The Origin and Customs of Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival, Moon Worship Festival and Reunion Festival, is a popular traditional cultural festival among many ethnic groups and countries in China, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Because its value is only half that of Sanqiu, it is named, and some places set the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 16. The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the major festivals in China, which was as famous as the Spring Festival. Influenced by China culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for overseas Chinese in some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. On May 20th, 2006, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council. ?

Since the Mid-Autumn Festival, there have been customs such as offering sacrifices to the moon, enjoying the moon, eating Yue Bai, enjoying osmanthus flowers and drinking osmanthus wine, which have been passed down to this day and last forever. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful and precious cultural heritage. The full moon is a symbol of people's reunion, a sustenance for missing their hometown and relatives, and hopes for a bumper harvest and happiness. Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day are also called the four traditional festivals in China.

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year, and it is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. The legend is to commemorate Chang 'e.

According to historical records, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there was a record of "telling Shangshu Town about the cow's confusion, crossing the river in mid-autumn, and traveling incognito around". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. The Book of Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15. The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.

The Book of the New Tang Dynasty (Volume XV) and Records of Rites and Music contain "Spring and Autumn Period in Wang Wenxuan and Wang Wucheng", and "In the 19th year of Kaiyuan, Taigong Fu Shang Temple was set up, with Sean in Liu Hou as its partner. In the Mid-Spring and Mid-Autumn Festival, there are sacrifices, and the system of sacrificial music is like a text. " According to historical records, the festival that the ancient emperors sacrificed to the moon was the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which happened to be half that of Sanqiu, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival". Because this festival is in August in autumn, it is also called Autumn Festival, August Festival, August Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. There are also beliefs and related custom activities that pray for reunion, so they are also called "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Day". Because the main activities of Mid-Autumn Festival are around the moon, it is also commonly known as Moon Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival, Moon Festival and Moon Festival. In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon".

The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Song Dynasty, and it became one of the major festivals in China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. About the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, there are roughly three kinds: from the worship of the moon in ancient times, from the custom of singing and dancing under the moon to find a spouse in ancient times, and from the custom of paying homage to the land god in ancient autumn.

August 15th of the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. In China's lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon on August 15 is rounder and brighter than the full moon in other months, so it is also called "moonlit night" and "August Festival". On this night, people look up at the bright moon like jade in the sky and naturally look forward to family reunion. Wanderers who are far away from home also take this opportunity to pin their thoughts on their relatives in their hometown. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival".

In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.

According to legend, the ugly women in ancient Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was very devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not loved. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her queen, and Yue Bai came from the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for its beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wants to be "like Chang 'e and have a bright moon".

In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Northern Song Dynasty. On the evening of August 15, people in the whole city, rich and poor, old and young, put on adult clothes and burned incense to express their wishes to Yue Bai and pray for the blessing of the moon god. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave mooncakes to each other, which meant reunion. There are activities in some places, such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival has become more popular. Many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, walking on the moon and dancing dragons.

Nowadays, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, feasting and enjoying the moon are still very popular. People regard it as "raising a glass to the moon, and I want it from the moon" to celebrate a better life, or wish their distant relatives health and happiness, and stay "thousands of miles away" with their families.

Mid-Autumn Festival, although the customs vary from place to place, each kind is entrusted with people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life.

Holiday nickname

According to China's calendar, August in the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, that is, the second month of autumn, which is called "Mid-Autumn Festival", and August 15th is among them, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival".

Mid-Autumn Festival has many nicknames: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the moon, it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival" and "Moon Festival". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival".

In the Tang Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "correcting the moon".

The record of "Reunion Festival" was first seen in the Ming Dynasty. "Journey to the West Lake" says: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to show their reunion". "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" also said: "On August 15th, the moon was sacrificed, the cakes were round, the melons were wrongly divided, and the petals were carved with lotus flowers. ..... people who marry their relatives in the province will return to their husband's family one day. This is the so-called reunion festival ".

Mid-autumn moon cake

Folding origin

Moon cake is the first food in Mid-Autumn Festival, and there are different opinions about its origin. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Bowen, the counselor of Zhu Yuanzhang, the leader of the anti-Yuan uprising in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, took advantage of the crowded Mid-Autumn Festival to give each other round cakes, which contained a note of "Killing Tartars on the night of August 15th". Everyone saw the note in the cake, just like a "Tatar" (Yuan Bing) doing everything with his hands on this night. Later, everyone ate moon cakes to celebrate the victory of the uprising, and formally called for moon cakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. In a long historical period, even at the end of the last century, many moon cakes were still affixed with a small note! Unfortunately, the moon cakes produced in recent years have disappeared, and the "cultural code" passed down from generation to generation in moon cakes has also disappeared.

There is also a saying that in the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da captured Beijing, the capital occupied by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, and the good news spread to Nanjing, the capital. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu who was playing chess, was ecstatic, that is, he announced that the Mid-Autumn Festival would be celebrated all over the world and rewarded his subjects with moon cakes that conveyed information during the anti-Yuan uprising. Since then, moon cakes have become the "legal" food of Mid-Autumn Festival, and they must be eaten.

Moon cakes originally originated from Zhu Jie food in the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Tang Gaozu, General Li Jing conquered the Turks through the hidden information of moon cakes, and returned home in triumph on August 15. Since then, eating moon cakes has become an annual custom. Turpan people who were doing business at that time presented Tianyuan Jianyi and a large number of beautiful women with 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.

The word "moon cake" has been used in the book Liang Lumeng written by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty, but the description of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival is recorded in the West Lake Travel Agency in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people use moon cakes to get together". In the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.