What is the origin and legend of Mid-Autumn Festival?

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival that everyone celebrates every year, but do you know the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival? Can you tell some legends about it? Let's see:

The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient custom of worshipping autumn in China and Yue Bai. The Book of Rites states that the son of heaven is in spring, and the sun and moon are in autumn. The Asahi is facing the DPRK, and the evening is in the evening. " "Moon at night" here means Yue Bai. It was formed in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular and was designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ouyang Zhan (AD 785-about 827) said in "Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera": "August is in autumn. The beginning and end of the season; At night, the moon is in the clouds. From the sky, it is cold and hot, and from the number of months, it is round, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. " ? On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight is bright. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion, so it was also called "Reunion Festival". Throughout the ages, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows". Wanderers living in other places rely on the moon to express their affection. Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote poems such as "Looking up, it's moonlight, then leaning back, suddenly thinking about hometown", "Knowing that the dew is frost tonight, the moonlight at home is bright! Du Fu's "Spring breeze is green in Jiang Nanan, when will the bright moon shine on me" and Wang Anshi's "When will the bright moon shine on me" are eternal.

Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival

1, Yutu?

There is a rabbit on the moon, as white as jade, so people call it "Jade Rabbit". It is said that Jade Rabbit kneels on the ground to make toad pills. Ordinary people can live forever by eating toad pills. ?

There is a beautiful legend about the origin of the Jade Rabbit. In ancient times, there were three immortals. They became three poor old people, begging for food from foxes, monkeys and rabbits. Neither the fox nor the monkey wants to give their own food, but the rabbit has no food, but it tells the old man, "If you are hungry, come and eat me." Say that finish and jump into the fire. The three immortals were deeply moved, so they sent the rabbit's soul to Guanghan Palace and turned it into a jade rabbit. Later, Jade Rabbit accompanied Chang 'e in Guanghan Palace to pound the elixir for the people. ?

It is also said 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 pure white and smart. ?

One day, the Jade Emperor summoned the male rabbit, who flew to the Heavenly Palace in Xiangyun. When it entered the Nantianmen, it suddenly saw Taibai Venus leading the heavenly soldiers and hugging Chang 'e from the side. The male rabbit expressed deep sympathy for Chang 'e's innocent experience. He thought that when Chang 'e was alone in the Moon Palace, she must be very lonely and sad. If only she had company, so he thought of his four daughters and ran home at once. ?

When the male rabbit came home, he told the female rabbit about Chang 'e's misfortune and said that he would send his daughter to accompany Chang 'e. The female rabbit could not bear to leave her parents, and her daughter was in tears. The male rabbit said seriously, "If I am locked up alone, will you accompany me?" Chang 'e was tied up to save the people. Can we stand her loneliness all the year round? Son, we can't just think about ourselves! " ?

The daughters understood their father's heart and expressed their willingness to go. The male rabbit and the female rabbit discussed and sent their little daughter to the moon palace to accompany Chang 'e!

2. Zhu Yuanzhang and the moon cake uprising?

It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a single spark can start a prairie fire. ?

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and quickly sent a message saying that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and they should give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have also become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

3. the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon?

According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, the crops died in the sun and the people were poor. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, made full use of his divine power, drew his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last one to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people. ?

Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. Besides hunting, Hou Yi spends all his time with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple. ?

Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Pang Meng with ulterior motives also joined in. ?

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek truth. He happened to meet the Queen Mother passing by and asked her for a bag of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir to Chang 'e. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the dresser's treasure chest, only to be seen by the villain Pang Meng, who wanted to steal the elixir of life and become an immortal himself. ?

Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Pang Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be ill and stayed. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Pang Meng broke into the backyard of the Inner Temple with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Pang Meng. In times of crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure chest, 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 worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy. ?

In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried and told what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villain. Pang Meng has long since escaped. Angry and sad, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and called the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon is exceptionally bright and bright. There is a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased the moon desperately, but he chased it three times, the moon retreated three times, he retreated three times, and the moon advanced three times. He couldn't catch up anyway. ?

Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and offer a sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him at the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon had become an immortal, people made an incense table under the moon and prayed for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e?

Since then, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has spread among the people.