Do you know the custom and origin of Dragon Boat Festival?
Another year of Dragon Boat Festival.
As one of the four traditional festivals in China,
Dragon Boat Festival became in 2009.
China’s first festival selected as a world intangible cultural heritage.
How much do you know about the Dragon Boat Festival?
Watch it with sister cranberry ~
The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
1. Originated from commemorating Qu Yuan.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan’s death, the people of Chu were so sad that they flocked to the Miluo River to pay their respects to Qu Yuan. Fishermen rowed boats and fished for his real body back and forth on the river. A fisherman took out rice balls, eggs and other foods prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that the ichthyosaurs, shrimps and crabs were full and would not bite the doctor’s body. People followed suit after seeing it. An old doctor took an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that it was necessary to stun the dragon water beast with medicine so as not to hurt Dr. Qu. Later, for fear that rice balls would be eaten by dragons, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice with neem leaves and wrapping them with colored silk to develop them into brown seeds. After that, on the fifth day of May every year, there was the custom of dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine. In memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
2, in memory of Wu Zixu said.
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is widely spread in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, commemorates Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous member of the State of Chu, and his father and brother were all killed by the King of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned the dark and went to the State of Wu to help Wu cut Chu, and entered the city of Ying, the capital of Chu, in the Five Wars. At that time, King Chu Ping was dead, and Zixu dug a grave and whipped 300 corpses to avenge the killing of his father and brother. After the death of Prince Helu of Wu, his son Fu Cha succeeded to the throne. Wu Jun’s morale was high, and he was defeated by the state of Yue. The king of Yue Gou Jian asked for peace, and Fu Cha promised it. Zi Xu suggested that the state of Yue should be completely destroyed, but Fu Cha refused to listen. The state of Wu slaughtered it and was bribed by the state of Yue. Zi Xu was framed by slanderers, and Fu Cha believed it. Zi Xu died because of this. Later, Fu Cha ordered Zi Xu’s body to be put into the great river in leather on May 5, so it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.
3, in memory of the filial daughter Cao E said
The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220) when Cao E, a filial daughter, saved her father from drowning in the river. Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and didn’t see her body for several days. At that time, Cao E, the filial daughter, was only fourteen years old and was crying along the river day and night. Seventeen days later, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and took out his father’s body five days later. This was passed down as a myth, and then passed on to the governor of the county government, who made it a monument and let his disciple Han Danchun make a eulogy. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate the filial daughter Cao E.
Dragon boat festival custom
Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular grand festival among Chinese people. It has been a traditional custom in Chinese for more than 2,000 years to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. Due to the vast territory, numerous nationalities and many stories and legends, not only many different festival names have been produced, but also different customs exist in different places.
Originally, it was a season to drive away the plague in summer. From this day, the indispensable epidemic prevention activities gradually evolved into eating zongzi, racing dragon boats, hanging calamus, wormwood and wormwood leaves, fumigating Atractylodes lancea and Angelica dahurica, and drinking realgar wine. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Dragon Boat Festival has been passed down among the people for more than two thousand years. There are many theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Although the customs vary from place to place, it is a common custom to wrap zongzi and row dragon boats.
1. Rowing the Dragon Boat Festival
The word "dragon boat" was first found in the pre-Qin ancient book "Biography of Mu Tianzi", Volume 5: "Tianzi rides a bird boat and the dragon boat floats in the marsh." In "Nine Songs Xiang Jun", scholars also think that "flying dragon" means dragon boat.
Before the dragon boat race, please invite dragons and offer sacrifices to the gods. For example, the Guangdong Dragon Boat Festival, before the Dragon Boat Festival, has to get out of the water, worship the South China Sea God in the South China Sea Temple, install the dragon head and the dragon tail, and then prepare for the race. And buy a pair of paper cocks and put them on the dragon boat, thinking that they can protect the boat safely (vaguely corresponding to the ancient bird boat). Fujian and Taiwan went to Mazu Tempel to worship. All kinds of sacrificial ceremonies and commemorative ceremonies are nothing more than burning incense sticks and paper money for chicken, rice, meat, fruit offerings, zongzi and so on. Nowadays, these superstitious rituals are rare, but in the past, when people sacrificed to the Dragon Temple, the atmosphere was very serious, and they prayed for a bumper harvest in agriculture, good weather, evil spirits, and all the best, and also blessed boating safety. In people’s words, "to be auspicious" expresses people’s inner good wishes. In Zigui, Qu Yuan’s hometown in Hubei, there are also ceremonies to worship Qu Yuan.
