In northern China, the second day of February is also called Dragon Head-Up Day, also known as Spring Dragon Festival. In the south, it is called the picnic festival, and in ancient times it was called the vegetable picking festival. The following are my Spring Festival customs, hoping to help everyone.

Spring Festival custom 1 Spring Festival custom

Eat dragon food

The diet on February 2 is also very particular, and the diet on this day is mostly in the name of dragons. Eating spring cakes is called "eating Long Lin", eating noodles is called "supporting dragon whiskers", eating rice is called "eating dragon seeds", eating wonton is called "eating longan" and eating jiaozi is called "eating dragon ears". All this is to wake up the Dragon King and pray for a good year and a good harvest.

Of course, different regions have different foods, but eating spring cakes is a common custom. It is recorded in the Proceedings of the Ming Dynasty: "On the second day of February, every household fried jujube cakes with millet flour, or made pancakes with white flour and thin stalls, which is called' smoked insects'".

haircut

On February 2nd, the barber shop was very busy. Everyone needs a haircut on this day. There is a folk saying that "no haircut in the first month". Many people will not have their hair cut for one month after the twelfth lunar month, but wait until February 2.

Why do people get their hair cut on February 2nd? It is said that shaving your head on this day will make people lucky and lucky. Therefore, the folk proverb says, "Shaving the tap on February 2nd will refresh you all year round". It seems that on this day, when you cut your hair, you will have a good start and a good year.

Pick up "girl"

Another important custom on February 2 is to pick up girls, that is, parents pick up their married daughters, so there is a saying that girls are picked up on February 2. There are many courtesies in Su Beiren, among which a "girl" can't stay at her parents' house in the first month, and she must return to her husband's house on the same day after the second day of the second lunar month. But on the second day of February, her family came to take her daughter back for a few days. First of all, she was busy for a long time in the first month and was tired, so she took her back to have a good rest. Second, the new year has just begun, and you have to be busy again. Treat her well.

In the days when she was taken back, besides eating and drinking, the "girl" just stopped by to chat and was relaxed and happy. City people "bring girls" are girls and son-in-law who bring them back for a sumptuous lunch. This custom is also very popular in Beijing and most parts of northern China, and many areas have continued to this day.

Yinlong

In Shanxi, the most important custom is "attracting dragons", which is called "Siqianlong" in the northwest of Shanxi. Before the sun rises on the morning of February 2, every household should carry a bucket to the river or the well to fetch water. When drawing water, there are copper coins in the bucket. When you bring them up, sprinkle them. When you go home, you pour the rest of the water into the water tank, thus bringing the "Ganlong" back. Don't talk when you attract Qianlong, so as not to scare Qianlong away.

In eastern Henan, on the morning of the second day of the second lunar month, every household must hoard the ashes in the furnace in the yard and outside the gate, that is, put plant ash on a shovel with a long handle to form a circle, and then put different grains in the center of the circle. This is actually the wish of the cultivators for a bumper harvest.

Sacrifice society

In the south, "February 2" still follows the custom of sacrificing society, such as in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions; In addition, a new custom of "February 2" has been formed, which is similar to the custom of Dragon Head-raising Festival, and is mainly based on the custom of offering sacrifices to society, such as in Hakka areas in eastern Guangxi.

The land god was called "society" and "society god" in ancient times, and was said to be the god who managed one side of the land. Because "the earth carries everything" and "accumulating wealth on the earth", human beings worship the land. After entering the agricultural society, the belief in the land is linked with the abundance of crops. In southern China, people generally worship the land god, also known as "Land God" and "Fude Shen Zheng", and Hakka people call them "Land God". The custom of "February 2" social day is rich in content, and its main activities are to worship the land and gather social drinks to entertain people by worshipping and entertaining God.

Can't sew.

Women can't do needlework on this day, because the black dragon will look up to the world on this day, and using needles will hurt the dragon's eyes. Before women get up, they will say, "On February 2nd, the dragon will look up, but if the dragon doesn't look up, I will look up".

After getting up, I will light the beams with lanterns and read "February 2nd, light the beams, scorpions and centipedes have nowhere to hide". In some places, women stop washing clothes for fear of hurting the skin of dragons, and so on.

Folk activities of raising dragons and heads around the country

Dragon Boat Festival

In the past, the Dragon Head-raising Festival was a day to worship the dragon god. On this day every year, people will go to the Longwang Temple or the riverside to burn incense and sacrifice to the dragon god, praying that the dragon god will turn clouds into rain and bless a bumper harvest in a year. However, in many areas, especially in the south, people still regard the second day of February as the "public birthday of the land" and hold social sacrifices to worship the land god.

