How do you spend the Mid-Autumn Festival? How can it make sense?

August 15th of the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China. This is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival

In China's lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji, so the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon on August 15 is rounder and brighter than the full moons in other months, so it is also called Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Daughter's Day or Reunion Festival, which is a popular traditional cultural festival of many ethnic groups in China. On this night, people look up at the bright moon like jade in the sky and naturally look forward to family reunion. Wanderers who are far away from home also take this opportunity to pin their thoughts on their relatives in their hometown. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival".

It is said that the moon is closest to the earth this night, and the moon is the biggest and brightest, so there is a custom of drinking and enjoying the moon since ancient times; The daughter-in-law who goes back to her parents' house will go back and forth to express her happiness and good luck. In some places, such as Ningbo, Taizhou and Zhoushan, the Mid-Autumn Festival is scheduled for August 16, which is related to changing it to "Lantern Festival on the 14th day of the first month and Mid-Autumn Festival on the 16th of August" in order to prevent attacks by officers and men of the Yuan Dynasty and Zhu. Besides, in Hongkong, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, we will hold another carnival called "Chasing the Moon" in Izayoi.

The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book Zhou Li, and it really became a national holiday in the Tang Dynasty. In ancient China, there was a custom of "autumn and dusk". The moon at night is to worship the moon god. In the Zhou Dynasty, every Mid-Autumn Festival night, activities to welcome the cold and offer sacrifices to the moon were held. Put a big incense table, with offerings such as moon cakes, watermelons, apples, red dates, plums and grapes, among which moon cakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. Watermelon must be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, put the moon statue in the direction of the moon, and the red candle burns high. The whole family takes turns in Yue Bai, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. If people are laid off in advance, the number of people in the whole family will be counted, including those at home and those from other places. You can't lay off more or less, but the size should be the same.

As for the custom of eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival, it was formed in Ming Dynasty. Tian Rucheng, a writer in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in Notes on Traveling to the West Lake: "August 15th is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people take moon cakes as a legacy to get together.". Shen Bang, a historian in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in Miscellanies of Ten Thousand Parts: "Breads vary in size. There is fruit in the cake with a different name. There is a cake worth hundreds of dollars. " The book also introduces the production process at that time, which has reached a high level. The moon cakes used for the moon in Beijing Palace are "more than feet in diameter from bottom to top and weigh two pounds." Later, with the evolution of the past dynasties, the varieties and patterns of moon cakes became more and more abundant, the production technology was updated, and the taste was more. Eating moon cakes on August 15th has become an ancient and meaningful tradition of the Chinese nation.

In the Tang Dynasty, it was quite popular to enjoy and play with the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Northern Song Dynasty, on the evening of August 15, people all over the city, rich and poor, old and young, put on adult clothes and burned incense to express their wishes to Yue Bai and pray for the blessing of the Moon God. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people gave each other moon cakes as a symbol of reunion. In some places, there are activities such as dancing grass dragons and building stupas. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival has become more popular, and many places have formed special customs such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting tower lanterns, putting sky lanterns, enjoying the moon and dancing dragons.

Nowadays, the custom of playing under the moon is far less popular than in the old days. However, feasting and enjoying the moon are still very popular. People drink alcohol in the middle of the moon to celebrate a better life, or wish their distant relatives health and happiness and spend a good time with their families.