When rowing dragon boats, there are many dragon boat songs that sing for fun. For example, when rowing a dragon boat in Zigui, Hubei Province, there was a complete singing, and the songs and songs were based on the fusion of local folk songs and songs. The singing voice was magnificent and exciting, that is, the legacy of "praising and reconciling". Another example is the Dragon Boat Song in Nanxiong County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, which was sung after the dragon boat was launched in April until the Dragon Boat Festival, and its performance was very extensive.
2. Hanging wormwood on the Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival is the first festival after summer, and the temperature is rising, which is the period of frequent diseases. Therefore, many years ago, people often hung several plants of wormwood in front of their homes. Because of its special fragrance, people used it to ward off diseases, prevent mosquitoes and ward off evil spirits.
There are reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian) or pomegranate and garlic at the door of the Dragon Boat Festival. Usually, Artemisia argyi, Ficus microcarpa and Acorus calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the first of the five Rui in the sky, it symbolizes the evil sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped, which can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, alchemists called it "water sword", and later customs extended it to "Pujian", which can cut thousands of evils. In Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Qing Jia Lu that "cutting Pu as a sword, cutting Peng as a whip, and hanging garlic with peach stalks on the bed, all of which were used to exorcise ghosts".
3. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival.
At the beginning of May every year, every family in China has to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, with more varieties of colors. From the perspective of stuffing, there are many Beijing jujube dumplings with small dates in the north; In the south, there are many kinds of fillings, such as 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 Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
Special reminder: Although Zongzi is delicious, you can’t eat more, because Zongzi is made of glutinous rice, which is not easy to digest. Children’s digestive ability is poor, and it is easy to hurt their spleen and stomach if they eat it carelessly.
4, is a colorful line
Five-color silk thread, commonly known as five-color silk and multicolored silk. The ancient and popular names are Zhusuo, Zhusuo, etc. Those tied to mosquito nets and cradles are also called wanzhuan ropes and health ropes. Ying Shao’s "Custom Pass" said: "On May 5th, the colorful silk was tied to the arm, which was named Long Life, One Life-sustaining, One Soldiers, One Five Colors, One Zhu Suo, Soldiers and Ghosts, so that people would not get sick." In ancient China, five colors were revered and regarded as 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 around their children’s wrists, ankles and necks. When tying the thread, it is forbidden for children to speak. Traditionally, red, green, yellow, white and black thick silk threads were twisted into colored ropes and tied around children’s arms or necks. Since May 5th, it was not until the birthday of "Qi Nian Ma" on Tanabata that they were untied and burned together with Jin Jun.. There is also a saying that on the first rainy day after the Dragon Boat Festival, cutting off colorful threads and throwing them in the rain means that the river will wash away the plague and diseases, which means that it can get rid of evil spirits and stir up disasters, which will bring good luck for a year.
5. Order realgar wine
Realgar is also a kind of medicinal material, which is said to kill all kinds of poisons. Therefore, during the Dragon Boat Festival, Shaanxi people will soak realgar in wine and put realgar wine on children’s ears, nose, forehead, wrists and ankles. It is said that this practice can keep mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos and spiders off their bodies.
As a traditional festival of the Chinese nation, Dragon Boat Festival bears a heavy historical culture and rich humanistic spirit. In this festival, we can deeply feel the long history and profoundness of Chinese culture. Since ancient times, people have been singing and dancing to express their blessings at this time. When the Dragon Boat Festival comes, we should also express our blessings and respects in various ways, praying for the prosperity of the motherland, social harmony and stability, and people’s living and working in peace and contentment.
erect
noon
safe
healthy
I wish everyone.
Not afraid of the midsummer sun, find a cool side.
Original title: "Do you know the custom and origin of Dragon Boat Festival?"
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