Mid Autumn Festival notice
In order to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, Jerry decided to have a holiday from September 10, 2022 to September 12, 2022, Beijing time. During the holidays, the business department and the technical department will arrange special personnel to be on duty. If customers have any questions, they can consult at any time. I wish you all a Happy Mid Autumn Festival.
About the Mid Autumn Festival
origin
The origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is inseparable from the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival is the legacy of the ancient celestial phenomenon worship - the custom of respecting the moon. At the autumnal equinox, it is the ancient festival of sacrificing the moon. Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. In fact, it is a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the "moon god" in some places in ancient China. The Mid Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "autumn equinox festival". In traditional culture, like the moon and the sun, these two alternate celestial bodies became the objects of worship of our ancestors. The Mid Autumn Festival originated from people's sacrifice to the moon in ancient times. It is the legacy and derivation of the Chinese custom of sacrificing the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival is a synthesis of the seasonal customs in autumn. Most of the festival and custom factors it contains have ancient origins.
development
The Mid Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the worship of the moon on the autumn Eve in ancient times. Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. It is a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the "moon god" in some parts of ancient China. In the autumn equinox of the twenty-four solar terms, it is the ancient festival of sacrificing the moon. The Mid Autumn Festival comes from the traditional "autumn equinox festival". In ancient farming society, the ancients believed that the movement of the moon was closely related to agricultural production and seasonal changes, so sacrificing the moon became an important sacrificial activity. Sacrificing the moon, as one of the important customs of folk festivals, has gradually evolved into activities such as appreciating the moon and eulogizing the moon.
The Mid Autumn Festival was popular in the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty was a period of economic and cultural exchanges and integration between North and South China, and cultural exchanges and ambassadorial customs were integrated and spread. The existing written records of the word "Mid Autumn Festival" were first found in the Han Dynasty documents. In the book of rites of Zhou (which was written by Zhou GongDan in the history of the Han Dynasty and was actually written between the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty), it is said that there were activities such as "welcoming the cold on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival", "offering good fur on the Mid Autumn Festival" and "worshipping the moon on the eve of the autumn equinox" in the pre Qin Dynasty. According to records, in the Han Dynasty, there were activities of respecting and providing for the elderly on the Mid Autumn Festival or the beginning of autumn, and giving them male coarse cakes. In the Jin Dynasty, there were also written records of moon appreciation in the Mid Autumn Festival, but it was not very common. Before the Jin Dynasty, the Mid Autumn Festival was not popular in northern China.
The mid autumn festival custom was popular in northern China in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the mid autumn festival became an official national festival. "The book of Tang · records of Taizong" records the "Mid Autumn Festival on August 15th". The custom of appreciating the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival was very popular in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their famous poems. It also combines the Mid Autumn Festival with fairy tales such as Chang'e's running to the moon, Wu Gang's cutting laurel, the jade rabbit's making medicine, Yang Guifei's changing into the moon god, and the Tang and Ming emperor's visiting the Moon Palace, so that it is full of romantic colors and the wind of playing with the moon is just booming. The Tang Dynasty is an important period for the blending and shaping of traditional festivals and customs, and its main part has been inherited to this day.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, August 15th of the lunar calendar was officially designated as the "Mid Autumn Festival". In literary works, there are seasonal foods such as "small cakes are like chewing the moon, and there are crisp and Yee in them". For example, Meng Yuanlao said in his dream of China in Tokyo: "on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, your family decorated the terrace and pavilion, and the people competed for the restaurant to play the moon"; Moreover, "the string is heavy and boisterous, and the residents near the inner extension hear the sound of Sheng and Taro in the middle of the night, just like outside the clouds. The children in the room are getting married overnight; the night market is parallel, and they are familiar with it.".
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the secular interest in festivals became increasingly strong. In the moon appreciation activities of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, "the fruit cakes must be round", and each family must set up a "Moonlight position" to "worship the moon" in the direction of the moon. Lu Qihong's Beijing Suihua records states: "on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, people each set up a Moon Palace rune, and the rune is free from standing like a person; the melons and fruits are in the court, and the Moon Palace toad is painted on the cake surface; men and women worship and burn incense, and burn it on the first day." It is also said in the imperial capital scenery that "on the 15th of August, when people sacrifice the moon, their cakes will be round, their melons will be staggered, and their petals will be carved like lotus flowers.. those who have a wife returning to peace will return to their husband's home on that day, which is called the reunion festival." So far, eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom for celebrating the Mid Autumn Festival in North and South China. Moon cakes symbolize great reunion. People regard them as festival food and use them to sacrifice the moon and give gifts to relatives and friends. In addition to moon cakes, all kinds of seasonal fresh and dried fruits are also delicious food on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival. During the Mid Autumn Festival, there are few clouds and mist, and the moonlight is bright and bright. There are a series of festival activities among the people, such as appreciating the moon, sacrificing the moon, eating moon cakes, eating sweet potatoes, carrying lanterns, dancing grass dragons, planting trees for the Mid Autumn Festival, and building pagodas.
