai, the stern is decorated with red and green paper lanterns, which is called "Dugu".

Sichuan Province

In Sichuan province, there is a custom of burning paper to worship ancestors in the Central Plains. That is, fold the paper money and seal it in a small envelope. The name and title of the recipient, the number of envelopes received, and the name and time of the silk changer are written on the envelope. It is said that the Gate of Ghost was closed on July 15, and all families had to "send their children to Shigu". Chengdu people tied the "flower tray" with paper, put paper money and fruit offerings, and walked around the house, saying, "Dear friends, neighbors, former residents, ghosts who don't want to go back, please put them on the flower tray and send you home!" After that, the back end incinerates the outside of the house.

[Zhejiang Province]

Jiashan county regards the rain of Mid-Autumn Festival as a sign of rice harvest. In Tonglu County, people sing gongs and scatter rice in the wild on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, which is called "giving food". The Lanshe Society in eastern Zhejiang invited 24 old ladies to recite the scriptures and "walk eight knots". Eating "jiaozi Cake" on the rooftop during Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to spring rolls. There is also the custom of putting up street lamps. There are six able-bodied men as a group: one who knocks gongs, one who banges, one who carries lanterns, one who scatters salty rice along the way, one who makes incense along the way (inserted on a sweet potato or taro), and one who makes tofu and rice balls along the way (placed on a big tree), with a sacrifice about every hundred steps.

[Jiangxi Province]

People in Ji 'an burn paper for the New Year, and pregnant women are forbidden to fold paper ingots. It is said that the paper ingots folded by pregnant women cannot be carried by ghosts after being burned, and it is also impossible to send them to the underworld. When releasing the flame, the mage threw buns and fruits at the audience. Legend has it that a woman grabbed a steamed stuffed bun and had a child the next year. A child who robs steamed stuffed buns will never be afraid in his life. Ancestor worship in Anyuan County began on July 12, and incense and tea were burned in the morning and evening. On the fifteenth night, burn clothes and give paper money.

[Fujian Province]

On the Mid-Autumn Festival in Yongfu County, married women must go home to worship their ancestors. Fuzhou dialect calls the Central Plains "Paper Burning Festival". The married daughter prepared her parents' clothes and robes and put them in a box called a gauze box, which was sent to her parents' home. There was a custom of Pudu in the middle of Yuan Dynasty in central Fujian, which was held in both urban and rural areas, and its funds were raised by people along the gate. Even the poorest families will try their best to raise money to cope. There is a proverb: "Pudu does not pay, and the plague is in front of us." Purdue does not contribute, and the dwarf will pick it up. " There are also children's bands performing in Purdue.

[Guangdong Province]

On July 15, people surnamed Lin in Qujiang County offered sacrifices to their ancestors and the king of the head of a dog, and gave them to the little boys and girls who sang and danced in colorful clothes. People in Guishan County regard July 14 as the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that because Yuan soldiers went south in those days, in order to avoid chaos, the festival was celebrated one day in advance. In Chenghai county, ancestor worship and kitchen god are held on the Mid-Yuan Festival. People in the central plains of Deqing made cakes with winter leaves wrapped in powder, which were called "bridges" to worship their ancestors. In ancient Shigu, Chaoyang County, wealthy families would buy plows, waterwheels and even girls from poor families, write them on paper and scatter them when giving food. If you can't afford farm tools or a wife, you can get a voucher.

[Guangxi Province]

Yangshan people take July 14th as the festival to connect eyes, killing ducks to worship their ancestors, and there were no pedestrians on the road that day, which is called "hiding from ghosts".

[Yunnan Province]

After the Tengyue people offered sacrifices to their ancestors, they burned a bag and carved a cucumber into a boat shape, which was called a "cucumber boat" and incinerated it with the bag.

Mid-Autumn Festival Customs in Taiwan Province Province

In the early years of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, a Pudu poem written by Fujian Governor Wang Kaitai said: "The Dojo is full of ghosts, and the original ancient meaning of Yulan still exists; But the strange red note sticks to the door, and the meat mountain wine pool celebrates the Central Plains. " The poem says that 100 years ago, when the 15th of July was held in Taiwan Province Province, they were held together in a Dojo.

Red paper, also known as Central Plains doorplate, is a unique custom in the southern provinces of Taiwan Province. This kind of small doorplate was pasted on the lintel or door of the house before the Central Plains Festival, indicating that the family participated in the sacrificial activities of a temple and belonged to Taoist sacrificial objects.

During the so-called "Ghost Moon" among the people, various sacrificial activities will be held in all parts of Taiwan Province Province. It is roughly divided into three main stages:

The first day of July:

Is the day when the gate of hell opens. In the evening, all families prepared rich sacrificial ceremonies, prepared to worship the door and pay homage to their brothers, commonly known as "filial piety on the moon" or "worship the door". There are (1) five kinds of bowls (chicken, duck, fish, meat, vegetables, etc. ) that would be more abundant; (2) cakes, cakes and wine; (3) fruit; (4) rice flour and rice; (5) toilets; (6) Silver paper, clothing and firecrackers.

