What is Mid-Autumn Festival? Why do we eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival?
What is Mid-Autumn Festival? We all know that we eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but where did this custom come from? Let me reveal the answers to you one by one! The eighth month of the lunar calendar in 2020 has arrived, and the autumn wind has risen again. The autumn wind has inadvertently dyed the earth as beautiful as a painting: the colors are scattered, the forests are dyed with colors, and the red leaves are clustered like brocade and clouds. Shuimoxiansheng.com has prepared some exciting fortune information for you regarding the eighth month of the lunar calendar, please check it out!What is Mid-Autumn Festival?The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Reunion Festival, etc., is a traditional Chinese folk festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the ancient autumn evening moon worship.Since ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival has had customs such as worshiping the moon, appreciating the moon, eating moon cakes, playing with lanterns, appreciating osmanthus flowers, and drinking osmanthus wine. These customs have been passed down to this day and have lasted for a long time. The Mid-Autumn Festival, with the roundness of the moon symbolizing family reunion, is a way to express longing for hometown and loved ones, and to pray for a good harvest and happiness. It has become a rich and precious cultural heritage. The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early Tang Dynasty, became popular in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become as famous as New Year's Day and became one of China's major festivals. Influenced by Chinese culture, Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival in some countries in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, especially for overseas Chinese living there. Since 2008, Mid-Autumn Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. The country attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage. On May 20, 2006, the festival was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the three major lantern festivals in China, and playing with lanterns is a must during the festival. However, there is no large-scale lantern festival during the Mid-Autumn Festival like the Lantern Festival. Playing with lanterns is mainly done among families and children. Why do we eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival?Eating mooncakes is another custom of the festival, as mooncakes symbolize reunion.The production of mooncakes has become more and more sophisticated since the Tang Dynasty. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "The small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crisp and sweet fillings inside." Yang Guangfu of the Qing Dynasty wrote: "The mooncakes are filled with peach meat, and the ice cream is made with sweet cane sugar frosting." It seems that the mooncakes at that time were quite similar to those now. Moon worship meaning: Many people often say that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. According to historical records: "In the past, Chang'e took the elixir of immortality made by the Queen Mother of the West, and then flew to the moon and became the moon spirit." The price Chang'e paid for this was hard labor and she could never return to the human world for the rest of her life. Li Bai was quite sad about this and wrote a poem: "The white rabbit pounds medicine from autumn to spring, and Nv Guan'e lives alone, with whom as her neighbor?" Although Chang'e felt that the Moon Palace was wonderful, she could not stand the loneliness. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of each year when the moon was full and the night was clear, she would return to the human world to reunite with her husband, but she had to return to the Moon Palace before dawn. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, people in later generations wanted to go to the moon and meet Chang'e, and also hoped that Chang'e would come down to earth to see her beautiful face. Therefore, many people pray when burning incense and worshiping the moon, "Men wish to step into the moon palace as soon as possible and climb the fairy laurel... Women wish to look like Chang'e and be as round as the bright moon." Year after year, people celebrate this day as a festival. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are few clouds and fog, and the moonlight is bright and clear. In addition to a series of activities such as moon-watching, moon-worshiping, eating moon cakes and wishing for family reunion, some places also hold activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas. In addition to mooncakes, various seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits are also delicacies on Mid-Autumn Night. |
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