There are many customs and forms of Mid-Autumn Festival, but all of them are entrusted with people's infinite love for life and yearning for a better life.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people eat moon cakes to show "reunion". Moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, Palace cakes, Moon dumplings, Harvest cakes, Reunion cakes, etc. It is an offering to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. According to historical records, as early as 3,000 years ago in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, there was a "Taishi cake" to commemorate Taishi Wenzhong. In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, introduced walnuts and sesame seeds, and a round "Hu cake" filled with walnuts appeared. When Tang Gaozong was in China, Li Jing went to Xiongnu and returned home in triumph during the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, a Tibetan businessman presented Hu cakes, and Li Yuan was very happy. Pointing to the bright moon in the sky, he said, "We should invite toads (the moon) to eat Hu cakes." And give it to ministers. If this is true, it may be the beginning of sharing moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, the word "moon cake" first appeared in the red scarf cake made by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Moon cakes are round, and the time when they are endowed with the meaning of reunion is the Ming Dynasty. Liu Dong's "A Brief View of the Imperial Capital" says: "On August 15th, the moon is sacrificed, and its fruit cakes are round." "Notes on Tian Rucheng's Visit to the West Lake" said: "August 15th is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and people also take moon cakes as a symbol of reunion." In Wan Bu Miscellaneous Notes, Shen Bang also described the grand occasion of making moon cakes in Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Ming Dynasty: the moon cakes made by people in the Fang Dynasty were different in size, so they were called moon cakes. The market is even full of fruits with different names. There is a cake worth hundreds of dollars. " Ingenious cake-makers are surprisingly refurbished and make various patterns on moon cakes. Peng's "Youzhou Folk Songs" describes: "The symbol painting of the Moon Palace is the Jade Rabbit Kiln Residence; Moon Palace cake, made of silver toad and purple house shadow. A pair of toads and rabbits spread all over the world, regretting the year when Chang 'e stole medicine; I can't go back to the cold, I'm in Yan Dan. "

There is also a custom that people eat moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival to show "reunion". Moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, Palace cakes, Moon dumplings, Harvest cakes, Reunion cakes, etc. It is an offering to worship the moon god in ancient Mid-Autumn Festival. According to historical records, as early as 3,000 years ago in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, there was a "Taishi cake" to commemorate Taishi Wenzhong. In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, introduced walnuts and sesame seeds, and a round "Hu cake" filled with walnuts appeared. When Tang Gaozong was in China, Li Jing went to Xiongnu and returned home in triumph during the Mid-Autumn Festival. At that time, a Tibetan businessman presented Hu cakes, and Li Yuan was very happy. Pointing to the bright moon in the sky, he said, "We should invite toads (the moon) to eat Hu cakes." And give it to ministers. If this is true, it may be the beginning of sharing moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, the word "moon cake" first appeared in the red scarf cake made by Wu in the Southern Song Dynasty. Moon cakes are round, and the time when they are endowed with the meaning of reunion is the Ming Dynasty. Liu Dong's "A Brief View of the Imperial Capital" says: "On August 15th, the moon is sacrificed, and its fruit cakes are round." "Notes on Tian Rucheng's Visit to the West Lake" said: "August 15th is called Mid-Autumn Festival, and people also take moon cakes as a symbol of reunion." In Wan Bu Miscellaneous Notes, Shen Bang also described the grand occasion of making moon cakes in Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Ming Dynasty: the moon cakes made by people in the Fang Dynasty were different in size, so they were called moon cakes. The market is even full of fruits with different names. There is a cake worth hundreds of dollars. " Ingenious cake-makers are surprisingly refurbished and make various patterns on moon cakes. Peng's "Youzhou Folk Songs" describes: "The symbol painting of the Moon Palace is the Jade Rabbit Kiln Residence; Moon Palace cake, made of silver toad and purple house shadow. A pair of toads and rabbits spread all over the world, regretting the year when Chang 'e stole medicine; I can't go back to the cold, I'm in Yan Dan. "

Simple: Solve riddles on lanterns, eat moon cakes, burn lanterns, enjoy the moon, play with the moon, burn incense, plant Mid-Autumn Festival, light tower lanterns, put sky lanterns, walk the moon, dance fire dragons, cross nanpu bridge, hang lanterns, invite the moon's aunt when you are in Yue Bai, burn crock, light orange lanterns, "watch the meeting", worship the valley gods, go to the grave to worship ancestors, and keep vigil.

● Shandong

Jimo and other places eat a kind of holiday food called "Wheat Arrow" on Mid-Autumn Festival.

