February 26th, 2009 is the second day of the second lunar month. Folk call this day "the dragon looks up", which symbolizes the return of spring to the earth and the revival of everything. So, what does "the dragon looks up" mean? Astronomical experts explained this. Zhao Zhi Heng, director of Tianjin Astronomical Society, explained that "on February 2nd, the dragon looked up" was related to ancient astronomy. According to experts, in ancient China, twenty-eight nights were used to indicate the position of the sun, moon and stars in the sky and to judge the seasons. In the twenty-eight lodges, the horn, the sound, the rafters, the room, the heart, the tail and the dustpan form a complete dragon constellation, in which the horn is like the horn of a dragon. After the spring breeze in February, "Dragon Horn Star" appears from the eastern horizon at dusk, so it is called "Dragon Head Up". According to astronomical experts from Tianjin and Jiangsu, at the same time of the "dragon rising" in the sky, spring is slowly coming to the world, and there will be more rain. At this festival, the earth turns green, and spring ploughing begins from south to north. The folk proverb "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up; The big warehouse is full and the small warehouse flows, which places people's strong desire to pray for the dragon's blessing, bless the good weather and harvest the crops.
On February 2 nd, the "Dragon Head Up" farmers pay more attention to it.
The second day of the second lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China, also known as the "Dragon Festival". Hadac Gang, a member of the China Folk Cultural Heritage Rescue Project Working Committee, said that due to the legend of "February 2nd" and the dragon circulating among the people, and the fact that "the spring equinox makes the earth breathe freely", the farmers pay much attention to this day, and they pin their simple wishes on mundane things, hoping for a better year.
According to some old customs in northern China, after getting up in the morning on February 2, farmers will find long poles to knock on the beams to wake up the "dragon", then use plant ash to lead a "grey dragon" to the well platform, and then use chaff to lead a "golden dragon" from the well platform to the water tank; Eat rice cakes and pig's head meat for breakfast, spring cakes and fried beans for lunch; When it is near dusk, every household should spread a circle around the house with the ashes in the stove chamber, which is called a surrounding society, in order to keep all evil and evil disasters out. Anyone who has relatives far away from home must leave a mouth in this circle, which means looking forward to their early return to their hometown.
On this day, everyone has to have a haircut, which means that "the dragon looks up" is good luck, and it is called "shaving the faucet" to give a haircut to children; Women are not allowed to move needle and thread for fear of hurting "dzi"; People can't carry water from the well either. They should fill their own water jars on the first day, otherwise they will touch the "faucet".
Folk legend has it that "on February 2, the dragon looked up; On this day, the farmers are full of hope for the new year. They are excited about the upcoming spring ploughing and sowing, and pray that the legendary "dragon" can look up at this time and shake his body to soak in the rain to moisten the soil.
The food custom of raising the head of the dragon on February 2 nd
On the second day of the second lunar month, folklore is the day when dragons raise their heads, also known as "Spring Dragon Festival". There is a folk song like this: "On February 2, the dragon looked up, the big warehouse was full, and the small warehouse flowed." On this day, people worship the Dragon King with many delicious foods, hoping that it can spread clouds and rain and rain.
Ordinary people eat noodles, spring cakes, popcorn, pig's head meat, etc. on this day. Different regions have different foods, but most of them are related to dragons. Generally, the name of food is added with the title of "dragon". For example, eating dumplings is called eating "dragon ears"; Eating spring cakes is called eating "Long Lin"; Eating noodles is called eating "dragon beard"; Eating rice is called eating "dragon son"; Eating wonton is called eating "longan"
Eating spring cakes is called "eating Long Lin". A spring cake bigger than the palm of your hand is like a piece of Long Lin. Spring cakes are tough and contain many dishes. Such as sauce meat, elbow, smoked chicken, sauce duck, etc., are cut into filaments with a knife, mixed with several kinds of home-cooked stir-fried dishes, such as stir-fried leek sprouts with shredded pork, stir-fried spinach with shredded pork, green bean sprouts cooked with vinegar, vegetarian fried vermicelli, spread eggs, etc., and rolled into spring cakes, dipped in shredded onion and noodles sauce with sesame oil, which is really delicious and refreshing. When eating spring cakes, the whole family sits around, puts the baked spring cakes in the steamer, and takes them as you eat them. It's hot and happy.
There is a legend about eating popcorn on the second day of February.
According to legend, when Wu Zetian became emperor, the Jade Emperor ordered that it should not rain on the earth for three years. However, Yulong, who was in charge of Tianhe, couldn't bear the people to suffer from the disaster and starve, and a heavy rain fell secretly. When the Jade Emperor learned about it, he laid Yulong, who was in charge of Tianhe, under a mountain. At the foot of the mountain, a monument was erected, which read: "The Dragon King violated the rules of heaven when he rained, and he should be punished by the world for generations to come. If you want to re-enter peak tower, unless the golden beans bloom. " In order to save the Dragon King, people look for blooming golden beans everywhere. On the second day of February of the following year, when people were turning over the golden corn seeds, it suddenly occurred to them that this corn was like golden beans, and when it was fried, it blossomed. Isn't it golden beans? So every household exploded popcorn and set up a case in the courtyard to burn incense, offering "flowering golden beans" for the dragon king and the jade emperor to see. Knowing that the people were saving it, the Dragon King shouted loudly to the Jade Emperor, "Golden beans are blooming, let me out!" As soon as the Jade Emperor saw that the golden bean flower in the courtyard of every household in the world was open, he had to send a message to call the Dragon King back to heaven and continue to give clouds and rain to the world. Since then, people have formed a custom. On the second day of February, people explode popcorn and fry soybeans.
There is also a saying about eating pig's head meat on the second day of February.
Since ancient times, pigs, cattle and sheep have always been used to worship the gods, and later it was simplified to the head of the three animals, and the pig head is one of them. According to a story recorded in "Notes on Qiuchi" in the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhongling was very hungry after pacifying Bashu, so he broke into a small village temple, but he met a drunken monk. Wang Zhongling was furious and wanted to cut it, but he didn't know that the monk was scared at all. Wang Zhongling was very surprised and turned to him for food. Soon the monk presented a plate of "steamed pig's head" and wrote a poem for this: "The monk said, When steaming, the banana leaves have been wrapped, and when ripe, apricot paddles are used for watering. Red, fresh and elegant, is called Jin Panting, and ripe and soft is really as good as jade. If there are no hairy roots to compare, the felt roots will eat rattan. " Wang Zhongling ate steamed pig's head and was very happy to listen to the funny and unique "pig's head poem", so he named the monk "Purple Clothes Master". It seems that the pig's head is really a delicacy, and it is also an auspicious symbol of turning the corner and making rapid progress. Nowadays, there is a famous dish called "Grilled Pig Face", which can be served on the table after twelve steps, such as selecting ingredients, cleaning, spraying and baking, soaking and making sauce, and cooking for more than ten hours. There are three kinds of "grilled pig face", one is to eat it in its original flavor; The second is to eat with sauce; The third is to roll pancakes to eat. Every way of eating has a different taste. "Grilled pig's face" is fat but not greasy, the meat and bones are separated, and it is delicious, which brings beauty and brain-strengthening effects to modern people. "February 2nd" eats modern "pork face" and recalls the ancient dining history, which is really a perfect experience of blending contemporary and history.