The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

In China, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in a grand way and with rich activities, starting at dawn in the morning and ending at noon. The more common activities take the following forms:

1, Dragon Boat Race

Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, people who originated in the ancient State of Chu were reluctant to part with the death of the sage Qu Yuan, and many people rowed boats to save people. They rushed to catch up with each other and disappeared at Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Rowing a dragon boat to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu.

In fact, the "Dragon Boat Race" existed as early as the Warring States Period. Carving dragon-shaped canoes in drums and playing race games are semi-religious and semi-entertaining programs to entertain gods and people in the ceremony.

Later, people everywhere not only commemorated Qu Yuan, but also gave different meanings to dragon boat racing.

Dragon boat rowing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is of great significance to commemorate Qiu Jin, a native-born modern female democratic revolutionary. The night dragon boat is decorated with lights and shuttles, and the scene is moving and interesting. The Miao people in Guizhou hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 25th to 28th of the lunar calendar to celebrate the success of transplanting rice and wish a bumper harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots competed in dragon boat races at the Water-splashing Festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo. Different nationalities and regions have different legends about dragon boat rowing. To this day, dragon boat races with different characteristics are held every year in many areas near rivers and lakes in the south.

In the 29th year of Qing Qianlong (1736), Taiwan Province Province began to hold dragon boat races. At that time, Jiang, the chief executive of Taiwan Province Province, held a friendly match in Fukeji Half Moon Pool in Tainan City. Now, Taiwan Province Province holds a dragon boat race on May 5th every year. In Hong Kong, races are also held.

In addition, dragon boat racing was first introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and Britain. From 65438 to 0980, the dragon boat race was included in the national sports competition in China, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. 1991June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first international dragon boat festival was held in Yueyang, China, Qu Yuan's second hometown. Holding the "Dragon Head Festival" before the competition not only retains the traditional ceremony, but also injects new modern factors. The "dragon head" was carried into Quzi Temple. After the athletes painted the dragon head red (tied with a red ribbon), the priest read out the sacrificial ceremony and "lit up" the dragon head. Then, all the people who participated in the Dragon Boat Festival bowed three times, carried the dragon head to the Miluo River and hurried to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in competitions, expositions and evening activities, which is unprecedented. Since then, Hunan has regularly held the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat races will be widely spread all over the world.

2. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival

Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of China people. Zongzi, also known as "millet" and "Zongzi". It has a long history and various patterns.

According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, millet was wrapped into horns by leaves of zinia latifolia, which was called "horny millet". Rice packed in bamboo tubes is sealed and baked, which is called "tube zongzi". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet soaked in plant ash water. Because the water contains alkali, the millet is wrapped in leaves into a quadrilateral, and when cooked, it becomes Guangdong sour rice dumplings.

In Jin Dynasty, Zongzi was officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, jiaozi also added Alpinia oxyphylla, and the boiled jiaozi was called "Yizhi jiaozi". According to the "Yueyang Local Records" written by Zhou people, "It is customary to wrap the millet with leaves, cook it and cook it thoroughly. From May 5 to the solstice in summer, there is a jiaozi and a millet. " During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, miscellaneous zongzi appeared. Rice is mixed with animal meat, chestnuts, red dates, red beans and so on. And there are more and more varieties. Zongzi is also used as a gift for communication.

In the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for zongzi was "white as jade", and its shape appeared conical and rhombic. There is a record of "Da Tang Zongzi" in Japanese literature. There was a kind of "candied zongzi" in the Song Dynasty, that is, fruit was put into zongzi. The poet Su Dongpo has a poem "See Yangmei in Zongzi". At this time, there were also advertisements for building pavilions and wooden chariots and horses with zongzi, indicating that eating zongzi was very fashionable in the Song Dynasty. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping material of zongzi changed from leaves to leaves. Later, zongzi wrapped in reed leaves appeared, and additional materials such as bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates and walnuts appeared, and the varieties were more colorful.

On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, every family eats zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan. Zongzi is usually wrapped the day before, cooked at night and eaten in the morning. Zongzi is mainly made of tender reed leaves and bamboo leaves, collectively called Zongzi leaves. 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.

You must cook eggs in the pot where zongzi is cooked, and if possible, cook some duck eggs and goose eggs. After eating sweet zongzi dipped in sugar, eat eggs dipped in salt. It is said that eating boiled eggs in zongzi pot at the end of May will not cause sores in summer; At noon, put the duck eggs and goose eggs cooked in the zongzi pot in the sun for a while before eating, so that you won't have a headache all summer.

