Another Dragon Boat Festival has arrived. With full curiosity, my classmates and I began to explore the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival in my hometown carefully. After a period of searching, the harvest is really not small.

First, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

In memory of Qu Yuan

This theory was first recorded by Wu Jun in the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty and the Chronicle of the Age of Jingchu in the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May. After his death, he was trapped by the dragon, and the world mourned it. Every day, he threw five-color silk zongzi into the water to drive the dragon away. It is also said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, the local people immediately rowed for rescue and went all the way to Dongting Lake, but Qu Yuan's body was not found. At that time, it was rainy, and the boats on the lake gathered together beside the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that it was to salvage the virtuous minister, Dr. Qu, they went out in the rain again and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to mourn, people rowed on the rivers, and then it gradually developed into a dragon boat race. It seems that eating zongzi and racing dragon boats on the Dragon Boat Festival are related to commemorating Qu Yuan, as evidenced by Wen Xiu's poem "Dragon Boat Festival" in the Tang Dynasty: "The festival is divided into the Dragon Boat Festival, and it is rumored that it is Qu Yuan. It' s ridiculous that the Chu River is empty and can' t be washed straight. "

The theory of meeting the Tao gods

This theory comes from the Eastern Han Dynasty's Cao E Monument. In the Spring and Autumn Period, after Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of the State of Wu, died unjustly, he became a Taoshen, and the world mourned and sacrificed it, so there was the Dragon Boat Festival.

evil day theory.

According to Historical Records, Tian Wen of Meng Changjun was born on the fifth day of May, and his father told his mother to abandon Tian Wen on the grounds that the child born on this day would kill his father. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is also a saying in "Tongyi Customs" that "a child is born on May 5, and the male harms the father and the female harms the mother". Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May, and his grandfather named him "Zhen Evil". Zhao Ji, Song Huizong was born on the fifth day of May, and was fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that it is a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day in ancient times. In this way, it is logical to insert Acorus calamus and Folium Artemisiae Argyi to exorcise ghosts, fumigate Rhizoma Atractylodis, Radix Angelicae Dahuricae and drink realgar wine to avoid epidemic on this day.

dragon festival theory.

This statement comes from Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education. He believes that the fifth day of May is an ancient stay; The day when the "Dragon" tribes in Vietnam held totem sacrifices. The main reasons are: Eating zongzi and racing are the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, both of which are related to dragons. Zongzi is often stolen by mosquitoes and dragons when it is thrown into the water, while dragon boats are used in the race. Second, the relationship between race crossing and ancient wuyue is particularly deep. Besides, the people in wuyue and continuously tattoo have the custom of "looking like a dragon". Third, there was a folk custom of "tying arms with colorful silk" on the fifth day of May in ancient times, which should be a relic of the tattoo custom of "like a dragon".

the summer solstice says.

Liu Deqian, who holds this view, put forward three main reasons in Yan 'an Dragon Boat Festival and Interesting Talk about Traditional Festivals in China: First, the authoritative book Jingchu Sui Ji did not mention the festival custom of eating zongzi on the fifth day of May, but wrote it in the summer solstice festival. As for Jingdu, the Jade Candle Collection written by Du Taiqing in the Sui Dynasty classified it as an entertainment activity on the summer solstice, which shows that it is not necessarily to salvage Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river. Second, some contents in the custom of Dragon Boat Festival, such as "stepping on a hundred herbs", "fighting a hundred herbs" and "collecting miscellaneous medicines", have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. When I was three years old, the first explanation of the Dragon Boat Festival was: "The sun is shining, and the Dragon Boat Festival is in the middle of summer, so it can also be called the Mid-Day Festival. Therefore, the earliest origin of the midday festival is the summer solstice.

Second, the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival can be regarded as different opinions, and the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are even more. In Nanyang, the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival now mainly include: inserting mugwort leaves, boiling eggs, eating zongzi, wearing sachets and wearing five-color lines.

insert mugwort leaves

before the Dragon Boat Festival, adults are bound to pick back a handful of mugwort. Take out a few and insert them on both sides of the lintel. It's a custom. It's said that wormwood represents a blessing, and sticking it at the door can keep you healthy.

