What are the customs of Dragon Boat Festival?

Dragon Boat Festival is a folk festival that integrates offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, praying for evil spirits, celebrating entertainment and eating. As one of the four traditional festivals in China, it not only clearly records the colorful social life and cultural content of our ancestors, but also accumulates profound historical and cultural connotations. Let's talk about the custom of Dragon Boat Festival.

First, eat zongzi.

Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom of the Chinese nation since ancient times. It has a long history and various patterns. Zongzi was originally used to worship ancestors and gods. The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is very popular in China, and spread to South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Zongzi, as the representative food of the Dragon Boat Festival, is said to be thrown into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from biting Qu Yuan's body. Second, because the edges and corners of zongzi are like a knife, it can eradicate diseases and disasters.

Second, pick the "Dragon Boat Festival"

Ningbo people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, and young men should choose a heavy gift to send to the woman's home. People in Ningbo also call this gift-giving custom "low stool feet", which means to put the future husband and mother-in-law in order. Among these "Dragon Boat Festival bears", there are at least four colors and at most eight colors. Specific projects include zongzi, large yellow croaker, eggs, meat, sugar, steamed bread and so on. Among them, there is a big white goose, because the goose is holding hair on the road and making a "teasing" sound, so there is a "stupid" son-in-law

Because geese are loyal, it is actually a sign of loyalty to send geese to their mother-in-law during the Dragon Boat Festival. At the mother-in-law's house, the mother-in-law will distribute gifts such as snacks on the Dragon Boat Festival to relatives and friends, which means that the engagement is a gift and the wedding ceremony begins. Before the son-in-law comes home, the mother-in-law will also bring gifts to her son-in-law, which means "returning gifts". The son-in-law's Dragon Boat Festival trip officially ended. Now, many places in Xiangshan still maintain such traditional customs.

Third, tie a five-color silk thread.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, when children wake up, their wrists and ankles have been tied with "colorful ropes" woven with colorful silk threads. Adults say that if you tie it, you won't be attacked by all diseases. After the first rain after the Dragon Boat Festival, cut the five-color rope, let the rain wash away, and the disaster will be taken away with it.

About the five-color line, the customs are similar everywhere. Some are tied up with five-color silk, or hung at the door, or around the child's neck, or tied to the child's arm, or hung in bed curtains, cradles, etc. It is said that it can avoid disasters, keep healthy and prolong life.

Fourth, hang mugwort leaves.

There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". People think that May is a poisonous month and the fifth day is a poisonous day. May every year is the time when the leaves of Artemisia argyi are mature and have the best medicinal properties, so people should go to the wild to pick them during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Legend has it that in ancient times, fairies and water monsters agreed that as long as people hung wormwood and calamus in front of their doors, they should not be offended, so people liked to pick wormwood on the Dragon Boat Festival, hoping to drive away demons and defend their families. Wormwood itself has the function of dispelling cold and dampness, and its stems and leaves all contain volatile aromatic oil, which can drive away mosquitoes and flies and purify the air. The smoke produced by smoking mugwort leaves can inhibit the spread of viruses and bacteria in the air.

Five, Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui is a symbol of exorcising evil spirits and strengthening the body resistance among the people. So some areas have the custom of dancing Zhong Kui on the fifth day of May. Among the people, Zhong Kui is a symbol of avoiding evil spirits and strengthening the body. Dancing in Zhong Kui during the Dragon Boat Festival means eliminating the five poisons, keeping the seasons safe and prolonging life.

Zhong Kui originated in the Northern Song Dynasty and is a traditional folk performance left over from ancient Huizhou. It has many contents, such as "going on a patrol", "marrying a younger sister" and "eliminating five poisons", which embodies people's good wishes of advocating Zhong Kui's integrity and praying for eliminating disasters and reducing happiness.

The content of the Dragon Boat Festival custom is rich and colorful, and the content or details of the custom are different in different parts of the country due to different regional cultures. These festivals and customs revolve around the Dragon Boat Festival, Blessing Festival, Fighting Disaster Festival and other forms, and place people's desire to welcome good luck, ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters.