1, Dragon Boat Race
Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, people who originated in the ancient Chu state were reluctant to part with the death of the sage Qu Yuan, and many people rowed boats to save people. They scrambled to catch up with each other and disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. Dispel the fish in the river by rowing a dragon boat to avoid eating Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu.
In fact, "Dragon Boat Race" existed as early as the Warring States Period. Carving dragon-shaped canoes in drums and playing race games are semi-religious and semi-entertaining programs in the ceremony to entertain the gods and people.
Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people from all over the world gave different meanings to the dragon boat race.
Dragon boat rowing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is of great significance to commemorate Qiu Jin, a local-born modern female democratic revolutionary. On the dragon boat at night, the lights are decorated and the scenes are moving and interesting. Miao people in Guizhou hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 25th to 28th in the lunar calendar to celebrate the success of transplanting rice seedlings and wish a bumper harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots race dragon boats at the Water-splashing Festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan Hongwo. Different nationalities and regions have different legends about dragon boat rowing. To this day, dragon boat races with different characteristics are held every year in many areas facing rivers, lakes and seas in the south.
In the 29th year of Qing Qianlong (1736), dragon boat races were held in Taiwan Province province. At that time, Governor Jiang of Taiwan Province Province held a friendly match in Heji Half Moon Pool in Tainan City. Now, Taiwan Province Province holds a dragon boat race on May 5th every year. In Hong Kong, races are also held.
In addition, the dragon boat race was introduced to Japan, Vietnam and Britain for the first time. From 65438 to 0980, the dragon boat race was included in the national sports events in China, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. 1991June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held in Yueyang, China, the second hometown of Qu Yuan. The "Dragon Head Festival" was held before the competition, which not only retained the traditional ceremony but also injected new modern factors. The "dragon head" was carried into Quzi Temple. After the athletes painted the dragon head red (wearing red ribbons), the priest read out the sacrificial ceremony and "lit up" the dragon head. Then, all the people who participated in the Dragon Boat Festival bowed three times, and the dragon head was carried to the Guluo River and rushed to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in competitions, fairs and parties, which was unprecedented. Since then, Hunan has regularly held the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat races will be widely spread all over the world.
2. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival
Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of China people. Zongzi, also called "corn millet" and "Zongzi". It has a long history and various models.
According to records, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, millet was wrapped into horns by leaves of zinia latifolia, which was called "horny millet" at that time. Rice packed in bamboo tubes is sealed and baked, which is called "tube zongzi". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet was soaked in plant ash water. Because the water contains alkali, millet is wrapped in leaves and cooked, which becomes Guangdong sour rice dumplings.
In Jin Dynasty, Zongzi was officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, Alpinia oxyphylla was also added as the raw material for jiaozi, and the cooked jiaozi was called "Yizhi jiaozi". According to the Records of Yueyang Local Customs written by Zhou Ren, "It is customary to wrap millet with leaves, cook it and cook it thoroughly. From May 5 to the summer solstice, one is Zongzi and the other is Xiaomi. " During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, miscellaneous zongzi appeared. Rice is mixed with animal meat, chestnuts, red dates, red beans and so on. And there are more and more kinds. Zongzi is also used as a gift for communication.
In the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for zongzi was "white as jade", and its shape appeared conical and rhombic. There is a record of "Da Tang Zongzi" in Japanese literature. In the Song Dynasty, there were already "sugar dumplings", that is, fruits entered jiaozi. The poet Su Dongpo has a poem "See Yangmei in Zongzi". At this time, there were also advertisements for building pavilions and wooden chariots and horses with zongzi, which showed that eating zongzi was very fashionable in the Song Dynasty. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping material of zongzi changed from leaves to leaves. Later, zongzi wrapped in reed leaves appeared, and additional materials such as bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates and walnuts appeared, and the varieties were more colorful.
On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, every family eats zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan. Generally speaking, they will wrap zongzi the day before, cook it at night and eat it in the morning. Jiaozi is mainly made of tender reed leaves and bamboo leaves, which are collectively called zongye. The traditional form of zongzi is a triangle, which is generally named after the inner pulp. Glutinous rice is called rice dumplings, red bean dumplings are called red bean dumplings, and jujube dumplings are called jujube dumplings. Jujube jiaozi homophones "junior high school", so it eats the most. Children who plan to study can win the championship early. In the past, scholars ate jujube jiaozi on the morning of the imperial examination. Up to now, on the morning of the entrance examination for middle schools and universities, parents have to wrap up jiaozi for the candidates.
