Mid Autumn Festival activities
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 function of river lanterns is to drown ghosts and other ghosts in Purdue water. Setting off river lanterns, especially in the Yellow River, is very spectacular.
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.
Make eggplant cake
People believe that eggplant cake can be used as dry food for the late ancestors to go to Lanpen meeting. 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.
burn paper money for the dead
In Sichuan province, there is a custom of burning paper to worship ancestors in the Central Plains. That is, a stack of paper money is sealed in a small envelope, and the name and title of the recipient, the number of envelopes received, and the name and time of the silk changer are written on the envelope. It is said that the Gate of Ghost was closed on July 15, and all families had to "send their children to Shigu".
Eat rice noodles
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is a custom of eating Seto powder in Dongguan, which is almost common in Dongguan. Of course, different areas eat Seto powder in different ways.
Pray for a bumper harvest
Sacrificing lonely souls in the Mid-Autumn Festival is usually associated with praying for a bumper harvest. On the night of Shigu, every household should burn incense at home, wish rice a bumper harvest, and put incense sticks 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.
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. Why? It turns out that "duck" means "pressure", which is homophonic. Eating ducks is to crush ghosts. People in Dongguan usually eat duck stuffed with lotus root. In Ling Du County, Shandong Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called "Drunk Festival" by the local people, and every household has the custom of eating simple tea and plain rice. In Dong Xian Town, Jiangsu Province, many villagers eat flat food (a kind of food made of flour and sugar) during the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the roof of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, they will eat "jiaozi", a kind of food similar to spring rolls, in the 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.
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. Hemp and valley are hung at the gate of Dingxiang county folk custom.
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 (including married daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, other sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, etc. ), 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.
Go to the temple to pray.
Prepare vegetarian dishes, go to temples, give Buddha to monks, read the scriptures of the King of Tibet, repay the kindness of parents and pray for the deceased ancestors.
The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
According to legend, from July 1st every year, the King of Yan ordered the gates of hell to be opened wide, so that the ghosts who suffered and were imprisoned in hell all the year round could get out of hell, get a short stroll and enjoy human blood. Therefore, people call July a ghost month, and this month is regarded as an unlucky month. They neither get married nor move.
Every year, the 14th/15th day of the seventh lunar month is Magnolia Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, July 30th or Ghost Festival. In the past, people prepared some vegetables, wine, rice, gold, silver, clothes and paper at the intersection on this night to offer sacrifices to ghosts and gods.
Lunar July 14/ 15 is the biggest festival in the underworld-Ghost Festival, also known as Zhongyuan Festival or Arahara Festival, and it is one of the three major festivals in the underworld in China. There is a folk legend that the Lantern Festival is celebrated in the underworld and the Ghost Festival is celebrated in the underworld. It is said that on that day, Yan Xihui will spend the festive season with ghosts dressed in costumes. Let us living people bless them together and wish people in another world all their wishes come true and enjoy the happiness that this world has not had time to enjoy. Therefore, many local festivals in our country will hold activities such as offering sacrifices, chanting Buddha, sweeping graves, reviewing, enjoying flowers and fishing to celebrate.
Ghost Festival originated from the story of Manglietia's rescue of mother: "People with Manglietia monks have great strength. His mother fell into the hungry ghost road, and the food mouth turned into flames. Hunger was too bitter. Unable to save her mother, Manglietia asked the Buddha for advice. In order to talk about the Lanpen Sutra, he taught July 15 to be a Lanpen to save his mother. " It is said that at that time, after experiencing all kinds of hardships in the underworld, Manglietia met her dead mother Liu and found that she was tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Manglietia tried to give her a bowl of vegetable rice, but the vegetable rice was taken away by the hungry ghost. Manglietia had to ask the Buddha for help. The Buddha was moved by Manglietia's filial piety and gave him the Lanjing. According to the instructions, Manglietia dedicated a rare fruit vegetarian meal to her mother on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. The hungry mother finally got the food. Buddhists hold a grand "bonsai" every year to commemorate the filial piety of Manglietia, which is what we now call "Ghost Festival".
