March 3 is a common festival for the Han people and many ethnic minorities. In the vast country of China, different regions have different definitions of "March 3", and the names and customs of the festival are naturally very different.

Shangsi Festival is an ancient traditional festival of the Han people, commonly known as March 3rd. Before the Han Dynasty, the festival was set as Si day in early March, and later it was fixed on the third day of March in the lunar calendar.

"Shangsi" is not only a festival to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck, it is also called Daughter's Day, when daughters have to perform coming-of-age ceremonies.

The Shangsi Festival has a long history: in ancient times, the first Si day in March was regarded as "Shangsi", and it was designated as a festival in the Han Dynasty.

"On the first day of the month, all the officials and the people were cleansing themselves on the east flowing water, saying that they were washing and purifying, removing dirt and diseases, and it was a great feast."

Later, banquets and outings near the water were added.

In ancient times, there were three very important festivals in March. Unfortunately, after the Song Dynasty, etiquette became stricter and private gatherings between men and women were not allowed. This festival also declined and was eventually forgotten by people.

The outing will also be held during the Qingming Festival.

Water Festival: If the Double Ninth Festival can be called a festival on the mountain top, then the Shangsi Festival can be called a festival on the water's edge.

This festival falls on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The main content is to bathe in water to get rid of bad luck.

It was late spring, the wind was gentle and the sun was warm. Officials and people gathered at the waterside, splashing around in the water, and going out in the wild, which gave them a unique sense of life.

"The Analects" records that Confucius and several of his students dressed in spring clothes and bathed in the Yishui River in late spring are traces of this festival custom.

The earliest record of this festival is in the literature of the early Western Han Dynasty. Zheng Xuan's "Li of Zhou" notes: "The people are purified every year, and now in March, they are like water." With the embellishment of cultural celebrities, this festival has an elegant atmosphere.

Customs of the Shangsi Festival: wearing Hanfu, dancing "Ta Song and Dance", flying kites, bathing, outing, and offering sacrifices to Gaozi.

It is said that the "Shangsi Festival" is also related to Chinese calligraphy. On the "Shangsi Festival" in 353 AD, Wang Xizhi and 41 literary friends gathered in Lanting, Shaoxing and wrote the "Preface to Lanting".

, the meandering water drinking wine" has become an eternal legend.

Shangsi diet custom: The ancients had the custom of begging for children with floating eggs.

During a picnic, boiled eggs, duck eggs, etc. are thrown into the river and allowed to flow down the river. People waiting downstream eat them from the water, which is called "qushui floating egg"; some people also throw red dates into the rapids.

Among them, it is called "Qushui Floating Jiangzao".

Freshly cooked hot eggs are difficult to peel, so it is a fun idea to put them in water and let them float for a while before eating them.

The egg is a symbol of fertility in every culture.

Zhuang, Dong and other ethnic groups also have the custom of eating colored eggs on March 3rd.

During the Tang Dynasty, March 3rd was still an important national festival.

Every time during this festival, the emperor would have a banquet for all his ministers in Qujiang. The so-called "Qu Shui Shui Shang" has gradually disappeared since the Song Dynasty. Many traditions of the Shangsi Festival have gradually disappeared.

The first is the Three-Day Festival.

People in southern Fujian have an old custom of respecting their ancestors every third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, which is called the Sanjie Festival, also known as the Three-day Festival.

According to legend, the origin of March 3 is closely related to the national hero Zheng Chenggong.

Origin: One legend is that Zheng Chenggong defended his bases in Xiamen and Kinmen to resist the Qing Dynasty. In order to realize his desire to "anti-Qing Dynasty and restore Ming Dynasty", he shared the same hatred with the enemy and was determined to do so. Even hearing the word "Qing" felt off-putting.

At that time, someone referred to "drinking tea" as "drinking clear tea". He was very angry and immediately reprimanded and corrected him.

Especially for the "Qingming Festival", putting the word "Qing" on top of the word "Ming" annoyed him even more, so he ordered the people in his area not to sweep tombs on the "Qingming Festival", but to worship their ancestors on March 3 instead.

Another legend is that after the Qing soldiers were repeatedly defeated by Zheng Chenggong's army, they held a grudge. Later, Zheng Chenggong moved his troops to expel the Netherlands and regain Taiwan. The Qing army took the opportunity to invade Xiamen and Kinmen, destroying cities and demolishing houses, burning, killing, and looting, resulting in the "Jiahe Break"

"race" tragedy.

Among Taiwanese compatriots, some families sweep tombs during Qingming Festival, while others sweep tombs during March Festival (Three-Day Festival). The former are immigrants from Quanzhou, and the latter are immigrants from Zhangzhou.

Custom: Eating pancakes.

Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, people worship their ancestors with pancakes, and then the whole family gathers around to eat pancakes.

Pancakes, also called moist pancakes or spring pancakes, are made of fine flour and rolled into a thin and tough skin.

The key to pancakes is the ingredients.

The ingredients, or stuffing, are usually stir-fried with dried tofu, pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, carrots, white radish, leeks, garlic, etc.

When eating, put the ingredients on the pancake skin, roll it into a bamboo tube, and smear some hot sauce, mustard, etc. on the surface. Because the various dishes are mixed together, it tastes delicious.

Some people say that in Southern Fujian cooking, there is nothing better than pancakes.

There are two folk legends about pancakes.

The first is to explain that there was a champion named Cai Fuyi from Tong'an in that era. He had poor appearance, blind eyes, crooked mouth, and lameness, but he was naturally smart and full of knowledge.

At that time, the emperor also loved his talent and reused him, appointing him as the governor of seven provinces and the patrol commander of thirteen provinces.

Some people in the court supported him, some were jealous of him, and some wanted to murder him.

Some people deliberately made him so busy that he couldn't even eat, and wanted to starve him to death... Another theory is that after Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, people used pancakes to worship their ancestors on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar.

People in southern Fujian use pancakes to worship their ancestors on the third day of March every year, commonly known as the Three-Day Festival or Sansan Festival.

When it comes to the origin of "March 3", it can be traced back to the memory of Fuxi.

Fuxi and his sister Nuwa kneaded soil to create humans and reproduced their offspring. The area in eastern Henan honored Fuxi as the "Human Ancestor" and built the Taihaoling Ancient Temple in Huaiyang (where Fuxi established his capital). From the second to third day of the second lunar month,

On the third day of the lunar month, there is the Taihao Mausoleum Temple Fair. Devoted men and women, boats from the south and horses from the north, all gather in the mausoleum area to pay homage to our ancestors.