Characteristic activities of Mid-Autumn Festival
offer sacrifices to ancestors
The festival of ancestor worship is on the fifteenth day of July in the lunar calendar, so it is called "July and a half" for short. Folk believe that ancestors will return home to visit their children and grandchildren at this time, so they need to worship their ancestors. Worship ceremonies are usually held in the evening before the end of July, and are not limited to a specific day.
Put on a river lantern.
River lanterns are also called "lotus lanterns". Generally, lights or candles are placed on the base, and they are placed in rivers, lakes and seas during the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing them to float. The purpose of river lanterns is to pray and pray. Setting off river lanterns, especially in the Yellow River, is very spectacular.
Dough modeling
Before July 15th, dough sculpture activities were very popular among folk women, especially in northern Shanxi. A steamed stuffed bun shop, neighbors came to help. First of all, according to the actual number of families, give everyone a big bag first. The steamed stuffed bun for the younger generation should be kneaded into a flat shape, which is called a noodle sheep. I hope that the younger generation will not forget the kindness of their parents. For the older generation of flower buns, it is necessary to shape the image of adults, indicating that children and grandchildren are full and live a long life; Steamed buns for peers should be shaped like fish, called noodle fish, which means more than one year.
Eat duck
On the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, many places in China will choose to eat ducks. In some places in Jiangsu Province, many people also eat flat food (a dustpan-shaped food made of flour and sugar) during the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the rooftop of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival will eat "jiaozi Cake", a kind of food similar to spring rolls.
Make eggplant cake
It is believed that eggplant cake can be the dry food of the deceased ancestors. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, every household in old Nanjing makes eggplant cakes, that is, shredding fresh eggplant, adding flour and frying in oil. In fact, eggplant cake is now a common home-cooked dish. If you want to eat, you can always make a plate to satisfy your hunger.
Pray for a bumper harvest
Sacrifice in the Mid-Autumn Festival is usually associated with the hope of a bumper harvest. On the night of the stone drum, every household should burn incense and pray at home and put incense on the ground. This is called "planting rice" (transplanting rice). The more you plant, the better, which symbolizes the bumper harvest of rice in autumn.
Burn street clothes
This is a folk custom that has been preserved since the opening of Hong Kong. As soon as we step into the seventh month of the lunar calendar, people will bring incense sticks, gold and silver paper and some sacrifices, such as tofu and rice, to worship at the roadside after dark. The purpose of people "burning street clothes" is to let those helpless souls have clothes to keep out the cold and food to wrap their stomachs.
Sacrifice land and crops
On July 15th, offering sacrifices to land and crops is still a folk custom. Scatter sacrifices in the fields. After burning the paper, wrap it on the ears of crops with cut five-color paper. Legend has it that autumn can avoid hail and get a bumper harvest. At the same time, some places have to go to Houtu Temple to offer sacrifices.
Health knowledge of Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival is in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is summer. In addition to heatstroke prevention, eliminating dampness is also very important. Therefore, the key to staying healthy in Mid-Autumn Festival is to avoid dampness. In this regard, health experts summed up three main points. Now let's have a look.
The lazier you are, the more you should exercise.
Most people with heavy body moisture are people who eat greasy food and lack exercise. But the less you like sports, the more water you have in your body. Over time, it will inevitably lead to the invasion of moisture into the spleen and trigger a series of diseases. Exercise can relieve stress. Running, walking, swimming, yoga, Tai Chi and other sports help to activate blood circulation and increase water metabolism.
Avoid humid environment.
In addition to the problem of self-metabolism, a large part of the water produced in the human body is related to the environment. Often in a humid and cold environment, it is easy to cause moisture to invade the body. Before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, people should pay attention to the following matters in their daily life:
1, don't sleep directly on the floor. The floor is wet and easy to invade the body, causing limb pain.
2. Reduce going out in rainy days.
3. Don't wear wet clothes, don't cover the quilt, and fully dry your body and hair after taking a shower.
4. If the indoor humidity is high, it is recommended to open more windows for ventilation. If the external humidity is also high, you can also turn on the fan and air conditioner to keep air convection with these appliances.
Appropriate amount of ginger soup
Ginger is not only a common condiment at home, but also has irreplaceable medicinal value. It is summer around the Mid-Autumn Festival. People can try to cook a bowl of hot ginger soup at home and use the wonderful effect of ginger soup to force out the moisture in the body. After sweating all over, the symptoms will be relieved. This method is also suitable for preventing colds after getting caught in the rain.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
Interpretation of Mid-Autumn Festival: It refers to the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Old customs include activities such as burning clothes and offering sacrifices to deceased relatives.
Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Ghost Festival, and on July 30th, it is also called Day of the Dead in a few areas. It is one of the three major festivals in ancient times, the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, celebrating the Lantern Festival in the first month. Mid-Autumn Festival in July 15, to worship ancestors. 10 15 Lunar New Year is also a cold food festival, commemorating the Mid-Autumn Festival of ancient sages on July 15 every year, and it is a traditional festival in China.
Together with Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, it is called the three ancient ghost festivals in China. The annual sacrificial activities are mainly held on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, but the time is not fixed. In southern China, people also have the tradition of offering sacrifices on July 14. In some places, ancestor worship ceremonies begin in early July, and ancestors are brought home at night, and then they are provided with three meals a day until the end of July.
According to legend, on the first day of the seventh lunar month, the gate of hell opened wide, and Yan Luowang chartered ghosts from the underworld to return to the underworld to receive sacrifices from future generations, while ghosts without sacrifices would wander around the world looking for food. People believe in ancestor worship and believe that ancestors will return to their dead homes to visit their descendants during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will offer sacrifices to their ancestors and turn over the dead.