One, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival:

The first statement of the Dragon Boat Festival is in honor of the great poet Qu Yuan in history. This argument is widely circulated in the country, the people are also the most recognized. Qu Yuan was a man of Chu in the Warring States period, with the rank of left disciple, sanlu dafu and so on. Qu Yuan is a man of integrity, worry about the country and the people, is committed to the country's change of law, but has repeatedly suffered from the villain's slanderous attacks and persecution, coupled with the King Huai of Chu's mediocrity, do not distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous, full of loyalty and love for the people's fervor of the qu yuan was estranged, banished, and ultimately, in the sadness and despair of the first five days of May in the Miluojiang River and died. In his honor, people have the Dragon Boat Festival, to eat rice dumplings, dragon boat racing and other customs.

The second version of the Dragon Boat Festival is in honor of Wu Zixu. Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, had his father and brother killed by the ruthless King Ping of Chu. Later, Wu Zixu fled to the state of Wu, helped Wu to enrich its country and strengthen its army, and aided Wu in its campaign against Chu, attacking the capital of Chu, Ying City, in five battles. When King Ping of Chu died, Wu Zixu dug up his tomb and whipped his body 300 times to avenge the murder of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son Fu-chai succeeded to the throne, Wu became more powerful, attacked the state of Yue and won a victory, King Goujian of Yue asked for peace, Fu-chai agreed. At this time, King Fu-chai of Wu was already overwhelmed by the victory, and began to be proud and arrogant, and could not listen to the advice he received. Wu Zixu advised him to destroy the Yue kingdom completely to prevent future troubles, but Fu Chai did not listen to him. Instead, he believed the slanderous rumors that framed Wu Zixu, and forced Wu Zixu to kill himself. Before his death, Wu Zixu told his neighbors, "When I die, gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of the capital of Wu to see the army of Yue enter the city and destroy Wu." Then he drew his sword and killed himself. When Fu Chai was informed of this, he was furious and had Wu Zixu's body packed in leather and thrown into the river on May 5, so it is said that the Duanwu Festival is also a day to commemorate Wu Zixu.

The third theory of the Dragon Boat Festival is in honor of Cao E, a filial daughter of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Cao E was a native of Shangyu in the Eastern Han Dynasty. When her father drowned in the river and the body could not be found for several days, Cao E, a filial daughter, was only fourteen years old, and she was so distraught that she cried along the river day and night. After seventeen days, she threw herself into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month, and surfaced five days later with her father's body in her arms. Cao E's filial act was so touching that it was widely spread among the people. Literati and writers at that time made eulogy speeches to praise Cao E's filial act of throwing herself into the river in search of her father. The tomb of Cao E, a filial daughter, is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, today. In front of the tomb, there is a Cao E stele, which is said to have been written by Wang Yi of the Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao E's filial piety, a Cao E Temple was built at the place where Cao E threw herself into the river, the village where she lived was renamed Cao E Town, and the river where Cao E died in her father's death was renamed Cao E River, and people came to pay tribute to Cao E on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month when she threw herself into the river in search of her father.

The fourth theory of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the modern revolutionary poetess Qiu Jin. Qiu Jin word Ruiqing, Jingxiong, the number of Jianhu female warrior, the small word Yugu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, early childhood, good at poetry, lyrics, songs, fugue, and like to ride a horse, fencing, there are contemporary flowers Mulan, Qin Liangyu reputation. 28 years old to participate in the revolution, the influence of the great, the premeditated revolutionary uprising, the misfortune of a meeting for the Qing soldiers arrested, steadfastly, on the fifth day of June, in Shaoxing, thirty-three years of light Xu Xu Hengkou valiantly. Although Qiu Jin was martyred on the fifth day of the sixth month, but later admiration for its poetry, its people, and mourn its loyal and courageous deeds, it will be compared with the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, and held a joint commemoration, but also in the Dragon Boat Festival this day to commemorate the heroine, poetess.

