Customs of Dawu Village in Lufeng City?

A brief introduction to the Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. It falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which coincides with the half of Sanqiu, hence the name "Mid-Autumn Festival", also called "Mid-Autumn Festival"; Because this festival is in autumn and August, it is also called "Autumn Festival", "August Festival" and "August Meeting". There is also a belief in praying for reunion and related festival activities, so it is also called "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Day". 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 Festival, the Moon Festival, the Moon Festival and the Moon Festival. In the Tang Dynasty, Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "Correcting the Moon". About the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival, there are roughly three kinds: it originated from the worship of the moon in ancient times, the custom of singing and dancing under the moon to find a spouse, and it is the legacy of paying homage to the land god in ancient autumn.

The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival

The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in Zhou Li. According to the ancient Chinese calendar, the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is in the middle of August in autumn, so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". There are four seasons in a year, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji. The second month in Sanqiu is called Mid-Autumn, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Mid-Autumn".

With the continuous development of society, the ancients endowed the moon with many legends, from the toad in the middle of the moon to the jade rabbit, from Wu Gang's felling of Guangxi to the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, and the rich imagination painted a beautiful scene for the world of the Moon Palace. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, poets of Mohist poets chanted about the moon and its events in succession, and the full moon on August 15th became an excellent moment to express their feelings. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the official officially designated August 15th as the Mid-Autumn Festival, which was intended to be in the middle of Sanqiu, and all the people would celebrate it at that time. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the bright moon is in the sky, and the brightness is scattered all over the earth. People regard the full moon as a symbol of reunion and August 15th as the day for family reunion. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival".

Mid-Autumn Festival has become an important festival in a year, and it has a very subtle relationship with imperial examinations. In feudal society of our country, it has always been an important event that the rulers attach great importance to. And the once-every-three-year autumn competition is just scheduled to be held in August. When the scenery is combined with passion, people will regard those who take the exam in senior high school as those who win the laurels in the middle of the month. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, it must be celebrated solemnly, which has become an important custom of the people of the whole society. It has been popular for generations, and the Mid-Autumn Festival has gradually become one of the three major festivals of the Han nationality in China (Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival).

the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, one year in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky, which made the earth smoke and the sea dried up, making it impossible for ordinary people to live any longer.

This incident alarmed a hero named Hou Yi. He climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, used his divine power, drew his bow, and shot down nine redundant suns in one breath.

Hou Yi made great achievements in the world and was respected and loved by the people. Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as a teacher. The treacherous and cunning Peng Meng also mixed in.

Soon, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. In addition to hunting, Hou Yi spent all his time with his wife, and people envied this beautiful and loving couple.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek the Tao. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who passed by and asked her for a pack of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal.

However, Hou Yi could not bear to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the immortal medicine to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dresser, only to be seen by Peng Meng.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his followers out hunting, and Peng Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be ill and stayed.

Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir.

Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng. When she was in a crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp.

Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew into the sky. Because Chang 'e was concerned about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.

In the evening, Hou Yi came home, and the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was both surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villains. Peng Meng had already escaped. I was so angry that Hou Yi beat his chest and screamed. The grief-stricken Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and called for the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is particularly bright and bright, and there is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e.

Hou Yi hurriedly sent someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, set up a table incense, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offered a remote sacrifice to Chang 'e in the moon palace.

After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people set up incense tables under the moon to pray for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e. Since then, the custom of Yue Bai in Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.

the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's story praises and praises E 'e with a bright attitude and gorgeous colors. Compared with the records of Chang 'e in ancient literature, it can be seen that people have done a lot of processing and modification to the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's story, making E 'e's image as beautiful as the moon and conforming to people's pursuit of beauty. Contrary to the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, which is widely spread in modern times, Lingxian, a series of All Ancient Chinese Texts, records the story of "Chang 'e changed into a toad": "Chang 'e, who married his wife, stole the queen mother's immortal medicine and took it to the moon. Will go to, occupy the yellow. Huang Zhan-zhi said,' Ji, you will return to your sister, and you will sail west alone. When the sky is gloomy, you will not be surprised or afraid, but you will be prosperous later.' Chang 'e entrusted herself to the moon for the sake of toads. "After Chang 'e became a toad, she was punished all day in the moon palace and lived a lonely and miserable life. Li Shangyin once lamented Chang 'e in a poem:" Chang 'e should regret stealing the elixir, and stay awake at night. "

Wu Gang is cutting laurel

Looking up at the bright moon, we can see that there are some dark shadows in it. In our country, it is said that WU GANG is cutting laurel. In the Tang Dynasty, the myth of WU GANG cutting laurel was deduced. It is said that the laurel tree was as high as 5 feet in the middle of the month. This laurel tree is not only tall, but also has a magical self-healing function. There was a Xihe man named Wu Minggang, who was originally a woodcutter. He was obsessed with fairy tales, but he refused to concentrate on his studies all the time. Therefore, the Emperor of Heaven was so angry that he stayed in the Moon Palace and ordered him to cut down osmanthus trees in the Moon Palace, saying, "If you cut down osmanthus trees, you will get fairy tales." However, every time WU GANG cut an axe, the tree wound healed immediately. Day after day, Wu Gang's desire to cut laurel remained unfulfilled. Therefore, WU GANG cut laurel in the Moon Palace all the year round, but he could not cut down the tree. And he kept cutting it down.