Holiday nickname
At first, the festival of "sacrificing the moon" was on the day of the "autumn equinox" of the 24 solar terms of the Ganzhi calendar. Later, it was adjusted to the August 15th of the summer calendar (lunar calendar). According to the Chinese calendar, August of the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, which is the second month of autumn. It is called "mid autumn", and August 15th is in the "mid autumn", so it is called "mid autumn".
There are many nicknames for the Mid Autumn Festival: in ancient times, there was an activity of worshipping the moon on the eve of the autumn equinox, so it was called "Moon Festival" or "Moon Festival". Because the festival is on August 15th, it is called "August Festival" and "August half"; Because the main activities of the Mid Autumn Festival are all around the "Moon", it is also commonly known as the "Moon Festival"; The moon is full on the Mid Autumn Festival, which symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "reunion day". On the Mid Autumn Festival, the moon is full, families are reunited, and married daughters go home for reunion. Therefore, it is also called "reunion festival" and "daughter's Day". In Guangfu area, the Mid Autumn Festival is commonly known as "Moonlight birthday". In mid autumn, various melons and fruits mature and come into the market, which is called "fruit Festival". Dong people call it "Pumpkin Festival", Mulao people call it "posterity Festival".
The Mid Autumn Festival is also called "Duan Zhengyue". The records of "reunion day" were first seen in literary works of the Ming Dynasty. It is said in the West Lake Tour chronicle that "August 15th is the Mid Autumn Festival, and the people send it off with moon cakes, which means reunion." It is also said in the imperial capital scenery that "on the 15th of August, when people sacrifice the moon, their cakes will be round, their melons will be staggered, and their petals will be carved like lotus flowers.. those who have a wife returning to peace will return to their husband's home on that day, which is called the reunion festival."
social customs and habits
Traditional activities
Worship the moon (worship the moon)
Sacrificing the moon is a very ancient custom in China. In fact, it is a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the "moon god". In ancient times, there was the custom of "autumn evening and evening moon". The evening moon is to worship the moon god. Since ancient times, in some parts of Guangdong, people have the custom of worshipping the moon god (worshipping the moon mother and the moonlight) on the evening of the Mid Autumn Festival. To worship the moon, a large incense table was set up, and moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums, grapes and other sacrifices were placed. Under the moon, the "moon god" memorial tablet is placed in the direction of the moon. Red candles are burning. The whole family worships the moon in turn and prays for blessings. Offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, and holding the moon in remembrance expressed people's good wishes. As one of the important sacrificial rites of the Mid Autumn Festival, sacrificing the moon has gradually evolved into a folk activity of appreciating and praising the moon since ancient times, and has also become the main form of modern people's desire for reunion and good wishes for life.
light a lamp
On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, there is the custom of lighting lamps to help the moonlight. Today, there is still a festival custom in Huguang where tiles are stacked on the tower and lights are lit on the tower. In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a custom of making light boats. In modern times, the custom of lighting lanterns was more popular. Today's Zhou Yunjin He Xiangfei said in her essay "leisurely feelings try to say things about the season": "The Lantern Festival in Guangdong is the most prosperous. Ten days before the festival, families tie lanterns with bamboo strips. They make fruit, birds and animals, fish and insects, and 'celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival', and paste colored paper on them to paint various colors. The internal combustion candle of the mid autumn night lamp is tied to a bamboo pole with rope, standing high on the tile eaves or terrace, or made of small lamps in shapes or shapes, and hung high in the house. It is commonly known as' tree Mid Autumn Festival 'or' standing Mid Autumn Festival '. The lamps hanging in rich and noble homes can be tens of meters high, and families gather together The ordinary people set up a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The lights all over the city are like a world of colored glass. " The custom of lighting lanterns in the Mid Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the Lantern Festival in scale.
admire the full moon
The custom of appreciating the moon comes from sacrificing the moon, and serious sacrificing has become light entertainment. It is said that the moon is the closest to the earth on this night, and the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, so it has been a custom to eat and enjoy the moon since ancient times. In ancient times, the customs in the north and South were different, and the customs in different places were different. The written records of moon watching activities in the Mid Autumn Festival appeared in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they were not used. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival. Many poets wrote poems about the moon in their famous poems.
