Folk customs of Guangzhou Zhongyuan Festival

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, people burn paper to pay homage to their ancestors. Chebei Village, Tianhe District? Shameiliang? The ancestral temple is held? Swing in the middle? Activities, has a history of 500 years, the so-called? Swing in the middle? That is, worship the heavenly officials, local officials and water officials, and pray for good weather and good harvests. From Chebei Village? Shameiliang? It may be the only clan in Guangdong Province that retains this custom.

? Swing in the middle? From the fifteenth to the nineteenth lunar month

With the people? July and a half? 、? Ghost Festival? Or a Buddhist? Bonsai Festival? At the same time, they all fall on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, but the Mid-Autumn Festival comes from Taoism, which calls Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Xia Yuan at fifteen points in January, July and October: Shangyuan is the celestial official, Zhongyuan is the local official, and Xia Yuan is the water official. The Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates local officials in charge of weather, harvest and drought and flood.

In Chebei village, there is a special ceremony to worship local officials, and women in their forties and fifties gather to worship local officials in order to have a good weather and a good harvest.

Although after entering the seventh month of the lunar calendar, ancestor worship can be seen everywhere in Guangzhou. But none of them are so formal and grand as Chebei Village. Yesterday, Chebei Village? Shameiliang? There are various handicrafts on the altar, colorful dragon boats and embroidered beads lanterns? Traditionally, from the 15th to 19th of the twelfth lunar month, there will be a large pot of vegetarian dishes for lunch and dinner, which can be enjoyed by donating 35 yuan sesame oil.

How many days is the Mid-Autumn Festival? July 15 of the lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, in fact, from July of 14 to June of 16, the gates of hell were wide open. The ghost door is opened, so that ghosts wandering in the underworld can return to the dead and meet their loved ones. In Buddhism, opening the gates of hell is also the compassion of the Buddha, so that many ghosts with unfulfilled wishes can completely get rid of their troubles and regrets, repent, let go, and finally get rid of their suffering. So, in Buddhism, what is July 15 called? Happy Buddha Day? . In these days, you can respect. Even if you don't believe in ghosts and gods, you should not criticize and vilify them at will.

How did the Mid-Autumn Festival come about? Mid-Autumn Festival is a colorful festival with rich cultural connotations. It has both the religious belief of Buddhism and the local Taoist culture in China. Mid-autumn festival is a carrier of China traditional culture, which reflects people's concept of ghosts and gods, religious beliefs and the essence of China culture? Filial piety culture.

Buddhism believes that the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is the story of Mu Lian saving his mother. Mu Lian couldn't bear her mother to suffer in hell. She gave ten monks to atone for her mother and finally rescued her. This story is widely circulated among the people. The story itself is a manifestation of filial piety culture, which preaches the belief of repaying parents and doing good before their death.

In addition, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival is to offer sacrifices to ancestors. Sacrificial activities were recorded in Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and 40 ode poems in The Book of Songs were sacrificial music songs, reflecting people's most primitive ancestor worship. In addition, during the cultural evolution of our country for thousands of years, sacrificial activities were closely combined with the filial piety culture advocated by Confucianism later.

Filial piety can be simply understood as kind parents, but in a deep sense, filial piety is an ethical norm, a way to deal with clan relations and the establishment of an order. Ancestor worship expresses the thoughts and memories of ancestors and is a very important way to maintain clan relations. It can be said that ancestor worship is a reflection and a sustenance of this clan relationship.

Mid-Autumn Festival is the inheritance of filial piety culture and the carrier of people's emotions. Filial piety, as one of the cores of ancient China culture, is highly respected by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Even today, filial piety culture is still enduring. Paying attention to the Mid-Autumn Festival and advocating traditional filial piety are of great benefit to our social development.