On February 2nd, the dragon looked up to eat smoked insects, "dragon" food, pig's head banquet and so on.
Smoked insect
Smoked insects. In the vast areas of the north, every household will fry all kinds of wheat and beans for the whole family to eat together during the Spring Festival.
This is called "fumigation". "Smoked insects" in Beijing and other places are slightly different from this. People put "millet flour, jujube cake, wheat and rice" into a pot and fry them in oil. Since the Tang Dynasty, the folk custom of burning popcorn in the Spring Festival has become one of the smoked insects.
Holiday foods in Suzhou, Hangzhou and other places in the south are more distinctive. According to the records of Qing Dynasty, on February 2nd every year, Suzhou people cut the rice cakes in the coming year into thin slices and fry them in an oil pan for the whole family to eat. Locals call it "supporting cakes". Fried rice cake slices are often oily in appearance, crisp and sticky outside the entrance, and delicious. After eating one piece, I want to eat another piece. I can't resist its temptation. It is said that every February 2, Suzhou and Hangzhou people, men, women and children, have to "support" to swallow fried rice cakes. A word of support vividly reveals people's greed and love for fried rice cakes. No wonder a poet wrote a poem and praised it: "Slice the rice cake into crisp strips and fry it in blue oil to make it tender and yellow." Every year, the wind is hard to swing, and the five mothers are less strange. "Poetry is always exaggerated. In fact, how can a fried rice cake thicken the waistline of young women? But it also shows the special significance of fried rice cakes to Jiangnan people.
It should be pointed out that although the custom of frying rice cakes is unique, it is actually similar to the practice of frying food into smoked insects in the north. Moreover, from the perspective of fried food customs, the two are in the same strain.
Eat "dragon" food
Traditionally, people from north and south put dragons on all kinds of food they eat on February 2. If you eat spring cakes, Ⅱ L will eat "Dragon Skin" or "Dragon Kirin"; Eating jiaozi is called eating "dragon ears"
Or "Changlin"; Eating noodles is called eating Longxu Noodles. Eat rice, cook "dragon" and so on. The food is marked with dragons, which means that everything is given by the dragon king, so always remember the kindness of the dragon king. At the same time, it also reflects people's mood of praying for the dragon god's blessing, more showers and blessing the world.
Zhutouyan
In some places in the northeast of China, on the Dragon Head Festival, people will put a pig's head banquet at home to symbolize the dragon head. The family sat around the dining table, eating steaming, fragrant pig's head meat, eating some cakes and the like. Pig heads are generally pulled clean in advance, boiled in white water, and eaten with some sauces, pickled leeks and other seasonings. The meat is fat but not greasy, and its crispness is moderate. Make sure everyone is pregnant and have fun.
The traditional custom of holding the dragon head.
Yin lianlong
In most parts of the north, there is a custom of lucky dragons. In the early morning of February 2, people fished up backwater from wells and rivers. When the water tank is full, use a dustpan to fill the kitchen with ash, and scatter it in the yard from the gate until it reaches the water tank, and then scatter it around the water tank. People have placed two wishes on this activity: one is to bring back the "Qianlong" symbolizing wealth and wealth. This year, production and business flourished. Secondly, I think the dragon has been brought back, and all kinds of snakes, scorpions and insects are afraid to go out. At that time, due to poor medical conditions, "all kinds of insects" were rampant and diseases were prevalent. People use all kinds of insects to prevent diseases and seek the health of their families.
Shaving tap
There is a folk custom of not shaving your head in the first month, but when the dragon looks up on February 2 every year, everyone, old and young, has to have a haircut, which is called "shaving the tap".
So far, there is a saying among the people that "if you have money, you have to shave your head during the New Year". Come to think of it, it will be more than a month since I shaved my head on February 2, and my hair has grown. It's time to shave your head. People say that shaving your head is a leader, and the word "dragon" means luck. It is said that shaving one's head on this day can make people healthy, fly freely in the air like a dragon, and be sure to have a successful career in the future.
Zhaofangliang
As the saying goes, "On February 2nd, the scorpion and centipede have nowhere to hide." On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the weather gradually gets warmer. Traditional folk customs pay attention to cleaning houses, cleaning sanitation and expelling pests on this day, so there is a saying of "February 2, smoking insects". Its practice is to light the candles left during the Chinese New Year sacrifice on February 2, illuminate the beams and walls, and drive away insects such as scorpions and centipedes. Insects that are about to recover will automatically fall down after being shaken by wax light, which can drive them out, thus achieving the purpose of eliminating disasters, preventing diseases and ensuring health.
Worship the land god
The second day of February is the birthday of the land god, and there is a custom of offering sacrifices to the land god everywhere.
In the folk, the image of the Ten Gods is often depicted as an old man with chicken skin and crane hair. He was wearing a khaki robe and holding a cane. In the early morning of the second day of February, every household placed various crystal offerings in front of the land shrine, lit incense sticks and set off firecrackers to celebrate the birthday of the land god, and prayed that the land god would guard the evil spirits, tigers and wolves at the gate or village entrance, so as to protect one party's peace. In addition, we also pray that the land god will bless the seedlings in the field to grow sturdily and the crops will be plentiful after autumn.
Avoid moving the needle.
Women don't care how important needlework is, but they don't do needlework on February 2. They say that on this day, the dragon will raise its head and move the needle, so they don't have to do any needlework on this day to avoid hurting the dragon's eyes.
China has a vast territory and a large population, and the folk festivals on February 2nd are also colorful. She people in Fujian, Zhejiang and other provinces launched a "singing" activity on February 2; A belt in central Sichuan also "welcomes the rich" on February 2, and so on. Throughout all kinds of folk activities on February 2nd, most of them are related to dragons, with strong feudal superstition. Nowadays, with the gradual popularization of science and technology, people's ability to overcome natural disasters and diseases has been enhanced, and people's lives have become richer. I'm afraid the people who put their hopes on dragons have disappeared, or at least their superstitions have decreased. Many customs of this festival have been gradually forgotten by people, but cleaning houses and sanitation is still of positive significance.