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The Mid-Autumn Festival has appeared since ancient times, and in the Han Dynasty, it spread throughout the country and was established in the early Tang Dynasty.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival unique to autumn, whether ancient or modern, people will eat mooncakes, admire the moon, and carry out various Mid-Autumn Festival activities.
If you have a superior family, you can also eat crabs, which can not only pay homage to the temple of the five organs, but also reflect the festive atmosphere.
Many of the customs and elements contained in the modern Mid-Autumn Festival are related to ancient times, and of course they are different from them.
The Mid-Autumn Festival heralds the reunion of the whole family with the full moon, and at the same time places the heart of wanderers returning home, remembering friends and hometown, which has been a Chinese diverse and precious cultural spirit since ancient times.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival
The appearance of the Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with human worship of the moon. The worship of the sun and the moon has existed since ancient times, and the ancient people began to worship the sun and moon very early, the sun and the moon are yin and yang, and the celestial body can run according to the trajectory is the basis for the peace of the universe, so the sun and moon are especially meaningful to the ancients.
The Shang Dynasty divided the sun and the moon into two mothers, east and west, and the Zhou people performed rituals according to the special attributes of the sun and moon, and as long as large-scale important activities were carried out, they would sacrifice to the sun and moon gods.
In the spring and autumn, people named the two gods of the sun and the moon respectively "Eastern Emperor" and "Western Queen Mother", and legend has it that the Yinanhan portrait stone depicts the two gods, and the West Queen Mother is flanked by two jade rabbits, which corresponds to Guo Pu's "Mountain and Sea Classic Tuzan", and the Chang'e that people later knew was evolved from the Western Queen Mother.
After the Qin and Han dynasties, the worship of the sun and moon gods was still an essential activity in the royal ceremony, and this activity was carried out until the Ming and Qing dynasties, and now the Yuetan Park in Beijing is once the worship site of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The moon festival has been included in the palace ritual since ancient times, and since then the people have rarely appeared to worship the moon, because of the royal family's control over theocracy under feudal society.
After the "Jedi Heavenly Communication", similar to the sun and the moon, which symbolizes yin and yang, only the royal family can communicate, and the common people are not qualified to participate.
To ordinary people, the moon is a mysterious external force that makes people addicted and have no opportunity to approach and perform sacrifices. Therefore, the folk custom of sacrificing the moon rarely existed in the Han and Wei dynasties, let alone any rituals.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the harmonious atmosphere of political economy provided a stage for the people to develop freely, and after the daily life of the people was satisfied, they began to pursue spiritual life, including curiosity about astronomy.
With the development and progress of culture, the mysterious and holy aura that once represented the moon faded one by one, and the royal family no longer had exclusive power over the moon.
Originally, there was no Mid-Autumn Festival in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, but after the Tang Dynasty, literati and Yashi would conduct entertainment about the moon at this specific time during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chang'e, Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace, Wu Gang who came down, etc., the so-called moon god has changed from the main god of the universe to a great god endowed with Taoist significance.
The Mid-Autumn Festival has become a folk custom in the Song Dynasty, and on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole country has a holiday, and various entertainment activities are carried out around the theme of moon viewing.
The Mid-Autumn Festival of the Song Dynasty was a day of national indulgence, when even heavily regulated security officers lifted curfews.
After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the utilitarianism of real life was obvious, secular culture was very interesting, and traditional activities with cultural significance were gradually replaced by utilitarian pursuits, and then became the main Mid-Autumn Festival activities.
Social activities during the Mid-Autumn Festival
Moon viewing, the main event of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes a good harvest, and on this day, people will prepare food supplies for sacrifice in advance to show that they can enjoy the fruits of labor during the busy year.
Literati would express their true emotions through the moonlight, and write works about the moon or women, echoing the beautiful scenery.
At the same time, there are a variety of entertainment games, all of which include worship of the moon god for a smooth and stable future.
The most famous game of the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Song Dynasty is Play Moon, especially in the Suzhou and Hangzhou area, and Zhang Dai also described this scene in detail in "Tiger Hill Mid-Autumn Night".
Worship the moon, regard the moon as a god, men, women and children must bow down, and the Song people on this day, regardless of whether they are high or low, and toddlers need to wear formal clothes, climb to the terrace or courtyard, and perform worship.
Men pray for academic success and early promotion, and women pray for white skin and beauty, gentle and gentle.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the moon god became the target of women's envy and yearning, and also mostly referred to the female group, while the sun was a symbol of men, similar to the national customs of the Ming and Qing dynasties during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Moon worship, also known as "moon worship", has derived a lot of sayings about this, but carefully considered, the customs of moon worship in the Ming and Qing dynasties are very different.
During the Ming Dynasty, residents living in Beijing had to go to the market on the Mid-Autumn Festival to buy "moonlight paper"-like things, which were yellow paper with the pattern of moonlight bodhisattvas and jade rabbits surrounding the bodhisattva.
This shrine is enshrined by local people, in addition to watermelons and round melons.
Watermelons have a clear rule that they should be in the shape of a lotus flower, and when the moon comes out, they are in the direction of it, performing rituals such as offering and prostrating, and finally burning the paper, and distributing the sacrificial supplies to everyone present.
After the Qing Dynasty moon festival began, the Taoist temples would distribute moonshine paper free of charge, and the preparation of the tribute would be different from before, and the people at that time also specially made a kind of mooncake, which was larger and more rounded than ordinary mooncakes.