Sprinkle ash

This custom has a long history and is still popular in many rural areas today. Ash used for spreading ash is usually wood ash, but there are also lime or chaff. The specific practices vary from place to place, which are roughly as follows: throwing ash in front of the door is called "blocking the door to prevent disasters"; Scattering ash in the corner means "killing all insects"; Scatter ashes in the courtyard, make circles of different sizes, and symbolically place some coarse grains, which are called "hoarding ashes" or "smashing ashes" to wish a bumper harvest; Sprinkle ash on the edge of the well, which is called "bringing the dragon back" in order to have a good weather. Spraying methods vary from place to place. Generally, it starts from the well, winding all the way, entering the kitchen and surrounding the water tank. The gray lines are constantly winding, which is very interesting.

Smoked insect

In February of the lunar calendar, the weather gets warmer and all kinds of insects begin to move. Some insects are harmful to people's health, so on February 2, people spread pancakes and burn incense in succession, hoping to drive away toxic insects with smoke.

Hit the beam

It is to beat the beams with wooden sticks or bamboo poles to scare away poisonous insects such as snakes and scorpions, so as not to cause harm. Knocking on the edge of the kang is popular in some places, and its purpose is the same as knocking on the beam.

haircut

There is a saying among the Han people: My uncle shaved his head and died in the first month. Although this statement is groundless and ridiculous, it has had a far-reaching impact. Therefore, no matter how busy people are before the Spring Festival, people must take time to get a haircut, and then they must wait until the day when the dragon looks up. Having a haircut on February 2, commonly known as "shaving the tap", is said to bring good luck for a year, so "shave your head more on this day".

Fried scorpion beans

The popular custom on this day is to fry scorpion beans. Weixian, Laizhou and other places are called "good news", which is homophonic and stinging. It is said that after eating fried scorpion beans, you will not be stung by scorpions for one year. Yuncheng and other places call it "Fried Scorpion Claws", and children sing while eating: "Eat Scorpion Claws, Scorpions don't have to fight." Scorpion beans are usually fried with soybeans. Some of them are wrapped in sugar noodles, some are soaked in salt water, crispy and delicious, and some are fried with noodles and scorpions, with many patterns. Eating scorpion beans can not only open scorpions, but also people say that whoever eats scorpion claws of seven families can live longer. This custom is very popular in other places except in Jiaodong on February 2nd. However, adding melon seeds and popcorn to scorpion beans is a new development of the custom of frying scorpion beans.

On February 2nd, according to legend, the dragon looked up, and the original area of Jinan Prefecture was called Qinglong Festival or Spring Dragon Festival and Dragon Head Festival. Other parts of Shandong are often called February 2, and Liangshan is called the Dragon Head Festival. Before the Tang Dynasty, February 2nd was not considered as a seasonal festival. During the middle Tang Dynasty, activities such as picking vegetables, welcoming the rich and hiking were popular in Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places, which were called "picking vegetables festival" and "welcoming the rich day". At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, February 2 in the north increased the content of raising the dragon's head, and gradually evolved into a festival with the main content of expelling pests and praying for a bumper harvest. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been some custom activities in Shandong, such as attracting dragons, smashing hoards, smoking pancakes, beating rats and frying beans to win good news. Picking vegetables to welcome guests is rare.

The custom of the Spring Festival On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon looks up, which is also called the Spring Festival. I'm afraid many young people don't know now. The second day of February is coming. Let me talk about the Spring Festival and its customs.

First, the legend of "Spring Dragon Festival"

The second day of the second lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China, which is called "Spring Dragon Festival". "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up" symbolizes the return of spring to the earth and the revival of everything. Speaking of "the dragon rises on February 2nd", it is also related to ancient astronomy in China. According to experts, in ancient China, twenty-eight nights were used to indicate the positions of the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky and to judge the seasons. In the twenty-eight lodges, the horn, sound, rafters, room, heart, tail and dustpan form a complete dragon constellation, in which the horn is like the horn of a dragon. In February after the vernal equinox every year, "Dragon Horn Star" appears from the eastern horizon at dusk, so it is called "Dragon Head Up". At the same time as the dragon rose into the sky, spring slowly came to the world, and the rain increased. Since then, the earth has turned green, and spring ploughing has started from south to north. The folk proverb says: "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up; The saying that big warehouse is full of warehouses and small warehouses is that people pray for the dragon's blessing to bless the world with good weather and abundant crops.

