China's folk over the Dragon Boat Festival is more grand, the celebration of the activities are also very rich, from dawn in the morning, has been continued until the end of the noon. More common activities are the following forms:
1, dragon boat race
Dragon boat race, is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that it originated in ancient times in Chu because they could not bear to see the wise minister Qu Yuan throw himself into the river to die, many people rowed boats to catch up to save. They scrambled and chased to Dongting Lake when they disappeared. After that, they rowed dragon boats on May 5 every year to commemorate it. The dragon boat was used to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body. The practice of racing, prevalent in Wu, Yue, Chu.
In fact, "dragon boat racing" as early as the Warring States period. In the sound of drums, rowing a canoe carved into the shape of a dragon, to do racing games, to entertain the gods and people, is a half-religious, half-entertainment program in the rituals.
Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people around the world also put a different symbolism.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas of the dragon boat, both to commemorate the local birth of the modern female democratic revolutionaries Qiu Jin meaning. Night on the dragon boat, lights and colors, back and forth, water and underwater, the scene is moving, interesting. Miao people in Guizhou in the lunar calendar May 25-28 held "Dragon Boat Festival" to celebrate the victory of rice-planting and wishing a good harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots in the Water Festival Dragon Boat Race, to commemorate the ancient hero rock red nest. Different ethnic groups, different regions, paddle dragon boat legend is different. Until today in the south of the many near the rivers, lakes and seas of the region, the annual Dragon Boat Festival will be held in their own characteristics of the Dragon Boat Race activities.
Qing dynasty Qianlong twenty-ninth year (1736), Taiwan began to hold dragon boat racing. At that time, Taiwan's governor, Chiang Yuan-jun, hosted a friendly race at the Half Moon Pond of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Nowadays, dragon boat races are held in Taiwan every year on May 5th. In Hong Kong, races are also held.
In addition, rowing dragon boat has been introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. 1980, dragon boat racing is included in China's national sports competitions, and held annually, "Qu Yuan Cup" Dragon Boat Race. 1991 June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), in the second hometown of the Qu Yuan in Hunan City, China, Yueyang City, the first international dragon boat festival. International Dragon Boat Festival. Prior to the race, the "Dragon Head Festival" was held, which preserved the traditional rituals and injected new modern elements. The "dragon head" was carried into the Qu Zi Ancestral Hall, where the athletes "reddened" the dragon head (draped with a red sash), the officiating priest read out the sacrificial text, and the dragon head was "opened" (i.e. lighted). Then, participate in the sacrifice of the dragon of all personnel three bows, the dragon is carried to the Buro River, running to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in the race, fair and celebration, which was an unprecedented event. After that, Hunan will regularly organize the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat racing will be prevalent in the world.
2, Dragon Boat Festival food dumplings
Duanwu Festival to eat dumplings, which is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "corn", "tube dumplings". It has a long history, a variety of patterns.
According to records, as early as in the Spring and Autumn period, with Zizania leaves (wild rice leaves) wrapped in millet into a horn-shaped, called "corner of millet"; bamboo tube with rice sealed and baked, called "tube dumplings". The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to grass ash water soaked in millet, because the water contains alkali, with Mushroom leaves wrapped in millet into a quadrangular shape, cooked, became the Guangdong alkaline water dumplings.
Jin Dynasty, dumplings were officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, the package of raw materials in addition to glutinous rice, but also add the Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren, cooked zongzi called "Yi Zhi Zong". Zhou Zhou, "Yueyang customs and local records" recorded: "Commonly wrapped in millet with Aizome leaves, ...... cooked, and rotten, in the fifth of May to the summer solstice to eat, a zong, a millet." North and South Dynasty period, the emergence of mixed rice dumplings. Rice mixed with animal and poultry meat, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki beans, etc., more varieties. Zongzi also used as a gift for interaction.
The Tang Dynasty, rice dumplings, has been "white as jade", the shape of the cone, diamond-shaped. Japanese literature recorded in the "Tang dumplings". Song Dynasty, there has been "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruit into the dumplings. Poet Su Dongpo has "in the dumplings see prunes" poem. At this time also appeared with zongzi piled up into buildings, pavilions, wooden cars, cows and horses for the advertisement, indicating that the Song Dynasty to eat zongzi has been very fashionable. Yuan, Ming period, zongzi parcel material has changed from zongmu leaf for Ruo leaf, and later appeared with reed leaf package zongzi, additional material has appeared bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates, walnuts and so on, more colorful varieties.
The morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, families ate zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan, generally the day before the zongzi package, cooked at night, the morning to eat. The package of dumplings is mainly used by the river and pond side of the abundance of young reed leaves, there are also bamboo leaves, collectively referred to as dumplings. Zongzi traditional form for the triangle, generally named according to the flesh, wrapped in glutinous rice called rice zongzi, rice mixed with small beans called small bean zongzi, mixed with jujube called jujube zongzi; jujube zongzi resonance for the "early in the", so eat jujube zongzi of the most, intended to study the children eat can be early in the Scholar. In the past, the readers to participate in the day of the imperial examinations, the morning to eat jujube rice dumplings, to date, secondary school, university entrance exams in the morning, parents also want to do jujube rice dumplings to the candidates to eat.
Cooking rice dumplings in the pot must be boiled eggs, conditions and then cook some duck eggs, goose eggs, eat sweet rice dumplings dipped in sugar, and then eat eggs dipped in salt "pressure top". It is said to eat May end of the dumplings pot of hard-boiled eggs in the main summer does not give birth to sores; the dumplings pot of boiled duck eggs, goose eggs in the sun at noon and then eat, the whole summer does not have a headache.
