The ancients thought that the Dragon Boat Festival was full of yang, and calamus and wormwood flourished, which had the function of ward off evil spirits and preventing mosquitoes. Therefore, there was a custom of hanging calamus or wormwood on the door, so the Dragon Boat Festival was also called the Acorus Festival. The exorcism items such as mugwort leaves are collected when climbing mountains. When climbing mountains, you can overlook and remember your ancestors.
As far as I know, in Jiande, Zhuhai, Liaoning and Shenyang, there is a custom of climbing mountains during the Dragon Boat Festival.
In addition, there will be the custom of traveling on the Dragon Boat Festival in the area north of the Yellow River. Generally, they go for an outing in the suburbs, and they don't have time to climb mountains at work, so many people use their holidays to climb mountains. Because of geographical latitude, spring and summer in the north come later than in the south. When the Dragon Boat Festival is very hot in the south of the Yellow River, it is relatively cool in the north of the Yellow River, especially in the northeast and Inner Mongolia. Going out to play is very suitable for climbing mountains and playing with water. Everyone just took advantage of the holiday to climb mountains together.
Dragon boat climbing festival is related to white snake.
Legend has it that White Snake stole money from Qiantang County and opened a pharmacy for Xu Xian, which was strictly investigated by the government. So she and Xu Xian took Xiaoqing back to Qiantang River and went to Jiande, Sanjiangkou, where they opened a pharmacy and settled down. One spring, a plague of children occurred in Jiande area, which was difficult to cure. She is determined to venture to Mount Emei with Xiaoqing to steal Ganoderma lucidum and Xiancao, so as to save a child's pain. They stole Emei Mountain and got the fairy grass, but they were warned that they were only allowed to use it and not to plant it privately, otherwise they would be in big trouble if they violated the dogma.
In order to prevent the plague from happening again, the white snake taught the people all over the world the practice of fairy grass. However, the news finally reached heaven. The Jade Emperor was very angry when he learned about it. He sent heavenly soldiers to catch her and nailed her under the south tower. Because the white snake was killed on the Dragon Boat Festival, every year on the Dragon Boat Festival, children climb Nanfeng Peak and visit the savior at Nanfeng Tower. Over time, a unique mountain climbing custom in Duanyang has been formed.
Every Dragon Boat Festival, children will wear brand-new clothes, sachets woven with colorful silk thread, old ling (diamond ornaments) hanging around their necks and the word "king" painted in realgar on their foreheads. Under the leadership of their parents, they took the creaking ferry from the South Gate Pier, climbed the Nanfeng on the other side, worshipped Guanyin in Tianning Temple, and then went to the tower. The elders will tell them the story of the white snake and pass it on from generation to generation.
The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival is our traditional cultural festival with a long history. People celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in a grand way, and the activities to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival are also varied, and each place is very different. Let's look at other customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Dragon boat race:
This is the main custom of the 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.
Eat zongzi:
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. At the beginning of May every year, every household in China should soak glutinous rice, wash the leaves of zongzi 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.
Pei Xiang Bao:
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.
Acorus calamus:
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.
Dragon Boat Festival is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, there are many nicknames for the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: Noon Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Magnolia Festival, Daughter's Day, Tianzhong Festival, Dila Festival, Poet's Day and Dragon Boat Festival. Although the names are different, on the whole, the customs of people everywhere are more similar than different.