When do you usually wrap zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival?

When do you usually wrap zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival? Do you wrap zongzi on the day before Dragon Boat Festival?

Zongzi is usually wrapped on the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, and different regions have different customs.

The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival

The traditional form of zongzi is a triangle, which is generally named after the inner pulp. Glutinous rice is called rice zongzi, red bean zongzi is called red bean zongzi, and jujube zongzi is called jujube zongzi. Jujube jiaozi homophones "junior high school", so it eats the most. Children who plan to study can win the championship early. In the past, Jinshi ate jujube jiaozi on the morning of taking the imperial examination. Up to now, on the morning of the entrance examination day in middle schools and universities, parents have to make jujube jiaozi for the candidates. Eggs must be cooked in the pot where zongzi is cooked, and duck eggs and goose eggs should also be cooked if possible. Eat the sweet zongzi dipped in sugar, and then eat the eggs dipped in salt.

The predecessor of zongzi, corn millet.

The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival has a long history. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, it was recorded that millet was wrapped in water bamboo leaves into a corner shape, which was called "corner millet", and rice was sealed in a bamboo tube and baked, which was called "tube zongzi".

In Jin Dynasty, Zongzi was officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At that time, in addition to glutinous rice, there was also Chinese medicine Alpinia oxyphylla, which was called "educational zongzi". Later, red dates, red beans, chestnuts and meat were gradually added, and the varieties began to be rich.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Zongzi became a gift for people to visit relatives. Zongzi was introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty. Later, it was gradually introduced to North Korea and Southeast Asia, and now these areas also have the custom of eating zongzi.

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, no matter in the south or the north, rural areas or cities, every household should prepare glutinous rice, zongzi leaves, colored ropes and other glutinous rice balls, soak glutinous rice with anticipation, refresh zongzi leaves and prepare stuffing. Judging from the fillings of zongzi in various places, most of them are jujube zongzi in the north. There are many kinds of fillings in the south, such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham and egg yolk.

The origin of making zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival

According to historical records, eating zongzi originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was gradually passed down to commemorate Qu Yuan, a doctor of Chu State. To this day, at the beginning of May every year, people in China have to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, with more varieties of colors. The earliest record of Zongzi in historical allusions is The Story of the Wind written by Zhou Chu, the prefect of Xinping in the Western Jin Dynasty 1600 years ago: "Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, cooking millet." Wu Yun, a writer in the Southern Dynasties, said in The Story of Continuation: "Qu Yuan died in Miluo on May 5, and the Chu people mourned, so they stored rice in bamboo tubes and sacrificed it with water." So the rumor passed down and became a custom. It can be seen that people have deep feelings for loyal people

Send zongzi to see girls on Dragon Boat Festival.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a unique custom in some places in China, such as Laiwu, Anqiu and Nanyang, Henan. This custom is called "seeing off the Dragon Boat Festival" and "watching the Dragon Boat Festival".

There is a saying that the Dragon Boat Festival is the harvest season of summer grain. At this time, seeing prostitutes mainly depends on her family's summer grain harvest, just like watching her family's autumn grain harvest on Mid-Autumn Festival. Because the bride's family is worried about her daughter's suffering in her husband's family, looking at her is looking at their living conditions. Another way of saying it is that the wheat is beginning to mature at this time, and seeing the daughter is to let the son-in-law help collect the wheat. There is also a saying in Laiwu that in the early years, after a daughter got married, she couldn't go back to her parents' house casually, and her parents rarely knew about her daughter's situation, so she could only see her daughter until the Dragon Boat Festival except visiting relatives after the year. Because there was an unwritten rule in the countryside in the past, except for the Chinese New Year and some special circumstances, the married daughter could not go back to her mother's house casually within one year, which made her miss her mother and her mother miss her, which was very painful. Another rule is that before the Dragon Boat Festival, it is the day to meet girls. Her family doesn't go to see the girl, which means that her family is poor and will be looked down upon and laughed at. Therefore, mother and daughter have long been looking forward to this day. At this time, the bride's family will pack jiaozi, steam steamed bread and buy seasonal fruits and vegetables to visit her daughter. One is to make her face longer, and the other is to relieve the pain of missing both sides. Nowadays, with the improvement of people's living standards, the bride's family no longer has to worry that her married daughter can't eat. However, because visiting relatives and friends can not only contact relatives, but also exchange information with each other, it is still a traditional custom to see prostitutes on the Dragon Boat Festival.

The days of seeing prostitutes are not necessarily limited to the Dragon Boat Festival. In Anqiu, Shandong Province, people go to see their daughters on the second and third days of May, and their newly-married daughters often meet for the first time more than ten days before the festival.