● Shanxi

Lu 'an people will entertain their son-in-law in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Datong county moon cakes, called reunion cakes, are two or three feet big and have the custom of vigil on Mid-Autumn Night.

● Shaanxi

On the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Xixiang County, men go boating and climb cliffs, and women also arrange banquets. People, rich or poor, must eat watermelons, which must be cut into lotus shapes.

● Shanghai

Shanghainese Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet with Sweet-scented osmanthus honey wine.

● Jiangsu

Nanjing people love to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, so they must eat osmanthus duck, a famous Jinling dish. "Sweet-scented osmanthus duck" should be listed in Gui Xiang. It is fat but not greasy and delicious. After drinking, you must eat a small piece of sugar taro and pour cinnamon pulp on it. Beauty speaks for itself. "Guijiang" was named after Qu Yuan's Songs of the South, Little Commandments and Drinking Guijiang to Help the North Close its doors. Cinnamon pulp is a kind of sweet-scented osmanthus, which is picked around the Mid-Autumn Festival and pickled with sugar and sour plum. Jiangnan women are handy, turning the chanting in poetry into delicacies on the table. People in Nanjing enjoy the moon with their families, which is called "celebrating reunion", the group sitting and drinking is called "full moon", and the market trip is called "walking on the moon".

● Zhejiang

Stewed bass with water shield in Hangzhou became a dish at Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet, not only because the water shield was delicious at this time, but also because of the historical fact that Hans Zhang abandoned his official position and returned to his hometown in Jin Dynasty with the help of homesickness. This story has not only become a beautiful talk for generations, but also made water shield a symbol of homesickness.

Water shield is a family banquet for Mid-Autumn Festival, and it is also a seasonal soup in August. Water shield, also known as horseshoe and watercress, is an aquatic perennial leafy herb. The roots, stems and leaves of water shield are not only green and delicious, but also nutritious. Water shield can be picked in spring and autumn, but it is best to pick more water shield in autumn.

● Sichuan

Besides eating moon cakes, Sichuanese also kill ducks, eat sesame cakes, honey cakes and so on in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In western Sichuan, smoked duck is a must for Mid-Autumn Festival, because the raw ducks at that time have grown up and are fat and thin. The master selects the ducklings born in that year, butchers them, removes their feathers, opens their chests, washes them, removes the wing tips and duck feet, marinates them with salt for one night, scalds them with boiling water until their skins are tight, takes them out, puts them in a smoking stove, smokes them with straw until they are brown, takes them out of the oven, marinates them in a pot, and changes the knife into a dish when eating, thus obtaining the smoked duck with golden color, tender meat and strong smoke smell. The preparation of brine is an important link in making smoked duck. Old bittern should be used for bittern, and timely spices, salt and sugar should be added for each bittern. When marinating, the ducks should be fully pressed into the brine with heavy objects, and the marinating time is generally about 20 minutes. If the time is too long, the duck meat will get old, which will affect the quality and taste.

● Guangdong

There are many kinds of Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies in Chaoshan, which are closely related to the cultural connotation, tidal climate and agricultural production. It can be mainly divided into three categories: first, cakes, moon cakes from all over Chaoshan, sweet, salty, meat, assorted and multi-flavored. There are also cakes, soft cakes and cloud cakes, all of which are Mid-Autumn Festival cakes. It is good for hipsters to send relatives. It can be said that it is a custom for hipsters to send moon cakes to relatives. Second, in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chaoshan area, when the sky is crisp and the fruit is ripe, grapefruit, persimmon, carambola, pineapple, pomegranate, olive and banana are another kind of food for Mid-Autumn hipsters. Thirdly, the agricultural taro and pumpkin used by hipsters to make taro paste and melon pulp are also deeply loved by hipsters. Among them, Mid-Autumn Moon Cake is an annual traditional food for hipsters. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is not a Chaoshan person who doesn't taste moon cakes. Although moon cakes can have various shapes and Chaoshan areas have their own characteristics, they all have a common feature, that is, they are required to be round. Taro, Ciba, etc. It is also necessary for hipsters in the Mid-Autumn Festival.

