Dragon Boat Festival customs across the country

[Hebei Province]

Beiping avoids digging wells during the Dragon Boat Festival and often draws water from wells before the festival. It is said that it is to avoid Well poison. Market vendors also sell cherry mulberries during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that if you eat cherries and mulberries during the Dragon Boat Festival, you will not eat flies all year round. Each restaurant sells "Five Poison Cake", which is a cake decorated with five kinds of poisonous insect patterns. The married men and women in Luan County give gifts to each other during the Dragon Boat Festival. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhao County, local officials will hold a gathering in the south of the city and invite the city's sergeants and officials to have a banquet and compose poems, which is called "Stepping on the Willows".

[Shandong Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zouping County, everyone needs to drink a glass of wine when they get up early. Legend has it that it can ward off evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Rizhao, children are tied with seven-colored threads and have to wear them until it rains for the first time after the festival before taking them off and throwing them into the rain. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Linqing County, boys under the age of seven wear talismans (necklaces made of wheat straw), and girls wear pomegranate flowers. They also wear yellow shoes made by their mother, with five kinds of poisonous insects painted on the shoes with a brush. It means using Qu Yuan's ink to kill five kinds of poisonous insects. Jimo washes his face with dew on the morning of Dragon Boat Festival.

[Shanxi Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiezhou, men and women wear mugwort leaves, which is called "removing diseases", while young children tie a hundred ropes around their necks. It is said that this is "to bind Qu Yuan." Dragon". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xizhou, every village worships the Dragon King and hangs paper in the fields. The Dragon Boat Festival in Huairen County is also known as "Zhumen". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Dingxiang County, students need to give gifts to their teachers. In Lu'an Prefecture, steamed wheat flour dumplings are called "white dumplings" and are given together with rice dumplings as gifts.

[Shaanxi Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xing'an Prefecture, local officials led their staff to watch the boat race, which was called "stepping on the stones". Xingping County Dragon Boat Festival uses silk to sew small horns of millet, and then sews a small doll on the bottom, which is called "playing doll". In Tongguan County, pu moxa and paper cows are posted on the door during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is called "disease control".

[Gansu Province]

Jingning Prefecture picks roses during the Dragon Boat Festival and pickles them with honey. Zhenyuan County presents newlyweds with incense fans, Luoqi, kerchiefs and moxa tigers during the Dragon Boat Festival. The children also invite their father and brothers to a banquet with their teachers, which is called "Festival of Enjoyment". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Zhang County, shepherd boys worship the mountain gods. The firewood mounds are burned before the rooster crows, which is commonly known as "burning the mountains".

[Jiangsu Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiading County, everyone, rich or poor, must buy totoaba (commonly known as catfish) and cook it. There is also a proverb in Yizheng County: "Put your pants on, buy yellow croaker". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanjing, every family takes a box of water, adds a little realgar, and two goose-eye coins. The whole family uses this water to wash their eyes, which is called "breaking fire eyes". It is said that it can protect the eyes from eye diseases for a year. There is a night dragon boat show in Wujin. At night, small lanterns are hung around the dragon boat to race, and there are flutes and drums singing in harmony.

[Sichuan Province]

There is a custom of "coming out of the Dragon Boat Festival" on stone pillars. Four people use two bamboo poles to lift a large square table covered with a red carpet. On the blanket, a Taoist priest riding a tiger is woven from bamboo strips. Beating gongs and drums, marching in the streets. In the old days, there was also the custom of "typing" on the Dragon Boat Festival in western Sichuan. On that day, everyone in Chengdu bought plums and threw them up and down under the tower in the southeast corner of the city. Tens of thousands of people gathered to watch. In the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), there was a conflict with foreign missionaries due to throwing Li, and this custom was discontinued. During the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat races in Leshan, Xinjin and other places, grand commodity fairs are also held.

[Xijiang Province]

School children in rural schools in Tonglu County pay tribute to their teachers during the Dragon Boat Festival and call them "clothing silk". Doctors collect medicine at noon. According to legend, the Heavenly Medicine Star appears in the sky on this day.

[Jiangxi Province]

On the Wu Festival in Jianchang Prefecture, Baicao water is used to bathe to prevent scabies. Xinchang County drinks it with realgar and cinnabar wine, which is called "eye-opening".