Eat garlic and eggs

In Nanyang, every Dragon Boat Festival, housewives get up very early and cook garlic and eggs prepared in advance for breakfast. Eating garlic, eggs and fried dough sticks for breakfast is said to avoid the "five poisons" and is good for health.

eat zongzi

at the beginning of may every year, every family has to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, with more varieties of colors. From the perspective of stuffing, most of them are made of glutinous rice, peanuts and red dates; In recent years, with the development of economy and the improvement of living standards, the varieties of zongzi are constantly enriched, including bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolk and other fillings. The custom of eating zongzi has been popular in China for thousands of years, and spread to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

wearing sachets

Children wear sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to mean to ward off evil spirits and drive away plague. In the past, sachets were decorated with dried garlic. The sachet contains cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine, wrapped with silk cloth, which is full of fragrance, and then tied with five-color silk threads to form a rope, making a string of different shapes, all kinds of exquisite and lovely. These sachets not only have lasting fragrance, but also can dispel the sweat and body odor, drive away the pests around them, eliminate diseases and refresh the spirit. However, in recent years, the production of sachets is very exquisite, and there are few single shapes made of dried garlic. The materials are more exquisite and the styles are increasingly refurbished. There are not only various designs such as the zodiac, but also various styles with strong flavor of the times such as the Olympic Fuwa, which is really dazzling.

wearing a five-color line

In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, and they were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines around their children's wrists, ankles and necks. When tying the thread, it is forbidden for children to speak. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during a heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color lines can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river means letting the river wash away plagues and diseases, so that children can be safe and healthy.

However, with the improvement of living standards, it seems that today's teenagers can't feel the special excitement of the Dragon Boat Festival. According to their grandparents, it was the most exciting time for them to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in the past. They could not only eat eggs that they didn't usually eat, but also bring colorful lines and fragrant sachets. In addition, there are some special activities that interest them endlessly. First, soak the leaves in water: on the night before the Dragon Boat Festival, adults will put a basin of clear water outdoors, and then let the children pick all kinds of fruit tree leaves everywhere, at least five kinds of pomegranate leaves, apple leaves and walnut leaves, and then come back to wash and soak a big basin in the washbasin, looking at it and smelling it to moisten the lungs, so as to prepare for washing their faces the next morning. Old people say that washing with this kind of water will not cause sores in summer, and the effect should be better than the current incense bath. Some people get up early. Before the sun rises, come to the grass, take off your clothes, roll on the wet grass, let the dew cover your whole body, or simply jump into the river and take a bath, saying it is good for your health. Secondly, drink realgar wine: realgar is a kind of red and yellow powder, which also has the effect of expelling poison. First, put a small packet of red realgar flour in a small bowl, and then pour in white wine. Stir with chopsticks, and the wine will become red and yellow. After the chopsticks are taken out, the wine is still turning, and adults and wine will eat it. Children let adults use realgar in wine bowls to rub it in their ears, nose and eyes, and even in their assholes. With such a touch, over the past year, a hundred insects have not invaded. Don't even bite snakes. Because snakes are afraid of realgar. The legend of the white snake is proof. Some of them are painted on their foreheads, and some even write the word "king", so that the "summer poison" in summer can't be harmful.

Third, the significance of inheriting festivals

First of all, most of the Dragon Boat Festival customs have the effect of preventing diseases and epidemics and health care, which embodies the meaning of caring for life and paying attention to hygiene. Secondly, to strengthen people's patriotism, Dragon Boat Race is a competitive activity with great momentum and cooperative spirit, which is beneficial to physical fitness and people's unity. Coupled with the content of commemorating Qu Yuan's patriotism, the festival has become an important ceremony for China people to convey their patriotic feelings and spirit. Thirdly, like other folk festivals in China, the Dragon Boat Festival also has the function of promoting family friendship and close interpersonal relationship. Making the traditional Dragon Boat Festival a national legal holiday is an emphasis on and excavation of traditional culture, which shows the cultural connotation and implication of national unity and rejuvenation. This year, in particular, is a year full of disasters for the Chinese nation. At this special moment, it is even more necessary for us to have a good holiday, so as to increase the cohesion of the Chinese nation, and also to take advantage of the moral that the Dragon Boat Festival can ward off evil spirits and avoid epidemics, so as to protect our country and nation from disasters and live a happy life as soon as possible. In the modern society with rapid urbanization, Nanyang folk customs are facing a worrying situation of declining inheritance. Especially now, some young people are keen on celebrating foreign festivals. According to a rough survey, most Nanyang people only remember eating zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival. Some customs of the Dragon Boat Festival have gone far away, and the folk culture of the Dragon Boat Festival has suffered from serious collective amnesia! Ma Hanchu, together with his classmates, can find information, interview the elderly, consciously and actively explore the profound cultural connotation of the traditional festival of Dragon Boat Festival, talk about the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival from its origin, and then talk about the significance of inheriting the Dragon Boat Festival. The materials are informative, comprehensive, clear and complete, and it is an excellent work in the small paper. This will play an important role in inheriting the positive and healthy folk cultural tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival, rescuing and protecting its original cultural form as soon as possible, and making the ancient national cleaning and fitness festival enter the modern life of Nanyang people with its rich cultural connotation.