Chasing the moon
The so-called "chasing the moon" means that after the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the joy is still not exhausted, so on the evening of the next day, many people invited relatives and friends to continue to enjoy the moon, which is called "chasing the moon". According to the preface of the Lingnan miscellaneous notes by Chen Zihou of the Qing Dynasty, "those who do good deeds in Guangdong gather their relatives and friends to treat wine and food and enjoy the moon on the night of August 16, which is called chasing the moon."
tidal bore watching
In ancient times, in addition to enjoying the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival, watching the tides was another mid autumn festival event in Zhejiang. The custom of watching the tides in the Mid Autumn Festival has a long history. As early as the Han Dynasty, it was described in detail in Mei Cheng's seven hair Fu. After the Han Dynasty, mid autumn tide watching became more popular. Zhu Tinghuan of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) added old stories of Wulin and Wu Zimu of the Song Dynasty (1368 - 1644) also recorded the tides.
Riddle
On the full moon night of the Mid Autumn Festival, many lanterns are hung in public places. People gather together to guess riddles written on lanterns. Because it is a favorite activity of most young men and women, and love stories are also spread out in these activities, guessing lantern riddles during the Mid Autumn Festival has also been derived into a form of love between men and women.
Eat moon cakes
Moon cakes, also known as moon group, harvest cake, palace cake, reunion cake, etc., are offerings to the moon god in the ancient Mid Autumn Festival. At first, moon cakes were used as offerings to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Moon cakes symbolize great reunion. People regard them as festival food and use them to sacrifice the moon and give gifts to relatives and friends. So far, eating moon cakes has become a necessary custom for people in North and South China to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. On the Mid Autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes to show their "Reunion".
Eat sweet potatoes
Sweet potato is a traditional food of the Mid Autumn Festival. When appreciating the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival, some places have the custom of eating sweet potato.
Enjoy osmanthus and drink osmanthus wine
People often eat moon cakes to enjoy sweet osmanthus during the Mid Autumn Festival, and eat various foods made of sweet osmanthus, most of which are cakes and sweets.
On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, looking up at the mid autumn osmanthus, smelling the fragrance of osmanthus, drinking a cup of sweet osmanthus wine, and celebrating the sweetness of the family have become a beautiful enjoyment of the festival. In modern times, people often replace red wine.
Tree Mid Autumn Festival
In some places in Guangdong, the Mid Autumn Festival has an interesting traditional custom called "tree Mid Autumn Festival". Trees are also vertical, meaning that the lights will be erected high, so it is also called "erecting the Mid Autumn Festival". With the help of their parents, children use bamboo paper to make rabbit lights, carambola lights or square lights, which are hung horizontally in short poles, and then erected on high poles. When they are held high, colorful lights shine, adding another scene to the Mid Autumn Festival. The children often compete with each other to see who stands tall, how high and how delicate the lights are. At night, the city is filled with lights, such as stars, which compete with the bright moon in the sky to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival.
Fool
"Playing lucky boy" was a popular children's game on the Mid Autumn Festival in the past. It carved flowers from grapefruit shells and hung lanterns in the middle. Children played in groups, or walked along the street with lights in the shape of animals and melons and fruits, While singing "shualu song": "shualuzi, shualuer, light the lamp. Those who know literati value literati. Reading is the first thing in the world. Don't say that articles are useless. Gu Yun said that every word is worth thousands of gold, and there are nobles in books..." the children scattered after having fun and went home to eat moon cakes and fruits.
Tie lanterns
In ancient times, in Guangdong, when the Mid Autumn Festival was approaching, children, with the help of their parents, tied bamboo paper into rabbit lights, carambola lights or square lights. In addition, many children will tie lanterns with fruit skins. In addition, there are papaya lights, banana lights and so on. The most convenient is the "pomelo peel lights", which can be made by almost every child. The tied lanterns are not only used for the "tree Mid Autumn Festival", but also for lovers to cuddle up and enjoy the moon with lanterns.