After the moon festival ceremony, the mooncakes are enjoyed by the family, and rarely remain until Chinese New Year's Eve, so the mooncakes dedicated to the moon festival are also called "reunion cakes".
During the late Ming Dynasty, Beijing's Mid-Autumn Festival added the festive object "Cai Rabbit", also known as "Rabbit Grandpa".
The main material made by Rabbit is yellow sand, decorated in a variety of colors, exquisite techniques, and thousands of shapes, which brings a lot of charm to this festival, which symbolizes reunion and happiness.
Rabbit Ye also has the meaning of "good men and men" among the people, using it as a title is impolite to others, especially in the northern region, "Rabbit Ye" has become taboo.
In the south and in the north, the Mid-Autumn Festival will also carry out moon worship and moon worship, such as in Tingzhou area of Fujian, where there is also the habit of "inviting the moon girl" on the day of the festival; Children in Zhuji area of Zhejiang will bring candy and rice crackers to "worship the moon mother";
The wealthy families in Hangzhou and Ningbo will make mooncakes and dishes to "feast Chang'e", and some will also "burn incense", and people in the Yangzhou area will "offer taiyin" on this day, hand-painted "moon palace paper", and use fruits and vegetables such as lotus root as sacrifices.
In addition to the above Mid-Autumn Festival customs, there are many colorful social activities in each region, such as "Men and Women", which is a large-scale event after the autumn harvest.
Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, single men and women dating, married men and women courting children, many women will make a wish to the moon on this day, hoping to meet Ruyi Langjun as soon as possible, and the brave will choose to travel, and do not return all night.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Qing Dynasty, young girls often walked on the street, called "walking the moon", which means to look forward to the celebration.
The "Jiangxia County Record" records the lively scene of Jiangxia City in the Mid-Autumn Festival, where women rush to touch the stone dragon of Ziyang Bridge, and pray for an early addition to their home while stroking.
Mid-Autumn Festival prayers are popular in many parts of the south, and the elders in the family will run to the field that night to "steal" melons, and when they return, they will draw baby images on the melons and give them to couples who have been infertile for many years.
You can also use taro, stones, and tiles instead of melons, in short, the meaning is to expect to give birth to a big fat boy.
Some ethnic minorities in Xiangxi and Qiandong will "steal moon vegetables" on this day, and it is said that melons, fruits and vegetables illuminated by the moon are mascots, as long as you get any of them, you can get happiness.
Young men and women have different ideas about where to steal, but most of them choose a place designated by their sweetheart and enjoy it together.
In addition, the Ming and Qing dynasties also carried out the custom of burning lamps and checking out. The lamp at this time is different from the lantern night lamp, which is fixed when the lamp is burned in the Mid-Autumn Festival, called "pagoda lamp", and is very popular in the south.
Pagoda lamps are pagoda-like lamps made of rubble, piled up to the seventh level, and the surrounding lamps are burned, which is called "tower lamps".
The lanterns of the people of Guangzhou are "fanta lamps", made of fragmentary tiles or carved figures and plants in pomelo skin, and the glass lamp in the center shines yellow or red. There are also jasmine lamps, and the fragrance of flowers is on the face.
Anhui, Hunan and other regions will make pagoda lamps, the shape is similar, burning lamps, is at that time people placed their trust in the Buddhist family, hoping to exchange the power of the Buddhist family for peace and success.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is similar to the New Year, it is a day when ordinary people ask their creditors for wages, and there is a folk saying to the effect that "the money owed must be paid off before the two festivals of May and August.
Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a rare accounting festival.
The seasonal food of the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival
The essential food for the modern Mid-Autumn Festival is mooncakes, and this was also true in ancient times, but mooncakes have other names and the production process is different. Our current mooncakes come in many varieties and have a specific style in terms of processing form.
The ancients called mooncakes "reunion cakes", and until the Ming Dynasty, the custom of giving mooncakes to each other during the Mid-Autumn Festival was popular to express their hearts. In addition to eating mooncakes, the ancients also ate other delicacies on the day.
The Mid-Autumn Festival in the north is grand and grand, and on this night, whether rich or poor, every family will prepare a large table of food, mooncakes, countless fruits, among which watermelon is an indispensable fruit.
People in the northwest will use flour to make steamed buns instead of mooncakes, and in the northeast, they will prepare many Liaonan specialties.
When southerners enjoy the moon, they are accustomed to moving the table outside the door to enjoy tea and drinking to enjoy the moon. If it is a wealthy family, hairy crabs will be prepared, and a screen will be placed in the courtyard before the moon viewing, and food such as combs and edamame branches will be placed on both sides.
Directly in front of the screen, there is a table of eight immortals, and next to the huge mooncakes, there are rich and delicious dim sum or melons.
In addition, there are many seasonal delicacies in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, such as Chaoshan people like to eat taro, Jiangsu and Zhejiang people like to eat lotus root cakes, and Xi'an people like to make "reunion buns", there are sesame seeds in the middle of the steamed buns, and a circle is specially made on the bun to represent the Mid-Autumn Festival, and inside the circle is a stone, and the stone is carved with a monkey pattern and so on.
Epilogue:
Mid-Autumn Festival means reunion, which is the unique reunion festival of the Chinese people, although the ancient people and modern people eat different food patterns, but the modern Mid-Autumn Festival food is a continuation of ancient times, inheritance of culture.