There is also a beautiful folk legend about the origin of "Spring Dragon Festival". It is said that the emperor on the earth is the real dragon emperor, and only men can be emperors. However, Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty actually became an emperor. What a scandal! So the jade emperor was furious and told the four dragon kings that it was forbidden to rain on the earth for three years. So the central plains land is hungry everywhere, and the ghosts cry and howl. The Dragon King in charge of Tianhe couldn't bear to see the innocent suffering of the people, so he went against the jade emperor's will and rained cats and dogs. When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he knocked down the Dragon King, the water lord, and suffered under a big mountain. He also set up a monument on the mountain, saying: The rain of the Dragon King violated heaven and should be punished by the world for generations; If you want to go back to Lingxiao Pavilion, unless the golden beans bloom.

In order to thank the Dragon King for saving his life, people tried their best to save the Dragon King and looked for golden beans in full bloom everywhere. On the second day of February of the following year, when people were drying corn seeds, they suddenly thought, "This corn is like golden beans. When fried, it will bloom. Isn't it a golden bean? " So every household popped popcorn and set up a case in the yard to burn incense for the blooming "Golden Bean". At this time, the dragon king looked up and saw that people were trying to save it, so he shouted to the jade emperor, "The golden beans are blooming, please let me out quickly!" As soon as the Jade Emperor saw the golden beans blooming in the yard of every household in the world, he had to send an imperial edict to the Dragon King to return to heaven and continue to bring clouds and rain to the world. Since then, every household has popped popcorn on the second day of February, which is called "the dragon rises on the second day of February" and "Spring Dragon Festival". Over time, this has become an established practice.

Second, the custom of "Spring Festival"

On the morning of the second day of February, the farmer got up and found a long pole to knock on the beam, which was called awakening the "dragon"; Then lead a "grey dragon" to the well platform with plant ash, and then lead a "golden dragon" from the well platform to the water tank with chaff; 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 ashes from the stove chamber, which is called encircling society to prevent all evil and evil disasters. Anyone who has relatives far away from home must leave a message in this circle, which means expecting them to return to their hometown as soon as possible.

On this day, everyone has to get a haircut, which means that "the dragon looks up" is good luck, and giving children a haircut is called "shaving the faucet"; Women are not allowed to move needle and thread for fear of hurting the "dzi beads"; People can't draw water from wells either. They should fill their water tanks on the first day, otherwise they will touch the "faucet". Folklore "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up; On this day, farmers are full of hope for the new year. They prayed that the legendary "dragon" would raise its head and shake its body to soak in the rain to moisten the soil. On the second day of February, people will worship the Dragon King with many delicious foods, hoping that it can create clouds and rain in time and spread showers widely.

On February 2, ordinary people still eat noodles, spring cakes, popcorn, pork head and so on. Although different places eat differently, they are all related to dragons. Generally, the word "dragon" is added to food names, such as eating jiaozi and eating "dragon ears". Eating spring cakes is called eating "Longlin"; Eating noodles is called "Longxu Noodles"; Eating rice is called eating "dragon"; Eating wonton is called "longan" and so on.

There is also a saying that pig's head meat is eaten on the second day of February. Since ancient times, pigs, cows and sheep have been used to worship gods. Later, it was simplified to the heads of three animals, and the pig head is one of them. Qiu Chi Notes in the Song Dynasty recorded a story: Wang Zhongling was very hungry after pacifying Bashu, so he broke into a temple in a small village and met a drunken monk. Wang Zhongling was furious and wanted to cut it, but the monk was completely fearless. Wang Zhongling was surprised and asked him for food. Soon, the monk presented a plate of "steamed pig's head" and wrote a poem: "The mouth is long and short, and the Chinese medicine seedlings are eaten for a long time. When steaming, the banana leaves have been wrapped. When they are ripe, water them with apricot leaf paddles. Red, fresh and elegant, breathless, and ripe and soft are really jade. If there are no hairy roots to compare, the felt roots will eat vines. " Wang Zhongling ate steamed pig's head and was very happy after listening to the humorous and unique "pig's head poem", so he was named "Master of Purple Clothes". From this point of view, pig's head meat is not only a delicious food, but also an auspicious symbol of turning the corner and making rapid progress.

The Chinese nation has a civilization history of 5,000 years, and China is a country of etiquette. There are many traditional folk festivals and customs, but some of them are forgotten now, and some festivals are indifferent even to modern people. However, there is now a famous dish called "Grilled Pork Face", which has to go through twelve steps, such as selecting ingredients, cleaning, spraying, soaking and making sauce, and then cooking for more than ten hours before serving. There are three ways to eat "pork belly noodles": one is to eat them as they are; The second is to eat with sauce; The third kind is to roll pancakes. Every way of eating has a different taste. "Roasted pig's face" is fat but not greasy, the meat and bones are separated, and it tastes delicious, bringing beauty and brain-strengthening effects to modern people. Eating a modern "roast pig's face" and recalling the ancient dining history on February 2 nd is really a perfect enjoyment of the blending of contemporary and history.