lanterns
On the Mid Autumn Festival, there are many game activities, first of all, playing with lanterns. The Mid Autumn Festival is one of the three major lantern festivals in China. We should play with lanterns during the festival. Of course, there is no large-scale lantern festival like the Lantern Festival in the Mid Autumn Festival. Playing with lanterns is mainly between families and children. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty (420 - 479) (420 - 479) (420 - 479) (420 - 479) (420 - 479) (420 - 479) (420 - 479), Wulin stories recorded the customs of the Mid Autumn Festival. There were activities of putting a "little red" lamp into the river to drift and play. Mid autumn festival lanterns are mostly played in the south. For example, at the Autumn Fair in Foshan, there were various kinds of colored lights: Sesame lights, eggshell lights, shaving lights, straw lights, fish scale lights, grain shell lights, melon seed lights, birds, animals, flowers and trees lights, etc., which were amazing. In Nanning, Guangxi, in addition to paper and bamboo lanterns for children to play with, there are also simple grapefruit lanterns, pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns. The so-called grapefruit lamp is to empty the grapefruit, carve a simple pattern, put on a rope, and light a candle inside. The light is elegant. Pumpkin lanterns and orange lanterns are also made by removing the insides. Although simple, it is easy to make and is very popular. Some children even float grapefruit lamps into the pond and river water for games. There is a simple household autumn lamp in Guangxi. It is made of six bamboo strips and circles. It is pasted with white gauze paper on the outside and inserted with candles. It is hung on the table to celebrate the moon. It can also be used for children to play. Nowadays, many areas in Guangdong and Guangxi arrange lantern fairs on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, tie up large-scale modern lanterns illuminated by electric lamps, and have all kinds of new lanterns made of plastic for children to play with, but they lack the simple beauty of old-fashioned lanterns.
Burn incense
In Jiangsu, people burn incense on the night of Mid Autumn Festival. The incense bucket is surrounded by gauze and silk, which depicts the scene of the Moon Palace. There are also incense pipes woven with incense sticks, with paper bound Kuixing and colored banners inserted on them. There is also the custom of burning incense in Shanghai.
Ancestor worship
It is the custom of Mid Autumn Festival in Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province. On the afternoon of the Mid Autumn Festival, every hall will set up a stage to offer sacrifices, set up the main plate of the ancestral God, and offer various kinds of offerings. After the sacrifice, cook the sacrifices one by one, and eat a rich dinner with the family.
Fire dragon dance
Fire dragon dance is the most traditional custom of Hong Kong Mid Autumn Festival. From the evening of August 14 of the lunar calendar every year, the Tai Hang area of Causeway Bay holds a grand fire dragon dance for three nights in a row. This fire dragon is more than 70 meters long. It is made of 32 sections of Pearl grass and is filled with longevity incense. On the night of the grand gathering, the streets and alleys in this district were full of winding and undulating fire dragons dancing and jubilant under the lights and dragon drum music.
Tincture
Listening to incense is a mid autumn festival custom spread in Taiwan in ancient times. In ancient times, young girls who wanted to get a good couple first burned incense in front of the gods at home to worship, tell their feelings, and ask the gods to indicate the direction of listening to the incense. Then, they remembered the first sentence they overheard accidentally on the road according to the indicated direction, and then tossed bamboo shoots home to judge the good or bad fortune of the divination. For example, divination is an important event in one's life, and when one hears that one is eating cookies, or that flowers are blooming, or that the moon is full, it means good luck and happiness is near.
Burning tower
The Mid Autumn Lantern is not the same as the Lantern Festival lantern. Pagoda lights are lit on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, and they are mainly popular in the south. The pagoda lamp is a pagoda shaped lamp made of rubble picked up by village children. In the Qing Dynasty (1616 - 1911), villagers in Suzhou stacked tiles into seven level pagodas in the wilderness. The middle was for the king of Tibet, and the surrounding was lit with lights, which was called "tower lights". Guangzhou children burn "Fanta lamps" with broken tiles; There is also a pomelo lamp, which uses red pomelo peel to carve various figures, flowers and plants. A glass lamp is placed in the middle, with red light everywhere. In addition, the game of burning tile lanterns (or burning flower tower, burning tile tower and burning fan tower) is also widely spread in the south, and is also popular in Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places. For example, as recorded in volume 5 of the national customs of China, "on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival in Jiangxi Province, most children pick up tiles in the wild and stack them into a round tower with holes. At dusk, they burn them in a firewood tower under the bright moon. When the tiles are red, they pour kerosene on the fire to add fuel. Suddenly, the fields are red and shine like the day. Until the night is deep, no one is watching, they pour water. It is called burning tile lamp". The earthen burning tower in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, is also a hollow tower made of bricks and tiles, filled with branches and set on fire. At the same time, it also burns a stack of smoke, which is to pile up grass and firewood and burn them after the lunar new year. The Shaofan Pagoda in the border area of Guangxi is similar to this activity. Jinjiang, Fujian Province, also has the activity of "burning pagodas".
