The folk customs of Jingzhe include covering drum skins, "beating villains" to drive away bad luck, and sacrificing white tigers to resolve disputes.

1. Covering the drum skin

Jingzhe is caused by thunder. As the God of the Nine Heavens, the God of Thunder has a high status. The ancients imagined that the God of Thunder was a great god with a bird's beak and wings. He held a hammer in one hand and struck many heavenly drums surrounding him with the other hand, making a rumble of thunder to shake the world. So in the past There is a custom of worshiping the God of Thunder on the Jingzhe Day. On the day of Jingzhe, thunder gods beat the drums in heaven, and humans also use this opportunity to beat the drum skin.

2. "Hitting villains" to drive away bad luck

The Waking of Insects symbolizes the beginning of February. A thunderous sound wakes up all hibernating snakes, insects, rats, ants, and reptiles and ants in the home. They will rise up again in response to the sound and look for food everywhere.

So in ancient times, on the day of the Waking of Insects, people would hold scented incense and mugwort to smoke the four corners of their homes to drive away snakes, insects, mosquitoes, rats and musty smells. Over time, it gradually evolved into the habit of slapping enemies and driving away bad luck when things don't go your way, which is the predecessor of "beating the villain".

3. Sacrificing white tigers to resolve disputes

In Guangdong, there is a folk custom of "sacrifice white tigers to resolve disputes" during Jingzhe. It is said that the white tiger is the god of speech and will come out to look for food on this day every year and will bite people with its mouth.

The so-called white tiger sacrifice refers to a white tiger drawn on paper for worship. The paper tiger is usually yellow with black markings, and has a pair of fangs painted on the corner of the mouth. When worshiping, it is necessary to feed it with fat pig blood so that it will no longer hurt others with its mouth after it is full. Then, raw pork is smeared on the mouth of the paper tiger to make it full of oil and water, so that it cannot open its mouth to talk about people's right and wrong.

Characteristics of solar terms

Jingzhe Jingzhe is the third solar term among the 24 solar terms, which is celebrated on March 5 or 6 of the Gregorian calendar every year. Jingzhe means that when the weather gets warmer and spring thunder begins to roar, insects hibernating underground are awakened. Hiding means hiding. In fact, insects cannot hear thunder. The return of spring to the earth and the warming of the weather are the reasons why they end hibernation and "run away in shock."

During the Waking of Insects season, all kinds of stinging insects start to move due to their senses. Spring thunder strikes, rain increases, and the temperature rises. All things are full of vitality. It is a good time for all things to grow. All kinds of crops can be planted. . The temperature has risen rapidly after the hibernation, and spring thunder has begun to appear in most areas south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Except for some special years in northwestern North China, thunder generally does not occur until the Tomb Sweeping Day.

As the solar term with the fastest temperature rise throughout the year, the average temperature in most parts of northern my country has risen above 0℃, except for the northeastern and northwest regions, which are still covered in silver makeup. The average daily temperature is 3 to 6°C, and it is above 8°C in the areas along the Yangtze River and south of the Yangtze River.

In the southwest and southern China, the temperature has reached above 10 to 15°C. It is already a warm spring, and the sunshine hours have also increased significantly.