July 15:

In addition to the sacrificial activities of "Orchid Club" and "Three Emperors" mentioned above, there is also an important Mid-Autumn Festival folk activity-Purdue. Purdue in Taiwan Province Province is divided into "public" and "private".

Ordinary soldiers:

In the early days of folk festivals, all localities took turns to hold Pudu in villages or towns, so that every day in July was full and ghosts had food every day. But later, taking turns to eat bye-bye gradually became a luxury habit. It is not only unbearable for poor farmers, but also often causes accidents such as drinking and fighting when Pudu has a big banquet. Later, Purdue was held on July 15. A few years ago, a song "Pudu Song" was circulated in Lugang area, from which we can get a glimpse of the grand occasion of Pudu at that time.

On the first day of July, there are water lanterns, the second palace, the third rice market, the fourth Wuwen Temple, the fifth City God Temple, the sixth Tucheng, the seventh girl's birthday, the eighth new palace, the ninth Xinghua Mazu Palace entrance, the tenth harbor bottom, the eleventh vegetable garden, the twelfth Longshan Temple, the thirteenth yamen, the fourteenth ghost town, the fifteenth old palace and the fifteenth old palace.

Gongpu

Public servants are the largest and most important purdue in the local area. The so-called public servant means that all villages will hold ceremonies around the same temple on the same day, and the famous "Keelung Central Plains Festival" belongs to this category.

When holding this kind of public sacrifice, the host must be a rich local person to donate a lot of money to entertain ghosts. However, it is said that if hungry ghosts don't have enough to eat, they will haunt the master for class. So everyone didn't want to be a master class, so most of them were hosted by temples, which is why everyone later called "Miaopu" "Gongpu".

Vertical lamppost, Purdue lantern

In addition, during the ceremony, customs such as "erecting lanterns, lighting lanterns, releasing water lanterns" and "robbing orphans" are also important activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Vertical lamp pole, universal lamp, water discharge lamp

In Taiwan Province province, there will be activities such as erecting lanterns, lighting Purdue lanterns or putting out water lanterns before the activities are officially launched.

Vertical lamppost:

On the eve of the public sacrifice ceremony, if you want to inform the ghosts to come and accept the public sacrifice ceremony, you must "erect a lantern pole" in front of the temple to summon the soul.

The so-called "lantern pole" is a wooden pole or bamboo pole several feet high, with lanterns hanging at the top and lit at night. Folk believe that the higher the pole, the more ghosts gather. In order to avoid too many hungry ghosts, only two or three feet high lanterns are erected at ordinary times, and only when Dapudu is used, lanterns over five feet are erected.

Purdue Lantern:

In addition, during the Purdue period, the People's Association in south-central China put up "Purdue Lights" at their doorsteps, aiming at illuminating the road for the ghosts. The lamp bearer must burn incense and light small lamps every night, and then burn incense and turn off the lights the next morning.

In addition to the private Purdue lanterns in front of and behind the house, there are public lanterns at the entrances and exits of some villages, and some temples set up lanterns to illuminate the road in the ghost month. However, no matter who set it up, it must be completed before the end of June, and it can only be removed after the ghost month.

Release the water lamp

As for the "good brothers" who drowned, they were notified by "water lanterns". Water discharge lamp is a unique activity in Keelung, China and Hongkong. Water lamps are divided into "water lamp holders" and "water lamp rows".

Water lamp holder: one is a round lantern, and the other is a water lamp made in the shape of a house, commonly known as "paper pot".

Water light row: made of wood, it is tied into a raft shape with a length of four or five feet and a width of more than ten feet, and divided into thousands or hundreds of grids, and each grid is hung with lights.

The water lantern parade is led by a band, and sometimes men, women and children dress up as fish, shrimp and aquarium to participate in the parade, and then visit the city streets and reach the river bank. There is a table on the river bank with three sacrifices on it. Ask the monks and Taoists to recite the scriptures, and then put the water lamp in the shape of a house into the water. Water lanterns are provided by major surnames, which indicate their surnames. According to legend, the faster the water lamp flows and the farther it goes, the better the luck of the surname.

Catch an orphan

In Banqiao, Toucheng, Hengchun, Penghu and other places, the activity of "grabbing orphans" was popular in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, and there were two kinds of solitary sheds: rice sheds and solitary sheds.

Rice shed:

In a small area, putting a basket of rice on the shed can be melted into ten or a hundred by the "dissolving food method" of the mage to avoid starvation and harm to the world. It is usually held before the official orphan robbery, which is the prelude to the orphan robbery ceremony.

Catch orphans in Toucheng

The activity of robbing orphans in Toucheng originated very early, dating back to Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty, but it was banned around 38 years of the Republic of China for some reason, and it was not until the early 1980s that this folk festival, which had been interrupted for 43 years, was resumed.

Xie Deng pole, Zhong Kui.

At the end of the Ghost Moon, there are related activities such as "Purdue Tribute to Receive Lights", "Xie Deng Carrying a Pole" and "Jumping Zhong Kui".