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. From the perspective of stuffing, there are many dates in the north, such as jiaozi; There are many kinds of fillings in the south, such as red bean paste, fresh meat, ham and egg yolk, among which Zhejiang Jiaxing Zongzi is the representative. The custom of eating zongzi has been popular in China for thousands of years and spread to South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

3. Wear sachets

Children wear sachets on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to mean to ward off evil spirits and plague. Actually, it is used to decorate the inner head. The sachet contains cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine, wrapped in silk cloth, and the fragrance is overflowing, and then tied into a rope with five-color silk thread to make a string of different shapes, all kinds of exquisite and lovely. In some cities in southern China, young men and women also use sachets to express their love.

Step 4 hang calamus

There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". On the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard inserting wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the court, puts calamus and moxa sticks between their eyebrows and hangs them in the class. Acorus calamus, Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Liu Hua, Garlic and Dragon Boat Flower are made into human or tiger shapes, which are called Ai Ren and Ai Hu. It is made into garlands and decorations, beautiful and fragrant, and women compete to wear it to ward off evil spirits.

Artemisia argyi, also known as Artemisia argyi and Artemisia argyi. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oils. Its unique fragrance can repel mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants and purify the air. Chinese medicine uses wormwood as medicine, which has the functions of nourishing qi and blood, warming uterus and dispelling cold and dampness. Processing Artemisia argyi leaves into "moxa wool" is an important medicinal material for moxibustion treatment.

Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil, which is a good medicine for refreshing, strengthening bones, eliminating stagnation, killing insects and sterilizing.

It can be seen that the ancients inserted wormwood leaves and calamus to have a certain disease prevention effect. Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" handed down from ancient times. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort leaves, hang calamus, sprinkle realgar wine, drink realgar wine, stir up turbidity, remove rot, sterilize and prevent diseases. These activities also reflect the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. It is a common custom for all countries and ethnic groups in China to collect herbs on the Dragon Boat Festival.

5. Bell statue

It is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival for Zhong Kui to catch ghosts. In the Jianghuai area, bells and statues are hung in every household to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after giving a lecture in Lishan, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, were running around the temple wearing red crotch pants and stealing Yang Guifei's sachet and the jade emperor of the Ming Dynasty. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, caught the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. When asked by the Ming emperor, GREAT GHOST said: My surname is Zhong Kui, that is to say, I am the best martial artist. I am willing to exorcise evil spirits for your majesty. When the Ming emperor woke up, malaria was cured. So I asked Wu Daozi, the painter, to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what I saw in my dream, and ordered all the people to post it on the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.

According to legend, Zhong Kui of the Tang Dynasty won the first prize in the Chang 'an exam. He was abolished because of his ugly appearance and died because he touched the steps of the temple. Later, I gave a dream to Tang, determined to destroy the demons in the world. At that time, the palace was haunted, and Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty asked Wu Daozi, a great painter, to draw "Doors Catch Ghosts" based on what he saw in his dream. Hanging this painting, the door was slaughtered to exorcise evil spirits, and the palace was peaceful. Zhong Kui was named "exorcist" by Emperor Tang Ming, and the statue of Zhong Kui traveled all over the world, cutting off ghosts and making great contributions. Later, myths and legends were named "exorcism emperor" by the jade emperor. People hang a statue of Zhong Kui on Duanyang Festival to ward off ghosts and evil spirits, hoping for family safety.

6. Hang a wallet and tie a five-color silk thread

Ying Shao's "Customs Pass" records: "On May 5, people tied their arms with colorful silks, which were called Longevity Silk, one who continued life, one who made soldiers fight, one who made five-color silks, and one who made soldiers fight ghosts, so that people would not get sick."

In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines on their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during the first heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color thread can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river is to let the river wash away plagues and diseases and make children safe and healthy.

The eighth volume of Meng's Dream of China in Tokyo records: Dragon Boat Festival artifacts, hundred ropes, mugwort flowers, silver drums, beautifully painted fans, fragrant candy, small dumplings and white balls. Perilla frutescens, Acorus calamus and Papaya are all chopped, mixed with incense and medicine, and wrapped in a plum-red box. From May 1 day, the day before Dragon Boat Festival, peaches, willows, sunflowers, leaves of Pu Ye, Buddha, Taoism and wormwood are sold. The next day, every household was spread out at the door and fed with five-color water polo and tea wine. He also nailed Ai Ren to the door, and the scholars handed him a banquet.

Chen Shijing's Chronicle of Years Old quotes miscellaneous notes that "the Dragon Boat Festival is made of red and white, colored thread, or tied or nailed to the door to make it red and white, which is also called Qian Chu", while another kind of "mussel powder bell" says: "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk, decorated with cotton, if it is a few beads. Let the children take it to absorb sweat. " The contents of these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, exorcism symbols, copper coins, and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and they have become increasingly exquisite and become a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Similarly, drinking realgar wine: this custom is very popular among people in the Yangtze River valley. Wandering all diseases: This custom prevails in the Dragon Boat Festival custom in Guizhou.