Jade Rabbit Poached Medicine

According to legend, three immortals turned into three poor old people, begging for food from the fox, the monkey and the rabbit. Both the fox and the monkey had food to help, but the rabbit was helpless. Later, the rabbit said, "You can eat my meat!" He jumped into the fire and cooked himself. The fairy was greatly moved and sent the rabbit to the moon palace to become a jade rabbit.

Jade Rabbit Entering the Moon Palace

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a pair of rabbits who practiced for thousands of years and became immortals. They have four lovely daughters, all of whom are pure white and clever.

One day, the Jade Emperor summoned the male rabbit to the Heavenly Palace. He reluctantly left his wife and children and went to the Heavenly Palace through the clouds. Just as it came to the worse gate, it saw the Taibai Venus leading the heavenly generals to walk away with Chang 'e. The rabbit fairy didn't know what had happened, so she asked a nearby god who guarded the Tianmen. After hearing what happened to her, Rabbit Fairy felt that Chang 'e had suffered innocently and sympathized with her. But my strength is meager, what can I do to help? How lonely and sad it was to think that Chang 'e was alone in the moon palace. If only there were company, suddenly she thought of her four daughters, and she flew home at once.

The rabbit fairy told the female rabbit what happened to Chang 'e, and said that she wanted to send a child to keep Chang 'e company. Although the female rabbit deeply sympathizes with Chang 'e, she is reluctant to part with her precious daughter, which is equivalent to cutting off the flesh of her heart! Several daughters are reluctant to leave their parents, and they are all in tears. The male rabbit said earnestly, "if I am locked up alone, will you accompany me?" Chang 'e was tied up in order to save the people. Can we not sympathize with her? Son, we can't just think of ourselves! "

The children understood their father's heart and expressed their willingness to go. The male and female rabbits smiled with tears in their eyes. They decided to let their youngest daughter go.

Xiaoyu Rabbit said goodbye to her parents and sisters and went to the Moon Palace to stay with Chang 'e!

Xuanzong roamed the Moon Palace

In the Tang Dynasty, the most legendary thing was the legend of the Night Palace. According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Shen Tianshi and Taoist Hongdu all looked at the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Suddenly Xuanzong had the idea of visiting the Moon Palace, so Tianshi did it. As soon as they started, the three of them went to Qingyun and wandered around the Moon Palace, but the palace was heavily guarded and could not enter, so they could only overlook the imperial city of Chang 'an from the outside. At this moment, they suddenly heard fairy sounds, beautiful and wonderful, and moving! Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was always familiar with melody, so he memorized it in his heart. This is precisely "this song should only be in the sky, how can it be heard on earth!" In the future, Xuanzong recalled the music and singing of Xiane in the Moon Palace, and composed music and choreographed it himself. This is the famous "Nitang Feather Song" in history.

The legend of moon cakes

Moon cakes symbolize reunion, and they are necessary sacrifices for the Mid-Autumn Festival to worship the moon and the land gods. The custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival was handed down from the late Yuan Dynasty.

It is said that people in the Central Plains were unwilling to be ruled by Mongols at that time, and people with lofty ideals all wanted to revolt against the Yuan Dynasty, but they wanted to integrate the forces of resistance, but they were unable to deliver the news. Therefore, Liu Bowen tried to spread the rumor that there would be a plague and asked people to buy moon cakes to eat on the Mid-Autumn Festival to avoid disaster. Everyone bought moon cakes and cut them open when they came home. There was a note hidden inside that said "Uprising on the 15th of August", so people responded one after another, thus overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop. Therefore, moon cakes have become the appropriate food for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival custom

Sacrificing the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is a very old custom in China. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of offering sacrifices to the sun at the vernal equinox, to the ground at the summer solstice, to the moon at the autumn equinox and to heaven at the winter solstice. Its places of worship are called Ritan, Ditan, Yuetan and Tiantan. It is located in four directions: southeast and northwest. The moon altar in Beijing is the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties sacrificed the moon. "Book of Rites" contains: "The son of heaven is in the spring and the sun is shining, and the autumn is in the evening. The DPRK, the evening of the moon. " The evening of the moon here refers to offering sacrifices to the moon at night. This custom is not only pursued by the court and the upper nobility, but also gradually affects the people with the development of society.

Literati admire the moon

The custom of appreciating the moon comes from offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices have turned into light pleasures. Folk Mid-Autumn Festival activities began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, but they did not become a habit. In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. By the time of the Song Dynasty, a Mid-Autumn Festival centered on the activities of appreciating the moon was formed and officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different from the Tang people, the Song people appreciate the moon more because they feel hurt by things, and often use rain or shine as a metaphor for human affairs. Even on the Mid-Autumn night, the clear light of the bright moon can't hide the sadness of the Song people. But for the Song people, the Mid-Autumn Festival has another form, that is, it is a secular and joyful festival: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the shops sold new wine, and your family decorated pavilions, and the people competed for the restaurant to play with the moon, and the songs were heard thousands of miles away, and the play continued until dawn" (Dream of China in Tokyo). The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Song Dynasty is a sleepless night. The night market is open all night, and there are endless tourists playing with the moon.

