On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon heads up, which is a traditional folk festival in China, also known as the "Dragon Head Festival". On this day, men, women and children go to barbershops for haircuts. And? Now, let me introduce it to you. Welcome to read it.

The reason why the dragon looks up for a haircut:

"On February 2nd, the dragon looks up and every man shaves the tap". In the old days, there was a saying in Huai 'an that "people have money but no money, and they shave their heads for the New Year". It's been more than a month before the Spring Festival, and it's time to get a haircut. On February 2nd, the dragon raised its head, which was a lucky day. After a long time, it formed the custom of shaving on February 2nd. "On February 2nd, the dragon heads up, and every child shaves his head" is also the reason. In order to get lucky, the word "dragon" is added in the middle of the haircut, which is called "dragon head shaving" to distinguish it from other times' haircuts, and some girls choose this day to get their ears pierced. In addition, parents choose this day to send their children to study.

The past of shaving:

In ancient times, people paid great attention to how to treat their hair.

The Book of Filial Piety, which is said to be written by Confucius, says: "The parents who suffer from the skin of the body dare not damage it, and filial piety begins."

Therefore, some people think that in ancient times, ordinary Han people only combed their hair without cutting it, let alone shaving their heads.

However, Li Ya, an associate professor in the Department of Stage Art of Shanghai Theatre Academy, pointed out in her book "Decorations of China in Past Dynasties" that from the unearthed cultural relics, the hairstyle of primitive society can be described as "hair cutting, hair hanging, hair binding and hair distinguishing". Judging from the unearthed cultural relics, in the Shang Dynasty, the hairstyle has not yet formed a system. Although men mostly distinguish hair, it is not uncommon to see the image of broken hair and bundled hair. By the Zhou dynasty, a complete system of crown and clothing had been produced, and the hairstyle had also been customized. Therefore, the hair-tied bun became the most common hairstyle in ancient China, and it lasted for thousands of years in China.

why is this day a "haircut day"?

On the second day of the second lunar month, spring returns to the earth, which is the season for planting crops, and the earth is eager for rain. In China culture, the dragon is the auspicious thing that dominates the wind and rain. As the saying goes, it doesn't rain if the dragon doesn't look up, so the dragon looks up as a symbol of recovery and auspiciousness. In folk customs, people choose to shave their heads on this day in order to expect the auspicious omen of lucky strike.

besides being lucky, there are also taboo reasons. Mr. Liu, a Harbin native who works in a barbershop in Shanghai, said that he used to work in the hairdressing industry in Beijing, Hebei and other places. There was a custom of not shaving his head in the first month, so the business at the end of the twelfth month was extremely hot, and employees were busy from morning till night. There were very few guests in the first month. Some bosses simply gave employees a holiday and closed their doors. As soon as the first month came out, especially on the second day of February, the guests were full. However, when he came to Shanghai, he found that the changes of passenger flow around the year before and after were not as different as one cold and one hot.

With regard to haircuts, the saying that "my uncle died in the first month of the month" is widely circulated in northern areas. This is actually a misinformation. "Dead Uncle" is a homonym of "homesickness". In the early Qing Dynasty, * * missed the Ming Dynasty by not shaving his head in the first month, but did not dare to openly confront Qing * * who issued the "haircut order", so the above statement was made. According to the reporter's understanding, people in the north don't shave their heads in the first month, and most of them are afraid of "death". People without uncles don't have such scruples, but with the development of society, the number of people who shave their heads in the first month is also increasing.

There is no saying in Shanghai that people don't shave their heads in the first month. Just to welcome the new year, most people will choose to have their hair cut at the end of the twelfth lunar month, which will obviously reduce the number of people who have their hair cut in the first month, but there is no restriction that they can't have their hair cut in the first month.

Other customs of dragons raising their heads:

"On February 2nd, every family picks up their daughters". In the old days, in the first month, the bride didn't come back, the daughter-in-law didn't leave her family, and there was no room in the first month. At the same time, there is also a superstition that "a married daughter can't look at her parents' lights in the first month, but her parents' lights kill her father-in-law", so a daughter married in the first month is not allowed to go back to her parents' house. For more than a month, the girl missed her mother, and the mother missed her, so on February 2, it was not only the first month, but also an auspicious day, so all families took their daughters back to their parents' homes.

"On February 2nd, look at the beams, scorpions and clams have nowhere to hide". On this day, candles left over from the Chinese New Year's sacrifice were lit to shine on the beams and walls to drive out pests. In addition, on this day, the children knocked the ladle dry with chopsticks and said, "February 2, knock the ladle fork, and nine mice are blind." Knock on a small wine cup with chopsticks and say, "On February 2nd, knock on a small wine cup, and ten nests of mice are empty" to drive away rats and kill them. Write a list of "On February 2nd, the insects and ants went straight to the ground" with white paper, in which "The insects and ants went straight to the ground" should be inverted and then pasted on the legs of the table or bed to avoid insects and ants.

"On February 2nd, the dragon looks up, the big hoard is full, and the small hoard flows". It is another folk custom to draw grain depots or granaries with blue ash, or to draw circles of different sizes in front of the door, symbolizing that the big circle meets the small circle and praying for a bumper harvest.

