The Mid Autumn Festival originated in the ancient times, popular in the Han Dynasty, shaped in the early Tang Dynasty, popular after the Song Dynasty. The Mid Autumn Festival is a combination of the seasonal customs in autumn. Most of the festival customs have ancient origins. The Mid Autumn Festival symbolizes the reunion of people with the full moon. It is a rich, colorful and precious cultural heritage for the sustenance of missing hometown, missing relatives and praying for harvest and happiness.
The Mid Autumn Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China.
What are the traditional activities of the Mid Autumn Festival?
Sacrifice the Moon
Offering sacrifices to the moon is a very old custom in China. In fact, it is a kind of worship activity of the ancients to the moon god. In ancient times, there was a custom of "autumn evening and evening moon". The evening moon is a sacrifice to the moon god. Since ancient times, in some areas of Guangdong, people have the custom of worshiping the moon god (moon mother and moon) on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival. Worship the moon, set up a big incense table, put moon cake, watermelon, apple, red dates, plums, grapes and other offerings. Under the moon, the "moon god" tablet is placed in the direction of the moon, and the red candle is burning high. The whole family worship the moon in turn and pray for blessing. People's best wishes are expressed by offering sacrifices to the moon, appreciating the moon, and holding the moon in remembrance. As one of the important sacrificial rites of the Mid Autumn Festival, from ancient times to the present, it has gradually evolved into a folk activity of appreciating the moon and praising the moon. At the same time, it has become the main form of modern people's longing for reunion and reposing their good wishes for life.
Light a lamp
On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, there is a custom of lighting the moon. Today, there is still a custom of burning lamps on the tower with tiles stacked on the tower. In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a festival custom of making light boats. In modern times, the custom of lighting lanterns became more popular. Zhou Yunjin and he Xiangfei, a modern writer, wrote in his essay "LEIsure tries to talk about seasonal events." it is said that "zhangdeng" is the most popular in Guangdong. Every family uses bamboo sticks to make lanterns more than ten days before the festival. Make fruit, birds and animals, fish and insects, and "celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival" and other words, paste color paper to draw various colors. The candle is tied to a bamboo pole by a rope, and is erected on the eaves or terrace. It is also made of small lamps in a shape or various shapes. It is hung on the height of the house. It is commonly known as "Mid Autumn Festival in the tree" or "erect the mid autumn Festival". The lamp hanging in a rich and noble house can be several feet high. Family members gather under the lamp to enjoy drinking. Ordinary people set up a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. The lights of the city are just like the world of glass. " The custom of lighting lanterns in the Mid Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the Lantern Festival.
Admire the full moon
The custom of appreciating the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and the serious sacrifice has become a relaxed pleasure. It is said that the moon is the closest to the earth, and the moon is the largest, the roundest and the brightest, so there has been a custom of feasting and appreciating the moon since ancient times. The daughter-in-law who goes back to her mother's home will return to her husband's house every day to express the meaning of completeness and auspiciousness. The written records of folk Mid Autumn Festival moon watching activities appeared in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they were not practiced. In the Tang Dynasty, appreciating and playing with the moon were very popular in the Mid Autumn Festival, and many famous poets had poems chanting the moon.
