Succulents wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival

The bright moon rises over the sea,

and we share this moment from afar.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching,

Succulent Talks wishes all succulent lovers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Succulent Talks now introduces the origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival and some traditional customs. Besides eating mooncakes, there are some interesting activities. Do you know them all?

Origins

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Evening, the Moon Worship Festival, the Daughters' Festival or the Reunion Festival, is a traditional cultural festival popular among many ethnic groups in China and countries in the Chinese character cultural sphere. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar; because it falls exactly in the middle of the three autumn months, it is called Mid-Autumn. The Mid-Autumn Festival began in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and by the Ming and Qing Dynasties had become one of China's major festivals, ranking alongside the Spring Festival. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival in some countries of East Asia and Southeast Asia, especially for the local Chinese and overseas Chinese communities.

Customs

Worshipping the moon and admiring the moon

Worshipping the moon is a very ancient custom in China. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of worshipping the sun at the spring equinox, the earth at the summer solstice, the moon at the autumn equinox, and heaven at the winter solstice. The places for these rituals were called the Altar of the Sun, the Altar of the Earth, the Altar of the Moon and the Altar of Heaven, located in the four directions of east, south, west and north respectively. The Altar of the Moon in Beijing was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshipped the moon. The Book of Rites records: "The Son of Heaven worships the sun in the morning in spring and the moon in the evening in autumn. The morning of the sun worship, the evening of the moon worship." The "evening of the moon worship" here refers precisely to worshipping the moon at night. This custom was not only observed by the imperial court and the upper nobility; with the development of society, it gradually spread to the common people.

Watching the tide

In ancient times, besides admiring the moon at Mid-Autumn in the Zhejiang area, watching the tide was another great Mid-Autumn event. The custom of watching the tide at Mid-Autumn has a long history; as early as the Han Dynasty, Mei Cheng's fu poem "Seven Stimuli" contained a fairly detailed account of it. After the Han Dynasty, the practice of watching the tide at Mid-Autumn became even more popular. Zhu Tinghuan's "Supplement to the Old Stories of Wulin" of the Ming Dynasty and Wu Zimu's "Record of a Dream of Millet" of the Song Dynasty also contain records of tide watching.

Guessing lantern riddles

On the night of the full moon at Mid-Autumn, many lanterns are hung in public places, and people gather together to guess the riddles written on the lanterns. Because this is an activity loved by most young men and women, and because romantic tales also emerge from these activities, Mid-Autumn lantern riddle guessing has also developed into a form of courtship between men and women.

Eating mooncakes

Admiring the moon and eating mooncakes at Mid-Autumn is an essential custom for celebrating the festival in all parts of China. As the saying goes: "On the 15th day of the 8th month the moon is perfectly round, and the Mid-Autumn mooncakes are fragrant and sweet." The word "mooncake" originates from Wu Zimu's "Record of a Dream of Millet" of the Southern Song Dynasty; at that time it was merely a kind of snack food. Later, people gradually combined moon gazing with mooncakes, symbolizing family reunion and expressing longing. At the same time, mooncakes are also an important gift for maintaining friendships during the Mid-Autumn season.

Drinking osmanthus wine

On the night of Mid-Autumn, gazing at the osmanthus in the moon, smelling the waves of osmanthus fragrance, and drinking a cup of sweet osmanthus honey wine to celebrate the sweetness and happiness of the whole family has become a beautiful enjoyment of the festival. Osmanthus is not only ornamental but also has edible value. In Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs", there are lines such as "reining in the steeds and pouring the osmanthus wine" and "offering osmanthus and pepper wine". It can be seen that the history of drinking osmanthus wine in China is already quite long.

On this special day of Mid-Autumn, let us tell you about succulents related to the "moon":

Crassulaceae, genus Aeonium, relatively small in size, normally green; in spring and autumn with sufficient sunlight the whole plant turns red, and the sun-reddened leaves are like rubies, very lovely.

A succulent plant of the Crassulaceae family, genus Crassula, native to South Africa. It likes a warm, dry environment with plenty of sunshine, and also tolerates partial shade. It is usually green; with sufficient sunlight, the leaf edges turn red and the plant takes on a golden color, hence its name.

A succulent plant of the Crassulaceae family, genus Crassula, with emerald-green leaves that stay evergreen all year round. It is mostly used as a decorative piece for offices, homes and balconies, and a small amount is used to make succulent bonsai. It is a very popular fine succulent.

A succulent of the Crassulaceae family, genus Echeveria. Under sufficient sunlight, the leaf edges gradually turn red, and it is very beautiful in backlight. It grows all year round with no obvious dormant period.

The official Chinese name of Purple Moon is Yellow Flower New Moon, belonging to the Asteraceae family, genus Othonna. One of the trailing varieties of succulents, its leaves are very peculiar; with sufficient sunlight, the stem changes from green to purplish-red. It blooms small yellow flowers, which look very beautiful against its own purplish-red color.

Succulent Talks wishes you and your family:

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and happiness for the whole family!

ps：You are welcome to leave a message sending your Mid-Autumn greetings, or leave a message talking about your Mid-Autumn Festival.