There are many stories and legends about Mid-Autumn Festival. Here are six:
? First of all, autumn dusk and the moon at night
The moon at night is to worship the moon god. According to legend, during the Warring States Period, there was an ugly girl named Wuyan in the State of Qi. She was very devout to Yue Bai when she was young, and later she entered the palace with noble character. When I saw the moon in the palace on August 15th, it happened that Qi Xuanwang was also wandering in the palace. Seeing that the moonlight was salt-free, she felt beautiful and moving, so she was crowned queen. The custom of Mid-Autumn Festival in Yue Bai has been passed down to this day.
? Second, the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon.
Hou Yi was deeply respected and loved by people all over the world because he shot down nine suns in the sky and killed people.
Then he married the beautiful and kind Chang 'e. One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek Tao. He happened to meet the passing Queen Mother and asked her for two elixirs. Eat one to live forever, and eat two to ascend to heaven. Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife and ascended to heaven by himself, so he gave these two pills to Chang 'e for safekeeping.
There was a disciple named Feng Meng in Houyi. He was a villain. When Chang 'e hid the elixir in a treasure chest, she took a peek and got the idea of elixir. Three days later, Hou Yi led his disciples to hunt, but Feng Meng said he was ill and didn't go. After Hou Yi left, he held a sword and threatened Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Feng Meng, so she quickly opened the treasure box and swallowed two pills in one breath. After Chang 'e swallowed the elixir of life, she immediately felt that she was light and could fly, so she flew out of the window and into the sky.
Chang 'e landed on the nearest moon because she was worried about her husband's Hou Yi.
When Hou Yi came home, the maids told him what happened during the day. Hou Yi was surprised and angry, and the villain Feng Meng had escaped. Hou Yi was heartbroken, stamped his chest, looked up at the sky and shouted his wife's name. Under the dim light, I found that the moon was particularly bright that night, which happened to be August 15. There was a swaying figure in the moon, just like Chang 'e.
So Hou Yi sent people to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on incense tables and offered sacrifices to Chang 'e in the Moon Palace. Since then, every August 15, ordinary people also set up incense tables under the moon to worship Chang' e and pray for the beautiful and kind Chang' e to be auspicious and safe.
? Third, the moon cake uprising.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with local resistance forces to prepare for an uprising. Liu Bowen, a strategist, came up with a brilliant plan. He took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to give each other wheat cakes and put a note in the wheat cakes to convey the information of the uprising. He agreed to hold an uprising at the same time on the evening of August 15. Later, when the uprising was successful, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, he gave the "moon cakes" that conveyed the message that year as holiday cakes to ministers. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival has been handed down.
? Fourth, dragon dance to drive away the epidemic.
Legend has it that a long time ago, after a typhoon, a boa constrictor appeared in Tai Hang District, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, doing evil everywhere and endangering its neighbors. The villagers were so angry that Qi Xin finally surrendered the python. But the next day, I found that the python was gone. A few days later, a plague broke out in the pit area. At this time, the elders in the village were suddenly told by the Bodhisattva in their dreams that the plague could be banished as long as they jumped the fire dragon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since then, every Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of dragon dancing has been handed down.
? V. Tower Burning Uprising
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, leaders such as Korea and Japan launched a peasant uprising under the guise of religion, which received wide response from all over the country. In order to keep pace with the surrounding rebels, the people of Chaoshan secretly agreed in advance to build a tower with tiles in an empty place on August 15 and burn a fire as a signal of the uprising. Later, burning towers became the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival, and it was handed down from generation to generation.
? Sixth, Xuanzong traveled to the moon.
According to legend, Taoist priests Xuanzong, Shen and Hong all enjoy the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Suddenly, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty put forward the idea of visiting the Moon Palace, so Shi Tianzhao did it, and the three of them began to go to Qingyun and roam the Moon Palace. However, the palace is heavily guarded and cannot enter, so it can only overlook the imperial city of Chang 'an.
This time, I suddenly heard a fairy-tale voice, beautiful and wonderful, moving! Tang Xuanzong was always familiar with melody, so he memorized it.
This is precisely "this song should only be in the sky, and the world can listen to it several times!" Such music should only be in the sky. How many times can you hear it on earth? -Beautiful praise of music)
Later, Xuanzong recalled Xian 'e's music and singing in the Moon Palace and composed and choreographed his own music. This is the famous "colorful feather".
? The above is the sharing of Mid-Autumn Festival stories and legends.
The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion, so it is also called "Reunion Festival". Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival" and "Daughter's Day" because the moon is round, families get together and married daughters go home for reunion. In Guangfu area, Mid-Autumn Festival is commonly known as "Moonlight Birthday". During the Mid-Autumn Festival, all kinds of melons and fruits are mature and listed, which is called the "Fruit Festival". Dong people call it "Pumpkin Festival" and Mulao people call it "Afterlife Festival".
? Mid-Autumn Festival is rich in meaning. As a legal holiday, it is a good day for family reunion.