● Guizhou

Guizhou-style moon cakes are different from Cantonese-style moon cakes. They are baked and mixed with 500 grams of flour, suet, syrup and water.

Knead into water-oil skin; Mix 250 grams of flour with lard and knead it into a "dry cake". After the ingredients are mixed separately, the dry pastry is wrapped with oil skin, and the pastry is made into 40 grams of pastry blanks, and then each pastry is pressed into a round cake skin for later use. Bake sesame seeds, melon seeds and walnuts, chop into fine particles, mix, add cooked ham powder, jujube, mashed melon, cooked flour, crystal sugar and salt, and mix well to form stuffing.

Wrap a proper amount of stuffing in the crust, seal it downwards, press it into a flat circle, put it into an oiled baking pan, put it into an oven at 2 10℃, and bake it at 15~20℃ and 180℃ respectively. Golden color, crisp shell and distinct layers; The stuffing is sweet and salty, sweet and refreshing, and rich in nutrition. The master said that the pastry layer should be thin and even, and a piece of white oil paper should be placed on the baking tray when the moon cake blank is put into the baking tray.

● Taiwan Province Province

Kaohsiung county has a strong atmosphere of raising water ducks. Before and after the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is the most tender time for water ducks. Hakkas in Meinong area often slaughter water ducks and add vegetables during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which has become a major feature of the local Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition to eating moon cakes, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Yilan will also eat a kind of food called "vegetable cakes". Vegetable cakes are made of flour and baked with brown sugar in the middle. In Tainan, the Mid-Autumn Festival has the custom of eating potatoes.

In recent years, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Taiwan Province Province has developed a new activity-barbecue.

In addition, a food company in Taiwan Province Province introduced a new concept of Mid-Autumn Snow Moon Cake according to the different demands of consumption level and the lingering summer heat during the Mid-Autumn Festival. What is snow moon cake? Ice cream moon cakes are ice cream moon cakes, which are cool and smooth in taste. There are three kinds of fillings-champagne sweetheart, Hawaiian party and Viennese coffee. This moon cake is also beautifully packaged in full Japanese style, and the Baolilong packaging box with thermal insulation function ensures that the ice cream will not melt in a certain period of time.

Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it develops slowly. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. As early as in Zhou Li, the word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded. Later, aristocratic scholars followed suit. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they watch and worship the bright and round moon in the sky to express their feelings. This custom spread to the people and formed a traditional activity. Until the Tang Dynasty, people paid more attention to this custom of offering sacrifices to the moon, and the Mid-Autumn Festival became a fixed festival. Emperor Taizong recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, which was very popular in the Song Dynasty. 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, 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 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 this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe in Han Dynasty, once went to heaven with the immortal, but when he made a mistake, the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace and did this kind of hard work in vain every day as a 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 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 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 become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

custom

The history of riddles

China's lantern riddles have a long history of more than 3,000 years. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the embryonic form "Ci" and "argot" of lantern riddles appeared. In the Han Dynasty, "argot" began to divide into two directions. A mystery of things characterized by descriptive characteristics; Another literary mystery mainly focuses on the form and meaning of words. In Wei Dynasty, it was called a riddle. With the prosperity of poetry in Sui and Tang Dynasties, poetry puzzles appeared in large numbers and became the mainstream. Since the Song Dynasty, some literati have often posted riddles on various lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival to attract pedestrians to guess and shoot. This is the origin of "lantern riddle". After the middle of Qing dynasty, enigma prevailed and many enigmas appeared. After the Revolution of 1911, lantern riddles formed two styles: "Southern School" and "Northern School". In the old society, because most riddlers were literati, some literati pretended to be lofty, unilaterally emphasized elegance and rejected folk lantern riddles. After liberation, under the guidance of the party's literary and artistic policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom", riddles have developed more vigorously, and they have been perfected and enriched day by day, making great contributions to building socialist spiritual civilization and invigorating the cultural life of the masses. At present, Chinese and overseas Chinese all over the world have lantern riddle activities and lantern riddle academic exchanges.