7. Zang Wu

In the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the heat is approaching, and plague and poisonous insects breed. In ancient times, May was called "evil month". And think that the fifth day of May is an unlucky day. On this day, parents should take their children under one year old to grandma's house to hide, so as to avoid bad luck.

8. Delivery time

On the occasion of Duanyang Festival in the Central Plains, the bride's family should send straw hats, rain fans, mats and other things to the man before or during the festival to prevent heatstroke and rain, so Duanyang Festival is also called "sending the season".

9, drive five poisons

Five poisons refer to five poisonous insects: scorpion, centipede, poisonous snake, shrimp salamander and gecko. "Duanyang Festival, the weather is hot;" The five poisons wake you up and make you restless. "Therefore, on the day of Duanyang Festival, people will put pictures of scissors and five poisons on their doors to avoid their poison. In some places, another needle should be stuck in the head of the five poisons map, indicating that it should be nailed and removed. Eliminating the five poisons reflects people's good desire to eliminate pests and prevent diseases.

10, eat chicken, duck and goose eggs.

It is very popular all over the country. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, in the northeast, the old man rolled the cooked chicken, duck and goose eggs on the child's stomach and peeled them for the child to eat. It is said that this can avoid children's stomachache, but it is actually a fun game in festivals. In other areas, cooking is the main food. It is said that Qu Yuan threw fish and shrimp into the river to save his life in order to prevent them from hurting his bones, and later it became a souvenir for cooking.

1 1, boiled garlic

Garlic is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, which is pungent and sweet, can kill viruses, sterilize, remove gastrointestinal toxins and dredge blood vessels when cooked. On the morning of Duanyang Festival, it is a custom in most parts of the country to cook fresh garlic to dredge blood vessels and disinfect.

12, broken eye

The custom of Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, Jiangsu. On that day, put a proper amount of realgar in a bowl of clear water and put in two copper coins, and the whole family washed their eyes with this water. It is said that realgar can prevent eye glass, has the effect of sterilization and detoxification, and has certain benefits.

13, travel is full of diseases

The custom of Dragon Boat Festival in Guizhou. On the Duanyang Festival, men, women and children should put on new clothes, take food to play outside for a day, pick wild flowers and herbs in Shan Ye, and bring them back to take a bath with boiling water at night. Locals call this move "cure all diseases" or "wash all diseases", thinking that Geely will be safe within one year.

14, ribbon-cutting gourd

Cut it into gourd shape with colored paper and stick it upside down on the door at Duanyang Festival in order to pour out the poison gas.

15, drink realgar wine

Realgar is a Chinese herbal medicine. The book of traditional Chinese medicine says that realgar can cure all kinds of insect poison, insect and animal injuries. Therefore, there are some folk sayings, such as "drinking realgar wine will drive away all diseases", "drinking realgar calamus wine on May 5 will eliminate all diseases and ban all insects" and "taking realgar into the mountains is not afraid of snakes". Before the invention of iodine, people in China used realgar and alum mixed liquor to smear poisonous insect bites and mosquito bites. The well-known Legend of the White Snake once described: On Duanyang Festival, Xu Xian listened to Fahai's words and let the white lady drink realgar wine, showing her true colors. Nowadays, many places spray realgar water inside and outside the house on Duanyang Festival, and daub realgar on children's ears, nose and forehead. However, according to modern scientific analysis, realgar is toxic and should not be taken orally.

Hebei Province

It is said that drilling well water is avoided in Beiping Dragon Boat Festival, and it is often pre-pumped before the festival, in order to avoid well poisoning. On Dragon Boat Festival, street vendors also sell cherry mulberries. It is said that they eat cherry mulberries on the Dragon Boat Festival and don't eat flies by mistake all year round. "Five Poison Cakes", which are cakes decorated with five poisonous insect patterns, are sold in various food stores. Luanxian county lets men and women in-laws give gifts to each other on the Dragon Boat Festival. On the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhao County, the local government will hold a banquet in the south of the city, inviting the literati in the city to feast and compose poems, which is called "stepping on the willow".

[Shandong Province]

On the Dragon Boat Festival in zouping county, everyone needs a drink every morning, which is said to ward off evil spirits. Rizhao Dragon Boat Festival wraps seven colors of thread around children, and it will take them until the first rain after the festival before they are untied and thrown into the rain. On the Dragon Boat Festival in Linqing County, boys under seven wear symbols (necklaces made of wheat barnyard grass), girls wear pomegranate flowers, and they also wear yellow shoes made by their mothers, and draw five kinds of poisonous insects on the vamps with a brush. It means killing five kinds of poisonous insects with Qu Yuan's ink. On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, Jimo washes his face with dew.

