Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. Ancient emperors had the ritual of offering sacrifices to the moon in spring and autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky and place their feelings on it. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that this custom of offering sacrifices to the moon was paid more attention, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, which is well known.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit smashing medicine are widely circulated.

One of the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time in ancient times, which scorched crops and made the people miserable. A hero named Hou Yi has infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, exerted 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 is always with his wife, and people envy this beautiful and loving couple.

Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as teachers, and Meng Peng with ulterior motives 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, but the villain Meng Peng saw it. He wants to steal the elixir to make himself immortal.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his entourage out hunting, while Meng Peng with ulterior motives pretended to be ill. Shortly after Hou Yi led the crowd to leave, Meng Peng broke into the backyard of the back room with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Meng Peng. 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. Meng Peng escaped early. Angry and heartbroken, Hou Yi looked up at the night sky and shouted 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 became 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.

WU GANG, the second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival, won the laurel.

There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon are flourishing, reaching more than 500 feet. There is a man who often cuts down, but every time he finishes cutting, the cut place closes immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that the person who cut down trees was WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty. He used to practice in heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal demoted him to the moon palace, and * * did this futile work as punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the month, you will pay for the cold."

Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III —— Zhu Yuanzhang and 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 various places to inform them to respond to the uprising on 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 so happy that he quickly sent a message saying that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and 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. The custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival will be in the future.