The origin and meaning of wearing colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival The custom of tying colorful ropes originated in the Han Dynasty and continues to this day. Folks regard colorful ropes as "colorful dragons". Below is the origin and meaning of the colorful ropes worn during the Dragon Boat Festival that I compiled. You are welcome to read, share and learn from it. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.

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The origin of the colorful ropes on the Dragon Boat Festival

The custom of tying colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival originated in the Han Dynasty and continues to this day.

Folks regard colorful ropes as "colorful dragons". The Dragon Boat Festival is also called "Children's Day", and May is called the Poison Moon by the ancients. Tying colorful ropes on the Dragon Boat Festival means protecting children and driving away evil spirits. The five-color rope washed away with the water will turn into a little dragon and take away the bad things from you. In this way, worries and sorrows will flow away with the rain, which will bring you good luck for a year.

It is reported that ancient China worshiped five colors and regarded them as auspicious colors. Tie arms with five-color silk was once a very popular festival custom. There is a record in Yingzhu's "Customs and Meanings" of the Han Dynasty: "On May 5th, five-color life-sustaining silk is given, which is said to benefit people's lives." "Jingchu's Records of the Years" records: "Tie the arms with colorful silk, which is called Pibing. , people will not get sick."

Wearing colorful threads during the Dragon Boat Festival is very particular. Multicolored thread is made of five colors of thread. The five colors do not just use any five colors, but must be cyan, white, red, black and yellow. According to the Yin Yang and Five Elements theory, these five colors represent wood, metal, fire, water and earth respectively. At the same time, they respectively symbolize the east, west, south, north, and middle, and contain the divine power of the five directions, which can expel evil spirits, cure diseases, strengthen the body, and make people healthy and longevity. The made colorful threads are worn on the left side of men and on the right side of women. They can be tied around the hands and necks, or around the ankles. Another saying is that if the child is under one year old, only red colored threads should be worn. Although folk custom stipulates that during the first rain of the Dragon Boat Festival, the colorful ropes should be taken off and thrown into the rainwater to symbolize freedom from evil, troubles, diseases, and sorrow. However, we hope that everyone will not throw them everywhere, and it is best to throw them into the rainwater in a secluded place. in order to avoid affecting the environment and increasing the workload of sanitation workers.

In addition to the custom of wearing colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival, there are also hanging small peppers, tiger shoes, and the word "王" written on the children's heads so that the children will not cause trouble and also to drive away disasters and plagues. Tying colorful ropes for children is an important custom during the Dragon Boat Festival. It has a beautiful meaning of praying for Najib. The predecessor of longevity lock is "longevity thread", also known as "longevity thread". Its significance is to lock the child's life and prevent diseases and epidemics from invading and harming the child. The ancients believed that once a child wears a lock, he or she will grow up safely without disaster; the longevity lock expresses the blessings of the elders to the younger generation.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household hangs a five-color silk rope on the lintel to avoid bad luck; therefore, it is traditional to use five-color silk to make a rope, add a silver lock, and wrap it around the children’s arms to pray. To ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters, cure diseases and prolong life! In the early morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the first important thing for adults to do after getting up is to tie Dragon Boat Festival threads around the wrists, ankles and necks of sleeping children. The child cannot speak while the string is tied. Some married men are also forced by their wives to wear colorful ropes. Many men tie them quietly around their ankles for fear of being laughed at by others. There is also something special about tying the five-color rope. It must be tied before the sun comes out, otherwise it will not be effective. Moreover, the five-color rope cannot be torn or discarded at will. You can only wait until the heavy rain after the Dragon Boat Festival to keep it in your yard. The drain holes in the wall are washed away by rainwater.

What does the five-color rope represent?

The five colors of the five-color silk represent the five elements. The Han Dynasty believed in the theory of yin and yang of the five elements. The five colors represent the five directions, which are mutually reinforcing and restraining each other, and have the mysterious effect of exorcising evil spirits and welcoming good luck. Cyan belongs to wood and represents the east, red belongs to fire and represents the south, yellow belongs to earth and represents the center, white belongs to gold and represents the west, and black belongs to water and represents the north. Animals are used as symbols: the green dragon in the east, the red bird in the south, the white tiger in the west, the basalt (tortoise and snake) in the north, and the yellow dragon in the center, all of which are spiritual creatures. The symbolic meaning of five-colored silk that can ward off evil spirits and plagues is far more obvious than its actual function, because there is no specific explanation as to why these colors can ward off disasters and diseases.

It can be seen that this is a miraculous object with magical power and symbol in popular belief. It is obviously different from the medicinal functions of moxa leaves, calamus, and realgar used in festivals. It is purely a need for good luck in popular belief. However, on the other hand, the festive colorful silk fully expresses the meaning of congratulations.

Children use five-color silk to tie their necks and wrap their hands and feet, commonly known as life-extending threads, life-extending threads, centenary threads, and health threads.

How to braid colorful rope

1. Braid 5 threads of different colors into 5 strands from the middle to make buttonholes. The size should be controlled well, and the ropes on both sides should be basically the same length.

2. Take one of the threads and wrap it around to make a single buckle. At this time, there are two threads of each color.

3. Fold the previously prepared threads in half and braid the same color threads under the buttonhole into four strands. Be sure to make a four-strand braid so that it stays flat when you tie it into a flat knot.

4. Take another jade thread (use whatever color you like) and tie a flat knot on the previously braided four-strand braid. Be sure to braid the five four-strand braids on the same plane. Do you want to arrange them in order? I just arrange them this way because I think they are beautiful.

5. After knitting the flat knot to a certain length, you can cut it off and stick it together. You can control the length yourself.

6. Braid the four-strand braid to the required length

7. Take another piece of jade wire and braid it into a flat knot, which should be the same color and length as the previous one.

8. The next step is the key. After the flat knot is sintered and glued, sort out the threads. Leave 5 threads of different colors on the left and right sides (for making button knots). Cut the remaining 10 threads in the middle. Remove burning stickiness.

9. Tie the button knot. Cut off the excess, adjust the thread and cut off the burnt parts.

10. The colorful rope for the Year of the Animal is ready. If the Dragon Boat Festival knot changes color, it will be fine.

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★ The origin of the name of the ropes we wear during the Dragon Boat Festival var _hmt = _hmt || []; (function() { var hm = document.createElement("script"); hm.src = "/hm.js?6732713c8049618d4dd9c9b08bf57682"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(hm, s); })();