Second, the main customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are:

1, Dragon Boat Race

Dragon Boat RaceDragon Boat Race, is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that it originated in ancient times, the people of Chu country because they could not bear to see the wise minister Qu Yuan threw himself into the river to die, many people rowed boats to catch up with the rescue. They scrambled to catch up and disappeared when they chased him to Dongting Lake. 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 custom of racing was prevalent in Wu, Yue and Chu.

2, Dragon Boat Festival food dumplings

Eat dumplings Dragon Boat 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. The morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, families eat zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan, usually the day before the zongzi package, boiled at night, eaten in the morning. Zongzi package is mainly with the river and pond side of the abundance of young reed leaves, some areas are also used bamboo leaves, collectively known as zongzi leaves. The traditional form of zongzi for the triangle, generally named according to the flesh, wrapped glutinous rice called rice zongzi, rice mixed with small beans called small beans zongzi, mixed with jujube called jujube zongzi, collectively known as glutinous rice zongzi. Jujube rice dumplings harmonic for "early in", so eat the most date rice dumplings, meaning that the children ate in the study can be early in the Scholar. In the past, the readers to participate in the day of the Imperial Examination, the morning to eat jujube rice dumplings, to date, secondary school, university entrance examinations in the morning, parents also want to do jujube rice dumplings to the candidates to eat.

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 lapel head embellishment decoration. The scented pouch 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, small and lovely. In some southern cities in China, young men and women also use scented sachets to express strong love.

4, Hanging Ai

Hanging Ai grass folk proverb: "Qingming willow, Dragon Boat Festival Ai". In the Dragon Boat Festival, people take the insertion of moxa and calamus as one of the important contents. Households have to sweep the courtyard, to 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. Dragon Boat Festival is also passed down from ancient times, "Health Festival", people in this day to clean the courtyard, hanging moxa sticks, hanging calamus, sprinkle andrographis water, drink andrographis wine, stirring up turbidity in addition to corrosion, sterilization and prevention of disease. 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

Jump Zhong Kui Zhong Kui ghost hunting, is the Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, families are 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 purse and bolted five-color silk thread

Hanging purse should be Shao "Customs" recorded: "May 5, to five-color silk tie arm, the name of the long-life wisp, a renewed life wisp, a life to avoid Bing Zeng, a five-color wisp, a Zhu Suo, to avoid the soldiers and the ghosts, the fate of the people do not suffer from the plague".

Ancient China revered 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 thing is in the child'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 Yuanliang's "Years and Seasons," citing "Miscellaneous Records of Years and Seasons," mentions a kind of "Duanwu to red and white coloring such as a capsule, 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, the development of spices filled with scented pouches, the production is also becoming more and more sophisticated, and become the Dragon Boat Festival unique folk art.

7, similar to drink xionghuang wine: this custom, in the Yangtze River Basin area of the family is very prevalent.

Xionghuang is also a kind of medicinal herbs, said to be able to kill a hundred poison. Therefore, during the Dragon Boat Festival, people in Shaanxi will soak xionghuang in wine and smear it on children's ears, noses, heads, wrists and ankles, etc. It is said that this practice can keep mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos, spiders, etc. from getting into their bodies.

8, swim 100 diseases: this custom, prevalent in Guizhou region of the Dragon Boat Festival customs.

You hundred diseases, also known as walking hundred diseases, circulating in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Guizhou and other places of the traditional Han folk cultural activities, is a fitness exercise through the tour walk to eliminate hundred diseases, more in women, the elderly, children or the infirm among the sick. Touring for a hundred diseases is prevalent in the Dragon Boat Festival in Guizhou. Men, women, children, old and young people go to the field to play, wearing new clothes, at about noon time, the road on the mountain or under the tree crowded with people, holding flowers and plants, very happy. Home at night will be flowers and plants and water boiled bath, the elderly known as the "tour of the hundred diseases" and "wash the hundred diseases", do not go out to tour the hundred diseases and wash the hundred diseases of the people, year-round will not get lucky. Sends the Han Chinese working people a kind of evil, avoid disaster, pray for good luck.