Eat moon cakes

Tang Xizong eats moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. They are very delicious. And when he heard that the newcomer Qujiang held a wedding banquet, he ordered the chef to wrap the moon cakes from HongLing and give them to the newcomer. This is the earliest record of moon cakes we can see. Moon cakes in Song Dynasty are called "Lotus Leaf", "Golden Flower" and "Hibiscus Flower", and the making method is more clear. Su Dongpo, a poet, has a poem praising: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, with crisp and stuffing." Potato chips are fried potato chips, and the stuffing is sugar. It tastes sweet, crisp, fragrant and beautiful. After the Song Dynasty, making moon cakes not only pays attention to the taste, but also designs various patterns related to the legend of the Moon Palace on the cake surface. At first, the pattern on the surface of the cake was probably drawn on paper and then pasted on the surface of the cake. Later, I simply pressed the dough mold on the moon cake. The moon cake in the shape of a full moon symbolizes a happy reunion, just like the full moon on the 15th National Day. People regard it as holiday food, and use it to worship the moon and give it to relatives and friends. This is undoubtedly a reflection of the national psychology of the Han nationality. Legend has it that in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, the rulers of Yuan and Mongolia were afraid that the people would rise up and rebel, and adopted a high-pressure policy of sending one soldier to monitor every ten households, allowing only ten households to use kitchen knives. The people couldn't bear it, so they took the opportunity of exchanging moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th to put a wax pill in the moon cake, wrapped it in paper, with an oath written on it, and a piece of paper at the bottom of the cake as a reminder to call on the other side to fight for the rejuvenation of Mongolia. What is this kind of moon cake called in Wenzhou, Zhejiang? Quot "Sanjin", according to the homonym of the local dialect, means "kill tight". This is probably the reason why a piece of paper is often attached to moon cakes today.

Burning lamp

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the sky is as clear as water and the moon is as bright as a mirror, which can be described as a beautiful scene. However, people are not satisfied with this, so there is a custom of burning lanterns to help the moon. In Huguang area, it is customary to stack tiles on the tower and burn lights on it. In Jiangnan, there is a custom of making lanterns. In the modern Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of burning lanterns is more popular. Modern people Zhou Yunjin and He Wei said in the article "Talking about the Four Seasons": "Guangdong lanterns are the most prosperous, and every household uses bamboo sticks to tie lanterns ten days before the festival. Make words such as fruits, birds and animals, fish and insects and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and paint various colors on the paste paper. Mid-autumn night lights are tied to bamboo poles with ropes, and tall trees are placed on tile eaves or terraces, or small lights are used to spell fonts or various shapes, and hung on the heights of houses, commonly known as Mid-Autumn Festival among trees or Mid-Autumn Festival vertically. Rich people can hang lights as high as tens of feet. The family gathered under the lamp to enjoy drinking, and ordinary people erected a flagpole and two lanterns to enjoy themselves. " The city is brightly lit, like a glass world. "It seems that since ancient times, the custom of burning lanterns in the Mid-Autumn Festival seems to be second only to the Lantern Festival in scale.

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is a bit special because it is listed as a legal holiday. Today, with developed transportation, smooth information and traditional moon cakes replacing ice cream moon cakes, it seems that a full moon is no longer out of reach, and it is no longer the only Mid-Autumn Festival for the whole family to eat moon cakes.

Take a short trip during Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

For the first Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, travel agencies in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province have launched special tourist routes, among which short-term tourist routes are the most popular among the public.

It is understood that the short-distance tour routes designed by many travel agencies are mainly one-day, two-day and three-day tours, such as Wutai Mountain, Pingyao, Qiaojia Courtyard, Huangcheng Xiangfu and Pingshun Water Town, including Yuntai Mountain and Baligou in Henan Province. Judging from the current booking situation, there are more individual travelers and more family tours.