On February 2nd, some people eat rice crust on New Year's Eve and women are forbidden to use needle and thread. It is said that when the dragon looks up, it will hurt its eyes by sewing.

February 2nd, according to legend, is the birthday of the land father-in-law, which is called "Land Birthday". In order to "warm the life" of the land father-in-law, in some places, there is a custom of holding a "land party": every family pooled their money to celebrate the birthday of the land god, went to the land temple to burn incense and sacrifice, knocked gongs and drums and set off firecrackers, which gradually faded after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Food customs:

Ordinary people eat noodles, spring cakes, popcorn, pig's head meat, etc. Different regions have different foods, but most of them are related to dragons. Generally, the names of foods are added with the title of "dragon", such as eating dumplings as "dragon ears"; Eating spring cakes is called eating "Long Lin"; Eating noodles is called eating "dragon beard"; Eating rice is called eating "dragon son"; Eating wonton is called eating "longan"

1. Eat mustard rice

Eating mustard rice on the second day of the second lunar month is a popular custom among Wenzhou people, and there is a saying that eating mustard rice will not cause scabies. In the old days, ordinary people lived in poverty, and their health awareness was weak. Coupled with the lack of medical care and medicine, there were many patients with panel diseases such as scabies, and they were easily infected. Mustard contains a lot of chlorophyll and vitamin C. Eating vegetables rich in chlorophyll and vitamin C often can improve the immunity and enhance the resistance, which is good for people's panels. Therefore, there is a saying that "eating mustard rice does not produce scabies".

It is said that this custom has an interesting legend. One day, Emperor Qianlong visited a farmer's home in southern Zhejiang, and found a young man, Zhang, who had read a lot of poetry books, unable to go to Beijing to take the exam because of his poor family, so he had to study hard at home. Zhang was hospitable and invited Emperor Qianlong to have a light meal. Just as he was preparing to cook, Zhang found that there was not enough rice in the rice jar and there was no food. Zhang had a brainwave, and the plan came to mind. Tell his wife to prepare to fire first, and go out from the back door to the garden to peel a handful of green and tender mustard, add some seasoning and cook a pot of mustard rice with white in it. Emperor Qianlong used to eat delicacies and seafood, and by noon, he was already hungry. When he smelled this fragrant mustard rice, his appetite increased greatly, and he ate it with relish and praised it. He even asked how to cook this green rice with white inside. Zhang's wife replied, "This is called mustard rice, and it won't cause scabies if eaten."

This day happened to be the second day of the second lunar month, and the custom of eating mustard rice on the second day of the second lunar month was handed down from then on.

2. Eating Spring Cake

Eating Spring Cake is called "Eating Long Lin". A spring cake bigger than the palm of your hand is like a piece of Long Lin. Spring cakes are tough and contain many dishes. Such as sauce meat, elbow, smoked chicken, sauce duck, etc., are cut into filaments with a knife, mixed with several kinds of home-cooked stir-fried dishes, such as stir-fried leek sprouts with shredded pork, stir-fried spinach with shredded pork, green bean sprouts cooked with vinegar, vegetarian fried vermicelli, spread eggs, etc., and rolled into spring cakes, dipped in shredded onion and noodles sauce with sesame oil, which is really delicious and refreshing. When eating spring cakes, the whole family sits around, puts the baked spring cakes in the steamer, and takes them as you eat them. It's hot and happy.

3. Eat pig's head meat

It is also said that pig's head meat is eaten on the second day of February. Since ancient times, pigs, cattle and sheep have always been used to worship the gods, and later it was simplified to the head of the three animals, and the pig head is one of them. According to a story recorded in "Notes on Qiuchi" in the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhongling was very hungry after pacifying Bashu, so he broke into a small village temple, but he met a drunken monk. Wang Zhongling was furious and wanted to cut it, but he didn't know that the monk was scared at all. Wang Zhongling was very surprised and turned to him for food. Soon the monk presented a plate of "steamed pig's head" and wrote a poem for this: "The monk said, When steaming, the banana leaves have been wrapped, and when ripe, apricot paddles are used for watering. Red, fresh and elegant, is called Jin Panting, and ripe and soft is really as good as jade. If there are no hairy roots to compare, the felt roots will eat rattan. " Wang Zhongling ate steamed pig's head and was very happy to listen to the funny and unique "pig's head poem", so he named the monk "Purple Clothes Master". It seems that the pig's head is really a delicacy, and it is also an auspicious symbol of turning the corner. Nowadays, there is a famous dish called "Grilled Pig Face", which can be served on the table after twelve steps, such as selecting ingredients, cleaning, spraying and baking, soaking and making sauce, and cooking for more than ten hours. There are three kinds of "grilled pig face", one is to eat it in its original flavor; The second is to eat with sauce; The third is to roll pancakes to eat. Every way of eating has a different taste. "Grilled pig's face" is fat but not greasy, the meat and bones are separated, and it is delicious, which brings beauty and brain-strengthening effects to modern people. "February 2nd" eats modern "pork face" and recalls the ancient dining history, which is really a perfect experience of blending contemporary and history.