According to the book, on this day in ancient times, people would set up a magician's seat and a stone drum platform in front of Jiekou Village in advance. There is a bodhisattva in front of the master's seat, who is the treasure king who crossed the ghost of "hell". Below is a plate of peaches and rice. Shigu stood on the stage, holding three spiritual cards and evocative complex items in his hand. After noon, families put whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, ducks and geese and various cakes, fruits and melons on the stone drum stage. The person in charge inserted a triangular paper flag of blue, red and green on each sacrifice, and wrote the words "Yulan Festival" and "Manna Gate Open". The ceremony began with solemn temple music. Then, the mage rang the bell and led the monks in the seat to recite various spells and mantras. Then feed, sprinkle a plate of peaches and rice in all directions and repeat three times. This ceremony is called "the opening of the flame". Wang Kaitai, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem: "The Dojo is full of ghosts, and the original ancient meaning of Magnolia still exists. However, it is strange that the red plaque is attached to the door, and the meat mountain wine sea celebrates the Central Plains. " It describes the Halloween customs along the southeast coast of China.
It can be seen that "Ghost Festival" is due to the filial piety of traditional virtues. Nowadays, people in northern China still burn paper money on this day to pay homage to their ancestors who died young and express their thoughts for their loved ones. Although the sacrificial way is simple, it basically retains the simple meaning of Ghost Festival. Because of the call of blood, the extension of feelings and the reminder of one's future, Ghost Festival is endowed with rich humanistic connotation. Even if the years are different and the burned gifts are different, the living will never finish reading endless grief and deep nostalgia for their distant relatives. However, "people of different ages have different feelings about this special festival, because the future festival is coming to them mercilessly, from obscurity to clarity, from missing to fear, from fear to calmness. When they miss the people of the past, they are actually thinking about their experiences, contents, ways and pursuits in today's life."
On July 14/ 15, the gate of hell opened wide. Whether it's burning paper money to send blessings, holding daisies to mourn, offering sacrifices to ancestors on the Internet, or setting off river lanterns, today's living people miss the past and send blessings to their ancestors together. This is the spontaneity of human spirit, the extension of feelings and the most basic belief. And at the same time, "the living should cherish every day, not be ashamed of society and friends, and not be ashamed of their loved ones who have left forever." Because, one day we will meet them. At that time, you can proudly say that you are a hero on earth and a ghost hero in the underworld! "
What's so particular about going to the grave during the Mid-Autumn Festival?
1, time is of the essence
From the perspective of geomantic omen in cemeteries, it is best to choose the time to sweep graves when the sun is strong. It is recommended to sweep the grave at noon, namely11-kloc-0/3, because this time period is the peak of yang in a day. It is best to finish the grave-sweeping worship before 3 pm, and it is most taboo to sweep the grave after 17 pm.
2, bouquet preparation
Since ancient times, white flowers have been the most common sacrifice for grave sweepers. In ancient times, chrysanthemum was regarded as a flower of sustenance, which meant missing and nostalgia. So white chrysanthemum is the most suitable flower for grave sweeping. If there are no special circumstances, it is best not to use flowers with bright colors and rich fragrance, so as not to give people the impression of disrespecting the dead.
3, grave-sweeping clothes
It is recommended not to choose black clothes when sweeping graves, so as not to provoke yin. But don't choose bright colors such as red or yellow, otherwise it will give people a feeling of disrespect for the dead. So it is better to choose plain clothes. In addition, it is recommended not to buy shoes, because "shoes" and "evil" are homophonic, and buying shoes will provoke evil spirits and affect fortune.
Step 4 sweep the grave
Before sweeping the grave, all the weeds on the grave should be cut off, the periphery of the tomb should be trimmed, and then some new soil should be added to the grave for burial. Finally, incense paper should be burned and wine poured for sacrifice. Sacrifice steps: modify the cemetery-incense-meat-toast-worship-farewell. The order of sacrifice: father, mother, eldest son, eldest daughter, second son and second daughter. ...
Step 5 make a thorough suggestion
Avoid the peak of grave sweeping; Pay attention to what you carry with you; Parents with children should take good care of their children and prevent them from getting lost because of playing; Pay attention to fire prevention, ensure safety, make civilized sacrifices, and use flowers instead of burning paper money, incense sticks and setting off firecrackers for sweeping sacrifices, which is not only the best commemoration for relatives, but also reduces fire hazards.