Till today, every year at the beginning of May, the Chinese people have to dip glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, package zongzi, its color varieties are more varied. From the filling point of view, the north more packages of small jujube Beijing jujube zong; the south has bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolks and other fillings, which is represented by Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi. Eat zongzi custom, for thousands of years, in China prevailed, and spread to North Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
3, Pei Xiangbao
Duanwu Festival children Pei Xiangbao, the legend has the meaning of the evil spirits to drive away the plague, is actually used for the lapel head embellishment decoration. Incense capsule inside the cinnabar, andrographis, incense medicine, wrapped in silk cloth, fragrant, and then the five-color silk string buckle into a rope, for a variety of different shapes, knotted into a string, colorful, exquisite and lovely. ★ In some southern cities in China, young men and women also use scented pouches to express their love.
4, hanging moxa calamus
Folk proverb: "Qingming willow, Dragon Boat Festival moxa". In the Dragon Boat Festival, people put the insertion of moxa and calamus as one of the important content. Every family sweeps the court, with calamus, moxa inserted in the door eyebrow, hanging in the hall. And with calamus, moxa, pomegranate, garlic, dragon boat flower, made of human or tiger-shaped, known as Ai man, Ai tiger; made of wreaths, ornaments, beautiful and fragrant, women compete to wear, to drive away miasma.
Ai, also known as Ai, Artemisia absinthium. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oil. It produces a peculiar aroma, can drive flies, insects and ants, purify the air. In Chinese medicine, moxa is used as a medicine to regulate qi and blood, warm the uterus, and dispel cold and dampness. The leaves of moxa are processed into "moxa velvet", which is an important herb for moxibustion.
Calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long, narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oils, which are medicines for refreshing the mind, strengthening the bones and eliminating stagnation, and killing worms and sterilizing bacteria.
See, the ancients inserted the wormwood and calamus is a certain role in disease prevention. Dragon Boat Festival is also passed down from ancient times, "Health Festival", people in this day to clean the courtyard, hanging ai sticks, hanging calamus, sprinkle andrographis water, drink andrographis wine, and stir up turbid in addition to the corrosion, sterilization and disease prevention. These activities also reflect the fine tradition of the Chinese nation. Dragon Boat Festival on the mountains to pick medicine, is China's various nationalities **** the same custom.
5, hanging Zhong Kui statue
Zhong Kui catch ghosts, is the Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, the family is hanging Zhong Kui statue, used to suppress the house to drive away evil spirits. Tang Minghuang Kaiyuan, from the Lixan lecture martial arts back to the palace, malaria, dreaming of two ghosts, a small, small, small ghosts wearing red crotchless pants, steal Yang Guifei's scent bag and Minghuang's jade flute, around the temple and run. The big ghost is wearing a blue robe and hat, caught the little ghost, gouge out its eyes, swallowed. Ming Emperor asked, the big ghost said: my surname Zhong Kui, that is, the martial arts not first, would like to remove the demons for His Majesty, Ming Emperor woke up, malaria cured, so make the painter Wu Daozi, according to what I saw in the dream painted Zhong Kui to catch the ghosts of the portrait, the order of the world in the end of the Dragon Boat Festival, all posted to drive away the evil spirits.
6, hanging bags and tethered colorful silk
Ying Shao "Customs" recorded: "May 5, to colorful silk tie arm, the name of the long-life wisp, a renewed life wisp, a life of the Bing Zi Zeng, a five-color wisp, a Zhu Suo, and ghosts, the fate of the people do not disease plague.
Ancient China worshiped the five colors, to five colors for the auspicious color. Therefore, early in the morning of the festival, the adults in each family get up the first big thing is in the children's wrists, ankles, neck tethered to the five-color line. When tying the thread, children are forbidden to speak. The five-color line can not be arbitrarily broken or discarded, only in the first summer rain or the first bath, thrown into the river. It is said that children wearing the five-color thread can avoid the harm of snake and scorpion-type poisonous insects; throwing it into the river means letting the river wash away the plague and diseases, and children can thus preserve their health and well-being.
Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dreaming Records," Volume VIII recorded: Dragon Boat Festival objects, hundred of rope, mugwort, silver-like drums, flowers and cleverly painted fans, incense candy, dumplings small, white balls. Perilla, calamus, papaya, and all velvet cut, to incense and medicine, with plum red box wrapped. Since the first of May and the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, selling peaches, willow, sunflower, cattail leaves, Fudao Ai. The next day, every family spread at the door, with five-color water ball, tea and wine offerings. The next day, all the houses spread out the flowers on the doorsteps and offered them with five-colored water balls, tea and wine.
Chen Shiliang's "Years and Seasons" quoted in "Miscellaneous Records of Years and Seasons" mentions a kind of "Duanwu to red and white coloring such as a bag, with colorful threads, twitching to make the shape of a flower, or with or nailed to the door, in order to avoid the red mouth and white tongue, and is also called twitching money". As well as another "mussel powder bells": "the fifth day of the end of the mussel powder in the silk, decorated with sheep, such as a number of beads. So that the children to bring to absorb sweat." The contents of these portable bags have changed several times, from the clam powder to absorb sweat, to drive away evil spirits, copper coins, andrographis powder to ward off insects, developed into a spice-filled scented pouches, the production is also becoming more and more sophisticated, and became the Dragon Boat Festival unique folk art.
Similarly, there is drinking xionghuang wine: this custom, in the Yangtze River Basin area of the family is very popular. Swimming hundred diseases: this custom, prevalent in the Guizhou region of the Dragon Boat Festival