[Shanxi Province]

On the Dragon Boat Festival in Xiezhou, men and women wear mugwort leaves, which is called "expelling diseases", while young children tie a hundred ropes around their necks. It is said that this is "tying dragons for Qu Yuan". During the Dragon Boat Festival in the Western Zhou Dynasty, villages would offer sacrifices to the Dragon King and hang paper in the fields. The Dragon Boat Festival in Huairen County is also called "Zhumen". The Dragon Boat Festival in Dingxiang County requires students to give gifts to their teachers. Lu 'an Mansion uses steamed dumplings made of wheat flour, called "white dumplings", and presents them to each other together with zongzi.

Shanxi(Province)

On the Dragon Boat Festival in Xing 'an League, local officials lead their subordinates to watch the game, which is called "stepping on a stone". At the Dragon Boat Festival in Xingping County, a small corn is sewn with silk, and a small doll is sewn below it, which is called "playing with dolls". The Dragon Boat Festival in Tongguan County is called "town disease", and there are Pu Ai and paper cows sticking to the door.

Gansu province

Picking roses on Dragon Boat Festival in Jingning area is mainly based on honey pickling. Zhenyuan county presented a fragrant fan, a Luo Qi, a towel handkerchief and a Ai Hu to the newlyweds during the Dragon Boat Festival. Children also invite their fathers and brothers to entertain their teachers, which is called "enjoying the festival". On the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhang Xi 'an County, the shepherd boy worships the mountain gods. Accumulated salary mountain, chicken calls before burning, commonly known as "burning mountain"

Jiangsu Province

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiading County, people, rich or poor, have to buy stone fish (commonly known as mandarin fish) to cook. There is also a saying in Yizheng County, "When pants, buy yellow croaker". On the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, families use a box of clear water, plus a little realgar and goose eye money. The whole family washes their eyes with this kind of water, which is called "breaking the eyes of fire". It is said that it can protect them from eye diseases for a year. There is a dragon boat show in Wujin at night. In the evening, small lanterns are hung around the dragon boat, and flutes and drums sing harmoniously.

Sichuan Province

Shizhu has the custom of "going out during the Dragon Boat Festival". Four people use two bamboo poles to lift the wide table covered with red carpet. A Taoist priest riding a tiger weaves bamboo sticks on the carpet. Beating gongs and drums, marching in the street. In ancient times, there was a custom of "typing" on the Dragon Boat Festival in western Sichuan. On that day, Chengdu people bought plums and threw them in the southeast corner of the city, attracting tens of thousands of spectators. In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), this custom stopped because of the sudden conflict between Touli and foreign missionaries. Leshan, Xinjin and other places also hold grand commodity fairs during the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Xijiang province]

Students from rural schools in Tonglu County gave their teachers a gift on the Dragon Boat Festival, which was called "Remembrance". The doctor collects medicine at noon, and it is said that the doctor is in heaven that day.

[Jiangxi Province]

Jianchang Prefecture takes a bath with herbal water at noon to prevent scabies, and Xinchang County drinks realgar cinnabar wine, which is called "opening eyes".

Hubei province

In Bahe Town, Huanggang County, people welcome Nuo people on the Dragon Boat Festival and use tattoos of corollas and golden bells to drive away the epidemic. Dragon boat race in Yichang county, especially on May 13, 14 and 15. May 15, also known as "Daduanyang", people eat zongzi and drink Pu wine, just like the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Hunan Province]

On the Dragon Boat Festival in Youxian County, rich pregnant women eat with flowers, poor people prepare chicken wine, and collect money with bamboo clips in front of the dragon boat faucet to pray for safe production. The government of Yuezhou regards this game as a disaster and a disease. Also known as "sending plague", when the grass boat comes to flood.

[Fujian Province]

Fuzhou Dragon Boat Festival is an old custom, so the daughter-in-law gives shroud, shoes and socks, zongzi and fans to her in-laws. In Jianyang County, 5th is the King Day of Sun-drying capsules, and people make sauces on this day. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shanghang County, the boat was tied with reeds and a dragon-shaped play was performed at the water's edge, which was called dragon boat race. After the Dragon Boat Race in Xianyou County, paper was presented at Huxiao Beach to commemorate Qi Jiguang's drowning here during Jiajing period. Before Shao Wufu's Dragon Boat Festival, women used crimson yarn as a bag. Five-color velvet is the winning surface, and the colored thread is tied. The girl hung upside down on her back and was called "Dou Niang".

[Guangdong Province]

After washing hands and eyes with boiling water at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival in Conghua County, it is called "sending disaster". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xinxing County, people advocate welcoming and guiding idols' travel from neighboring temples. Wizards also use Dharma water and stickers to drive away evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shicheng County, children fly kites, which is called "disaster relief".

(Taiwan Province Province)

Taiwan Province Province is located in the subtropical zone. In the early days, many immigrants from the mainland could not adapt to the climate here, and people who died of plague were heard from time to time. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival, a festival with the basic spirit of expelling diseases and avoiding epidemics, is particularly important.