Chinanews client, Beijing, October 1st (Reporter Shangguanyun) Reunited with family and met with friends... What is the Mid-Autumn Festival in your memory?
From the perspective of diet, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a carnival for taste buds.
Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xingu debuts, fruit harvests, and newly brewed wines are also on the market.
The abundance of ingredients gives people a lot of choices. When it comes to "eating, eating", mooncakes are not the only possibility.
Data map: The freshly baked mooncakes are delicious and mouth-watering.
Photo by Wang Haoyang
In the opinion of folklore scholar Wang Juan, people nowadays generally revisit the useful values accumulated in the past in some traditional festival customs, so whether it is rituals or food, those customs actually reflect an important cultural function. .
Compete to drink the exquisite Mid-Autumn Festival of the Song Dynasty
In ancient times, the food customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival have been constantly enriched and improved.
The food in the Song Dynasty was particularly exquisite, and people were very particular about food.
At this time, the main activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival continued the custom of moon-appreciating banquets in the Tang Dynasty, and "eating" was an essential part.
However, at that time, drinking was more common than eating moon cakes.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the "Tokyo Menghualu" written by Meng Yuan recorded the prosperous scene of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty. The "Mid-Autumn Festival" article in Volume 8 records: Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the stores sold new wine...It is the new release of crabs, pomegranates , Pears, Jujubes, Chestnuts, Papaya, and Nongse Tangerine are all newly listed.
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The new wine is on the market, and people are vying to drink and express their joy.
In autumn, the melons and fruits are fragrant and sweet. Many shops sell pomegranates, jujubes, water chestnuts, etc. They are fresh and delicious, and they became indispensable delicacies for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
There was also a popular delicacy in the Song Dynasty called "Playing Moon Geng". It is recorded in Zheng Wangzhi's "Lunar of the Restaurant" as follows: "Diet in Bianzhong, and play Moon Geng in Mid-Autumn Festival."
Someone once speculated that the food with this novel name might resemble egg custard, but some experts have also said that Wanyue Geng is a soup made with longan, lotus seeds, lotus root noodles, etc. as raw materials.
Today, it seems to be rare.
Moon cakes are not the only food on the Mid-Autumn Festival
Among the many delicacies of the Mid-Autumn Festival, moon cakes are probably the most popular, but they are not the only ones.
Data map: The autumn breeze makes the crab fat.
Photo by Yang Bo
In some places in Shaanxi, the whole family eats "reunion bun" every Mid-Autumn Festival.
After the bun is done, it is cut into a canine shape, and the whole family has a "tooth". If there is a family member going out for a short time, a "tooth" is left.
The natal family also gave the married girl a bun to the door, indicating that the whole family will be reunited.
Crab feet are itchy in the autumn wind.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, crabs are one of the protagonists on the table.
The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the Ming Dynasty also had crabs. As recorded in the book, "50-60% steamed, eat in groups, laugh and uncover the umbilical lid, pick nails, dip vinegar and garlic for wine", it is very lively.
People sit together and taste the steamed crabs, dipped in vinegar and garlic and other seasonings, as a meal to drink, it is mouthwatering to think about.
In addition, in different places, there are many other food customs such as "Eating Pumpkin in Half in August" and eating glutinous rice cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fruit: Pomegranate symbolizes prosperity
Since it is the food of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is always related to various auspicious meanings, including various seasonal fruits.
Lu Qihong’s "Beijing Suihua Ji" records: "On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, people set up symbols of the moon palace, and the symbols are free from standing on the signs; the orange fruits are in the courtyard, and the moon is painted on the cake surface. "
Grapefruit is the favorite of many people at this time.
After eating the sweet and greasy moon cakes, the grapefruit is both appetizing and greasy.
In addition, the homophony of "you" is "you", and I hope to be blessed in the future.
The pomegranate has a round shape, which is ornamental and tastes good.
Due to the large number of grains, it is also regarded as a symbol of prosperity: in some folk paintings, pomegranates are often split, which also highlights this meaning.
"In some places in the south, taro is also eaten at this time. People pay attention to putting a large plate on top of a pile of small taro. It looks like a small taro is buried in it. It is called'mother taro', which is related to asking for children. "Wang Juan said.
Data map: The golden persimmons are full of the front and back of the house, and there is a bright yellow color.
Photo by Wang Xiaoyong
The fruits of the Mid-Autumn Festival have different meanings.
If there are elderly people in the family, eating peaches means longevity.
Put persimmons and apples together, "Persimmon is Ping'an" homophonic "Everything is safe."
Secular emotions in traditional festivals
From moon cakes to various melons and fruits, the food culture of Mid-Autumn Festival is quite rich, and many other examples can be cited.
Like sweet-scented osmanthus, it is endowed with various meanings such as "auspicious" and "friendly", which fits the connotation of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Apart from viewing, it is also a delicacy. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, people drink a cup of osmanthus wine and eat some osmanthus cakes to express sweetness.
"From the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, the various customs of the Mid-Autumn Festival should be more of a game activity for citizens or scholars living in the city. It became a festival of universal significance, probably in the Ming Dynasty." Wang Juan said.
Data map: The picture shows a flower made from dough with various colors of "pigment" to decorate moon cakes.
Photo by Zhang Haiwen
From the perspective of time clues, the Mid-Autumn Festival, as a traditional festival, takes shape late, but it has a great impact. It still has practical significance that meets the needs of people's lives.
"Many times during the ancient festivals, it is also important to eat clean food for the sacrifices before the sacrifice ceremony is completed." Wang Juan emphasized that nowadays, there are rich materials. Attention, must not be extravagant (end)