In particular, some personalized tourist routes have been launched, such as Taiyuan Yangqu, Qingxu, Jinzhong Yuci, Taigu and other surrounding rural tours, as well as short-distance leisure tours such as Pingshun and Phoenix Happy Valley. At the same time, make a fuss about the entertainment and interest of scenic spots, such as picking and drifting.

In addition, many citizens are going to change the tradition of spending their holidays at home in previous years, and the whole family will go out to live in a farmhouse in the suburbs for a few days and enjoy rare leisure.

Mr. Wang, a citizen, said that due to the three-day holiday around the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, his family planned to enjoy the pastoral fun and taste fresh fruits and vegetables, which must be very pleasant. To this end, the travel agencies have arranged some tourist routes that highlight the fresh air, beautiful scenery and quaint wild interest. At present, tourists have booked rooms in the farmhouse, eaten farmhouse meals, lived in the farmhouse, did farm work and enjoyed the farmhouse.

Mid-Autumn Festival hopes for reunion, without overtime pay.

The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and the "Eleventh" holiday have come one after another, and busy people can finally have a rest. However, many employers in Tianjin arranged employees to work overtime during these two holidays, and most of them worked overtime without the consent of the trade union. Some workers have to spend Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Golden Week in their posts.

Miss Li is a salesman in an advertising company. She has just accepted a project recently, which means that they often have to work overtime to complete the project. "According to company practice, such overtime is unpaid. The reason is simple: the company does not advocate overtime and is not opposed to overtime. For people with quick hands and feet and quick brains, they can finish their work without working overtime. But sometimes for various reasons, only' active' overtime can complete the work. If you can't finish the work within the specified time, the company thinks you are not qualified for this position. Nowadays, the job competition is fierce, and it is not easy to find a good job. For the sake of the face of banknotes, no one dares to make strange noises, fearing being fired because of' incompetence'. " Miss Li said that in a company like theirs, all the employees who can work continuously for two or three years are old employees.

According to the introduction of the labor department of this city, it is still relatively good for employers to implement overtime pay at present, and most employers can pay overtime pay to employees in accordance with regulations. However, the survey found that many employees would rather give up overtime than reunite with their families on such days as Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

Human resources experts believe that we should not just complain about overtime, but the government, enterprises and employees should work together to finally safeguard everyone's "right to rest". For those enterprises that often work overtime, operators should try their best to relieve the pressure for their employees. Employees should also carry forward the professionalism in the workplace and work overtime selectively according to the importance of the work.

Newcomers should register with the Civil Affairs Bureau to thank the guests.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, the marriage registration offices in Guangzhou did not have a holiday, and the marriage registration business was handled normally. This news makes Foshan people envious, because the Mid-Autumn Festival in Foshan and other cities is still a normal holiday and they don't register for marriage. But if citizens really need it, they can also make an appointment to register for marriage in advance.

Xiao Ke, the grass-roots political power of Foshan Civil Affairs Bureau, believes that people should pay attention to new civilization and new fashion when they get married, and should not blindly emphasize "old customs". The so-called "good days" chosen by citizens and the "good intentions" in the picture are actually some old concepts.

Liu Ren, a folklore expert, believes that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a folk tradition handed down in China for thousands of years, and it has been endowed with many beautiful images. Therefore, it is human nature for the couple to choose such a beautiful reunion day to complete their marriage. In fact, young people signing up for the Mid-Autumn Festival is a kind of respect and inheritance for China's traditional culture, which should be supported.

Turn off the lights and go out to enjoy the bright moon outside.