[Hubei Province]

Bahe Town in Huanggang County welcomes Nuo people during the Dragon Boat Festival, with flower crown tattoos and gold medals to ward off epidemics. The Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang County is particularly popular on May 13th, 14th and 15th. The fifteenth day of the fifth lunar month is also called the "Duanyang Festival". Zongzi is eaten and Pujiu is drunk, just like the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Hunan Province]

During the Dragon Boat Festival in You County, pregnant women are served with flower coins and wine by the rich, while the poor prepare chicken wine and put money in bamboo clips in front of the dragon head in the dragon boat. Pray for a safe delivery. Yuezhou Prefecture races to avoid disasters and diseases. It is also used as a straw boat to flood, which is called "sending plague".

[Fujian Province]

It is an old custom in Fuzhou during the Dragon Boat Festival that the daughter-in-law presents her parents-in-law with shrouds, shoes and socks, rice dumplings, and fans. In Jianyang County, the fifth day is the day when the king of medicines dry their medicine bags, and everyone makes sauce on this day. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shanghang County, people use small boats tied with reeds to make dragon shapes and play on the waterside, which is called racing. After the Dragon Boat Festival race in Xianyou County, paper was presented at Huxiao Pond to commemorate the death of Qi Jiguang, who was drowned by soldiers in the Gui Year of Jiajing. Before the Dragon Boat Festival in Shaowu Mansion, women use crimson yarn as bags to hold talismans. It is also made of five-color velvet, connected with colorful threads, and tied to the hairpin. The young girl is hung on the back and is called "Dou Niang".

[Guangdong Province]

In Conghua County, people wash their eyes with burning talisman water at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival and then splash it on the road, which is called "bringing disaster". During the Dragon Boat Festival in Xinxing County, people from nearby temples advocated the parade of gods and goddesses. The wizard also uses dharma water and amulets to drive away evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival in Shicheng County, children fly kites, which is called "flying disaster".

(Taiwan Province)

Taiwan is located in the subtropics. Most of the early immigrants from the mainland were unable to adapt to the climate here. It is common to hear of people dying of miasma and epidemics. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival, a festival whose basic spirit is to ward off diseases and avoid epidemics, is particularly important.

The Dragon Boat Festival customs in the pre-Qing Dynasty can be represented by the description in the appendix of Volume 3 of Wang Yingzeng's "Rebuilding Fengshan County Chronicles" (1764): In the early morning of May 5th, a bunch of rice stalks were burned. , smoke it in the corner of the room, send it to the roadside with Chu money, and send mosquitoes away on a famous day.

The lintel of the door is hung with mugwort and millet, which is said to be able to avoid mosquitoes and gnats; a branch of banyan tree is said to be old and healthy. They gave each other watermelon and corn millet as gifts. Those who are good at it use money or cloth as a mark in the shallow part of the sea, and they compete like fishermen to grab it. The winner sounds gongs and cheers, and fights with dragon boats on the sun. At noon, five knots are tied for the children, one for the left wrist of the male and one for the right wrist of the female, which are named Sun God Lian.

There is another folk belief that moxa and ficus can make the body strong. As the saying goes, "Planting a banyan tree makes a brave dragon, and planting a moxa tree makes a brave and healthy person." Students in private schools usually send red envelopes to their husbands as a thank you gift during the Dragon Boat Festival, and their husbands give a fan as a gift in return.

Suzuki Seiichiro's "Taiwan's Old Customary Wedding and Funeral Ceremony Mid-year Practices" (1934) records that families during the mourning period do not make rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, but give them to relatives and friends, which is called "Send Festival". The bereaved family gives candy as a return gift. Farmers put gold paper called "Fujin" on bamboo poles and insert it between them. It is said that it can prevent damage and achieve a good harvest. In some places, there is a custom of making "salty tea" during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is to pickle perilla leaves and pomegranate leaves with salt. It is said that it can be used as medicinal tea to remove all poisonous gases.