Mid autumn festival feast custom
In ancient China, the Mid Autumn Festival banquet custom was most refined and elegant in the court. For example, crabs were popular in the court of the Ming Dynasty. After the crabs are steamed with PU Bao, the people sit around and taste them, accompanied by wine and vinegar. Drink Suye soup after eating and wash hands with it. The banquet table area is full of flowers, pomegranates and other seasonal delicacies, performing the mythological drama of the Mid Autumn Festival. In the Qing palace, a screen is often placed in the east of a certain courtyard. Cockscomb, edamame, taro, peanut, radish and fresh lotus root are placed on both sides of the screen. In front of the screen, there is an eight immortals table with a huge moon cake on it, surrounded by cakes and fruits. At the end of the festival, the moon cake was cut into several pieces according to the Royal population, and each person tasted a symbolic bite, which was called "eating reunion cake". The size of the Qing palace moon cake is unimaginable. For example, the last emperor Puyi rewarded Shao Ying, the minister in charge of the interior
Stories and legends
The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon
The myth of "Chang'e running to the moon" originated from the worship of stars in ancient times. The story of Chang'e running to the moon first appeared in Guizang. Later, the folk further developed the story and evolved into many versions of the story. Chang'e went to the Moon Palace. According to Huainanzi of the Western Han Dynasty, it was because she stole the elixir of immortality that her husband Yi asked from the queen mother of the West that she flew into the Moon Palace and became a toad making medicine.
Wu Gang won the laurel
Wu Gang went to the Moon Palace to win laurels. According to the Tang Dynasty novel Youyang Zazu, it was because Wu Gang, who lived in the west, made a mistake in cultivating immortals that he was punished for cutting down the laurels in the moon. This laurel tree grows as it is cut down, and it will never be cut down. Li Bai wrote in his poem "to Cui Shihu Wen Kun Ji": "if you want to carve the laurel in the middle of the moon, you will get a salary for those who are cold."
Jade rabbit mashing medicine
The rabbit went to the Moon Palace to make medicine. It was first seen in Qu Yuan's Tianwen: "where is Jue Liwei, and Gu and Tu are in the abdomen?". It means that Gu and Tu are in the belly of the moon. What good is it for the moon? How did the rabbit get to the Moon Palace? Gu is a toad and Tu is a white rabbit. Fu Xuan of the Jin Dynasty also said in his "pseudo heavenly question": "where is the moon? White rabbits are making medicine." According to Mr. Wen Yiduo's research, this "white rabbit mashing medicine" was changed from "toad mashing medicine".
Chang'e has a jade rabbit beside her. It is said that Chang'e's body became lighter. When she began to lift off, she picked up the white rabbit she had been feeding in fear. The white rabbit went to the moon with her. The jade rabbit has a pestle for pounding medicine in the Moon Palace. It pounds the elixir of immortality in the mortar at night. After this myth spread to Japan, it became a Jade Rabbit pounding rice cakes.
Xuanzong story
According to legend, Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Tianshi Shen and Taoist Hongdu looked at the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival. Suddenly, Xuanzong thought of traveling to the Moon Palace. So Tianshi did it. The three of them walked on the blue clouds and roamed the Moon Palace together. However, there are tight guards in front of the palace, so you can't enter. You can only overlook Chang'an imperial city from the outside. At this time, I suddenly heard the sound of immortals. Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty had always been familiar with the melody, so I memorized it in my heart. This is exactly: "this song should only be in heaven, how many times can we hear it on earth!" In the future, Xuanzong recalled the music and songs of fairy E in the Moon Palace, composed and choreographed his own music, and created the famous music of rainbow clothes and feather clothes in history.
Moon cake Uprising
It is said that eating moon cakes on the mid autumn festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. It is said that at that time, the broad masses of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty one after another. Zhu Yuanzhang united all kinds of resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the court searched very closely, and it was very difficult to convey information. Liu Bowen, the military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the paper note containing the "August 15th night uprising" in the cake, and then sent people to send it to the uprising troops in various places separately, informing them to respond in the evening of August 15th. On the day of the uprising, all the rebel forces responded together.
Soon, Xu Da captured the capital of Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly gave an oral order to let all the soldiers and men enjoy with the people on the upcoming Mid Autumn Festival. He also rewarded the ministers with "moon cakes" that were secretly used to convey information when the army was launched. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more refined and diversified. After that, the custom of eating moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival spread among the people.
2022 09/08