Purdue public lighting, thank you:

After Purdue, compared with the activities of lighting Purdue lanterns, erecting lanterns and erecting poles, ghosts must be worshipped at four or five o'clock in the afternoon and invited to go home to end the whole month of ghost worship activities, so most of them are arranged at the end of July or early August. This kind of worship ceremony is also called "filial piety at the end of the month" among the people, and the sacrifice and ceremony are the same as the "door worship" on the first day of July.

Zhong Kui:

Zhong Kui Dance is one of the common Taoist activities in early Taiwan Province. Legend has it that Zhong Kui was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty. When he was ready to meet the king of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor kicked him out of Jin Dian because of his thick eyebrows and ugly appearance. Zhong Kui was so angry that he bumped his head on Jin Dian and died. The emperor regretted it, but it was too late, so he gave him a bronze sword and ordered him to go all over the world to kill demons.

At the end of Purdue in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, folk parties invited ghosts to die with the ceremony of "dancing Zhong Kui". There are two ways to dance Zhong Kui: one is to perform a puppet show, and the other is to be dressed up by real people. It is said that no matter what kind, people think that when dancing in Zhong Kui, there is a heavy Sha Qi, so try not to stay at the scene if you have nothing to do. If they have to stay at the scene, they must also wear protective amulets. They can't talk, let alone call other people's names.

Lonely hut:

Scaffolding is supported by bamboo "solitary columns" covered with cream, and there is an "solitary stack" with different foods tied in the middle. The contestants marched to the solitary shed in different directions, and the team that grabbed the sacrifice at the top of the solitary shed first won. This activity can not be completed by brute force, but by intelligence. The whole team must work together with Qi Xin to send their teammates to the top of the lonely shed. This activity has become the most important activity during the autumn festival in Toucheng, attracting many tourists.

In the early years, a high platform was built in front of the temple, on which were piled three sacrifices, five sacrifices, glutinous rice balls, solitary rice and delicacies. After monks or Taoists chanted sutras, the gong rang, and hundreds of people rushed into the solitary shed to snatch offerings, causing chaos and frequent casualties, which was one of the reasons for closing the door.

Later, although the activity of robbing orphans retained the traditional custom of scaffolding, it changed the chaotic way of competing with ghosts for food in the past and held sports competitions with collective efforts until today.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in Hsinchu is stationed by the highest-ranking "Lingwei Gongdu Town God" in Taiwan Province. Every year, the Lord of Mid-Autumn Festival comes to the territory, which becomes a major event in the middle of the year. As the gate of hell is wide open in July, adults Huang Cheng must be invited to visit Tunjing Town to ensure peace. As usual, when the city god makes a tour, he will invite the gods of nearby temples to participate in the grand event. The protagonist of the parade is Lord Huang Cheng's sedan chair. Accompanied by the leader of the Youth League, the art pavilion, and the seven lords and eight lords (namely General Fan and General Xie) who are ferocious and afraid of cloth. A string of "orphan cakes" hung between the necks of seven grandfathers and eight grandfathers, and women often begged to go back and give them to their young children. It is said that eating it can make children grow up safely.

The route of Huangcheng border also includes Zhengjia Temple in Hsinchu. The Zheng family temple is the home temple of Zheng Yongxi, a scholar who opened Taiwan. In the early years, when the city god was just renovated and rebuilt, it all depended on Zheng's donation. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, he goes to Zhengjia Temple to express his gratitude.

Among the Hakka settlements in Taiwan Province Province, Yuanpudu is represented by Yimin Temple Gongpu in Xinpu. The origin of Yimin Temple can be traced back to the rebellion of Zhu Yigui in the 60th year of Kangxi (1722) and the forest rebellion in the first year of Qianlong (1782). At that time, the militia who responded from all over the country went out of the province and looted houses. In order to defend their homeland, Hakkas in Hsinchu area organized their own guards to fight against it, and hundreds of people died before and after. The local squire buried their bones together in the present Yimin Temple, and held Purdue on July 20th every year. Emperor Qianlong gave a plaque "Commending the Loyalty Pavilion" as a reward.

One of the major features of Pudu in Yimin Temple is the God Pig God Sheep Competition held every year since the Qing Dynasty. The top five pigs must all weigh more than 1000 kg. The choice of two holy sheep is based on the length of horns. 1976, there were two 8-inch-long sacred sheep in Fangliao Village. In order to make the pigs and sheep more eye-catching, the owner will also build a beautiful exhibition shed for them, put glasses and hats on the pigs and sheep, and dress up as a gentleman, which is very cute.

The ceremony of Purdue kicked off on July 18th of the lunar calendar. /kloc-On 0/9, we will welcome the righteous, and there will be activities such as water lanterns, array heads, flags, gongs and drums performances in the evening. There will be a public sacrifice at 10 on the morning of July 20th, and it will be offered at 12 at noon and given in the afternoon. 17 o'clock, the network is lonely, 23 o'clock, lonely. The temple also performed a three-day peace play, providing sesame porridge for believers to eat. Sugar porridge is one of the traditional habits of Yimin Temple. In the early days, Yimin Temple occasionally helped some poor people, so it cooked sugar porridge to satisfy the hunger of the poor. After many years of interruption, 1988, while celebrating the bicentennial of the temple, I cooked sugar porridge for the believers.