Folk Yue Bai

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life were prominent, and the secular interest in Japan and China was rich in Yu Yi, while the lyrical and mythical literati tradition centered on "appreciating the moon" weakened, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secular feelings and wishes constituted the main form of Mid-Autumn Festival custom for ordinary people. Therefore, "folk Yue Bai" has become people's longing for reunion, recreation and happiness; Send love by month.

"burning pagodas"

In a few places, there is a custom of burning pagodas during the Mid-Autumn Festival. When night falls and the moonlight is everywhere, friends come to the open space in front of and behind the house to pick up broken bricks and tiles, pile up small pagodas, and set up large pagodas in some large open spaces or squares, similar to the main tower, where the pagodas are hollow and stuffed with firewood. Adults often come to participate in such activities with great interest. Especially for some old people, they will put a small altar in front of the pagoda, with round offerings such as moon cakes, sweet lotus roots, oranges and grapefruit on the table, and light incense and candles. When all the pagodas were piled up, someone shouted, "light the fire", so they lit the firewood in the pagodas together, and the red flame rose and the sparks exploded. Soon, the pagodas burned red inside and outside, very spectacular and beautiful.

It is said that this custom is related to the righteous act of resisting Yuan soldiers. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people were subjected to bloody rule, so the Han people made unyielding resistance, and all localities met for the Mid-Autumn Festival and lit a trumpet on the top floor of the pagoda. Similar to the fire at the peak platform, although this resistance was suppressed, the custom of burning pagodas remained. This legend is similar to the legend of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Moonlight Horse

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the image of the Moon God changed greatly, from the early pure Taoist moon palace with Chang 'e as the main image to the secular image of the Moonlight Bodhisattva and the Jade Rabbit who were mixed with Buddhism and Taoism. During this period, people dedicated the moonlight paper with the moonlight bodhisattva painted on it, also called "moonlight horse". Fucha Dunchong's Time of Yanjing (196). Records: "Moonlight horse-riding, with paper as it, painted on the Taiyin Star King, such as Bodhisattva statue, painted on the Moon Palace and the rabbit with medicine. People stand up and hold the pestle, and the algae are exquisite and resplendent, and they sell more in the market. The elder is seven or eight feet, the shorter is two or three feet, and there are two flags on the top, red, green, basketry or yellow, which are offered to the moon. Burn incense and salute, and burn it with thousands of pieces and ingots. "

Grandpa Rabbit

male prostitute originated in the late Ming Dynasty. Ji Kun, a Ming dynasty (living around 1636), wrote The Remaining Draft of Kao Pavilion: "The Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing is mostly in the shape of a mud rabbit, dressed like a man, and worshipped by children." By the Qing Dynasty, the function of male prostitute had changed from offering sacrifices to the moon to children's Mid-Autumn Festival toys. The production is becoming more and more exquisite, some dressed as military commanders wearing armor and robes, some with paper flags or umbrellas on their backs, or sitting or standing. Sitting, there are unicorn, tiger and leopard and so on. There are also vendors dressed as rabbit heads, or shaving masters, or sewing shoes, selling wonton and tea soup.

"Every Mid-Autumn Festival, people who are clever in the market use loess to make a toad and rabbit image for sale, which is called male prostitute." In the old days, there was often a stall in male prostitute in the area of Dongsi Pailou, which sold male prostitute for the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, Nanzhi Store and incense sticks are also available for sale. This male prostitute, through the bold creation of folk artists, has been personalized. It is the head of a rabbit, holding a jade pestle. Later, some people modeled male prostitute as a warrior with golden helmet and shining armor, some riding beasts such as lions and elephants, and some riding birds such as peacocks and cranes. Male prostitute riding a tiger, in particular, is a strange thing, but it is a bold creation of folk artists. There is also a kind of male prostitute whose elbow joint and mandible can move, commonly known as "Ba Da Zui", which is more pleasing. Although it is Yue Bai's offering, it is really a wonderful toy for children.

On the streets of Beijing a few decades ago, people over 6 years old can still remember old Beijing. After July 15th, male prostitute's stall was put out. Male prostitute stalls are everywhere, big and small, high and low, and they are very lively.

Bo cake

There is also the custom of Bo cake in Xiamen. Put six stocks in a big bowl, and according to the number of red ideas, there are six grades of awards: one show, two moves, four advances, three reds, opposite hall and the first prize.

The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon in Yue Bai of ethnic minorities

The custom of offering sacrifices to the moon and Yue Bai is also popular among ethnic minorities. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dai people in Yunnan are popular with the custom of "Yue Bai". According to Dai legend, the moon was changed by the third son of the Emperor. Yan Jian is a brave and strong young man who led the Dai people to defeat.