In Jiadong Township, Pingtung County during the Japanese colonial period, there was also the custom of stone fighting on the Dragon Boat Festival. Stone fighting has been popular in the Jiadong area for hundreds of years. Every year, a few days before the Dragon Boat Festival, everyone gears up to prepare for a tough battle. Shizhan is based on villages, organized like an army, and has positions such as chief of staff. The organization is like an army, with positions such as chief of staff. Men throw stones at the "front line". Women were responsible for transporting stones at the rear. When the situation is full of tears, it often causes casualties. The victorious party can go to the defeated village to eat and drink. The defeated villagers fled. If unfortunately they are captured by the other party, they will be forced to take off their pants and humiliated in public. This peculiar custom is said to ensure good luck throughout the year, so Jiadong people enjoy it. However, because stone fighting often caused serious casualties and was repeatedly banned by local governments, it gradually declined at the end of the Japanese occupation.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household still has the custom of drinking "noon water". Wushi water refers to the well water that is pumped in at noon during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that the water used to make tea and wine at noon is particularly fragrant, and drinking it raw can even have miraculous effects in curing diseases. There is a proverb that says: "If you wash your eyes at noon, you will be as bright as a crow." Another saying is, "Drink a mouthful of water at noon, and it is best to take tonics for three years." The most legendary midday water comes from the Jianjing on Anvil Mountain in Dajia Town. Legend has it that the well was the place where Zheng Chenggong inserted his sword to pray for the spring. Since then, it has been said that Jiuzhen Mountain is rich in various elixirs and fairy grass. Therefore, the efficacy of the noon water in the Jianjing has been said to be extremely miraculous. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, people fighting for the noon water next to the Jianjing are always so tightly packed that there is no ventilation. It is said that if you look carefully into the well at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, you can still see the shadow of Zheng Chenggong. And those who see the shadow of the sword will definitely have no disasters this year.

Dragon boat rowing is called "dragon boat" in Taiwan. According to "Folk Customs in Taiwan" Volume 1, No. 6, the Dragon Boat Festival customs in Shilin during the Japanese occupation are as follows: starting from the beginning of May, people first go to the waterside to "welcome the water god." At noon on the fifth day of the lunar month, gongs and drums are beaten and the dragon boat is carried to the river bank. Residents burn incense and worship along the way. As the saying goes: "On May 5th, dragon boats and drums fill the streets." To express welcome, it is called a "solitary boat". If you beat the dragon, you have to "send water to the god" on the tenth day of the lunar month and hold a ceremony of "thanking the river".

In Toudian, Nantun, Taichung, since the mid-Qing Dynasty, there has been a custom of wearing wood to wake up pangolins after the beginning of spring. After the liberation, this custom was held every year during the Duanshi Festival. The Litou Store was the most prosperous area in Taichung during the Qing Dynasty. It is said that this was because the area was located in the Chuan Qijia cave. Therefore, local residents put on wooden clogs and stomp on the ground every Dragon Boat Festival, hoping to wake up the pangolins with loud noises. Currently, this custom has been transformed into a fun competition. A team of four people form a team and race around wearing two long wooden clogs. The sound of Kaka's clogs indeed awakened the nostalgic mood of the residents of Plowshare Store.

In terms of festival food customs, Taiwanese folklore says that eating peaches, eggplants and kidney beans during the Dragon Boat Festival can keep you healthy and grow longer. As the saying goes: "Eat eggplants until they shake, eat beans until you grow old." There are two methods of making Taiwanese rice dumplings: Northern and Southern. The northern method is to soak the rice in water, drain it and fry it in oil until fragrant, and add seasonings such as five-spice powder, pepper, soy sauce, etc. The rice is steamed and then wrapped in bamboo leaves and stuffed to make it delicious again. Some people also recommend frying the rice grains in oil until half-cooked, wrapping the fillings in them and steaming them. The southern method is to soak pure white glutinous rice, add meat fillings, wrap it in green bamboo leaves, and boil it until cooked. Because the production methods are different, the zongzi in the north and the south also have different flavors. The rice dumplings from the north have a strong flavor of five-spice pepper, while the meat rice dumplings from the south have a light bamboo leaf flavor, each with its own characteristics. The ingredients include pork, mushrooms, dried shrimps, peanuts, salted egg yolks, shallots, chestnuts, dried oysters, etc. You can add more according to personal preference.

Hakkas in the Miaoli area also eat eggplant, long beans, peaches and plums during the Dragon Boat Festival. But the meaning of these foods is different from that of southerners. Eating plums certainly means taking advantage of them, and eating plums symbolizes the reproduction of offspring. Some people also think that it can prevent heatstroke. Eating long beans is to avoid being bitten by snakes (because long beans are shaped like snakes). Eating eggplant can prevent mosquito bites.

Hakka rice dumplings are also divided into alkaline rice dumplings and salty rice dumplings. Alkaline rice dumplings are especially used for sacrifices. When celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival, the Hakka people must prepare four pieces of wine, one to worship the Earth God, one to worship Wanshan Ye, and one to worship the nearby big temple. The alkali rice dumplings are an indispensable sacrifice. Salty rice dumplings are divided into two types: rice rice dumplings and rice dumplings (粲) rice dumplings, which are purely used to satisfy cravings.

Reference materials: /Doc/0506/0723839.htm