Recently, a Henan poet suggested on his blog that on this day of family reunion, the lights should be turned off for one hour to calm the noisy city. "The mayor, please put out all the lights in public places and let the dew-like moonlight shine in our hearts. Oh, don't think about anything. The moon looks at us, and we look at the moon ... "This blog was published by Henan Media. The netizens who followed the post were either in favor or against it and could not agree. Fujian Environmental Volunteers Association issued an initiative to the whole society: "On Mid-Autumn Festival night, let's turn off the lights, enjoy the moon in public places and have an environmentally friendly and poetic Mid-Autumn Festival."

Zheng Dijian, vice president of the association, said that this year is the first Mid-Autumn Festival. In order to make traditional festivals more interesting, we might as well return to tradition and turn off the lights to enjoy the moon.

Their suggestion was strongly supported by the Astronomical Association of our province. Pan Xiaoqing, deputy secretary-general of the association, said that urban light pollution is becoming more and more serious, and it is difficult for us to see the real night sky. As night falls, the city is brightly lit, and the high-rise buildings in the city are projected into the sky by strong floodlights and laser lights. Many high-rise buildings use reflective glass or reflective building materials as external decoration, and the light of the moon is blocked. Sometimes people can't even see the moon. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, if everyone can turn off the lights, go outdoors and enjoy the beautiful moonlight again, it will be the best commemoration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. At present, many citizens have responded to the initiative of the Provincial Environmental Volunteers Association.

However, Ge, a professor of history at Fudan University, believes that it is understandable to suggest that the whole city turn off the lights to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there are specific obstacles in operation. One is the safety of a city without lights, and the other is "full moon and sunny days". What about Yun Zheyue when it rains? This is something that cannot be unified.

He believes that when modern people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoy the moon, they are more concerned with remembering a cultural memory, a cultural heritage of thousands of years. Now the relevant departments have designated a special festival. If it is meaningless to just take a day off, we should create some new suggestions, besides eating moon cakes, edamame and taro, so that China people can realize some cultural significance and have more secular happiness. He said that some people asked why western festivals are enduring. In fact, western festivals have religious backgrounds. Our Mid-Autumn Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Spring Festival are secular festivals, which need a lot of people to participate. "The so-called festival is the happiness of most people. Most people think that the happy thing to do on this day is a public holiday, otherwise it is a day off. "

Make your own Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, many hotels and restaurants in Shenyang are not interested in the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion banquet, and have not yet launched the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet menu or quotation. Hotels and restaurants are not so "cold" about the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion dinner. What about the attitude of the citizens?

"This year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, my son, daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law will come back. The family will cook together and enjoy the moon while eating at home, which is more Mid-Autumn Festival. " Uncle Zhang, who lives in Tiexi District, said.

In addition, many vagrants who work in other places go home to visit relatives and friends during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Miss Li said that before the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was no holiday and she couldn't go home at all. There will be three days off this Mid-Autumn Festival. Apart from the time taken up on the way back and forth, she can stay at home with her parents for two days. Miss Li said that in addition to reuniting with their families, high school students are also organizing a reunion for old classmates who haven't seen each other for several years.

Family reunion is the happiest life.

This year, after experiencing the great grief of snowstorm and earthquake, people are more and more eager for a plain and harmonious life. In the face of the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, people undoubtedly pay more attention to the beautiful wish of the moon cake itself-reunion. In Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, many citizens firmly believe that family reunion and happiness are the core connotation of Mid-Autumn Festival for thousands of years. Although this year's Mid-Autumn Festival is the first legal holiday, they have no plans to go out. They just want to stay at home with their families and feel the holiday flavor of "home".

"On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family get together, enjoy the moon, eat moon cakes and light lanterns. Old people and children tell some stories about Mid-Autumn Festival, such as ghosts in the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon and WU GANG. Everyone was talking and laughing. As long as they think of these scenes, they will feel very happy and warm. " Aunt Huang said.

Mr. Wu also deeply felt: "I used to think that eating moon cakes at home during the Mid-Autumn Festival was very rustic, so I like to go out with a group of friends to enjoy the moon." However, when I saw the scenes of the earthquake, I suddenly realized that even if it was dull, family reunion was the greatest happiness. "