You must cook eggs in the rice dumplings pot. If possible, you should cook some duck eggs and goose eggs. After eating sweet zongzi dipped in sugar, you should eat eggs dipped in salt. It is said that eating boiled eggs in zongzi pot at the end of May will not cause sores in summer; At noon, put the duck eggs and goose eggs cooked in the zongzi pot in the sun for a while before eating, so that you won't have a headache all summer.
Until today, at the beginning of May every year, people in China have to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, and there are more kinds of colors of zongzi. Judging from the stuffing, there are many Beijing jujube jiaozi in the north; In the south, there are many kinds of fillings, such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham and egg yolk, among which Zhejiang Jiaxing Zongzi is the representative. The custom of eating zongzi has been popular in China for thousands of years and spread to South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
3. Wear sachets
Children wear sachets on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to mean to ward off evil spirits and drive away epidemics. Actually, it is used to decorate the inner head. There are cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine in the sachet, which is wrapped in silk cloth and full of fragrance, and then tied into a rope with five-color silk thread to make a string of bracelets with different shapes, all kinds of exquisite and lovely. In some southern cities of China, young men and women also use sachets to express their love.
Step 4 hang calamus
There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival, and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". During the Dragon Boat Festival, people put wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the courtyard, puts calamus and moxa sticks between their eyebrows and hangs them in class. Acorus calamus, Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Liu Hua, garlic and dragon boat flower are made into human or tiger shapes, which are called Ai Ren and Ai Hu. It is made into garlands and decorations, which are beautiful and fragrant, and women compete to wear them to ward off evil spirits.
Ai, also known as Ai and Artemisia argyi. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oils. Its unique fragrance can repel mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants and purify the air. In traditional Chinese medicine, wormwood is used as medicine, which has the functions of nourishing qi and blood, warming uterus and eliminating cold and dampness. Processing Artemisia argyi leaves into "moxa wool" is an important medicinal material for moxibustion treatment.
Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil, which is a good medicine for refreshing the brain, strengthening bones and resolving stagnation, killing insects and sterilizing.
It can be seen that the ancients inserted Artemisia argyi and Acorus calamus to prevent diseases. Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" handed down from generation to generation. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort leaves, hang calamus, sprinkle realgar water, drink realgar wine, stir up turbidity, remove rot, sterilize and prevent diseases. These activities also reflect the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. Collecting herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival is a common custom of all countries and nationalities in China.
5. Bell statue
It is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival for Zhong Kui to catch ghosts. In the Jianghuai area, every household hangs bells and statues to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after giving a lecture on martial arts in Lishan Mountain, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, wore red crotch pants, stole Yang Guifei's sachet and Yu Di of the Ming Dynasty, and ran around the temple. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, grabbed the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. When the Ming emperor asked GREAT GHOST, he said, "My surname is Zhong Kui, that is, I am a martial artist." . I am willing to exorcise your majesty. When the Ming emperor wakes up, malaria will be cured. So I asked Wu Daozi, a painter, to draw a portrait of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what I saw in my dream, and ordered people to post it on the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.
6. Hanging wallets and tying five-color silk threads
Ying Shao's "Customs Pass" records: "On the fifth day of May, people tied their arms with multicolored silk, which was called Changshi silk, one for renewing life, one for making soldiers fight, one for making five-color silk, and one for Zhu Suo to fight soldiers and ghosts, so that people would not get sick."
In ancient China, five colors were worshipped, which were auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines around their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during the first heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color lines can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river means letting the river wash away plagues and diseases, so that children can be safe and healthy.
Jing Shi Guang Ji quoted Sui Shi Miscellaneous Notes as saying: "The Dragon Boat Festival is red and white, worn with colored threads, shaped into flowers, or nailed to the door to make it red and white, which is called Qian Chu." There is another kind of "mussel powder clock": "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk and decorated with cotton, if you count the beads. Let the children take it to absorb sweat. " The contents of these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, exorcism symbols, copper coins and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and they have become increasingly exquisite and become a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Similarly, drinking realgar wine: this custom is very popular among people in the Yangtze River valley.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival in China. The end is the beginning, and the fifth is the number of yang, so it is also called "Duanyang Festival". In addition to the well-known eating of zongzi, there are also rich eating customs around the Dragon Boat Festival.
Eating Monopterus albus will eat Monopterus albus during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jianghan Plain, China. Monopterus albus is also called eel and long fish. Monopterus albus on Dragon Boat Festival is plump, tender and delicious, and nutritious, not only delicious, but also nourishing. Therefore, there is a folk saying that "Monopterus albus participates in the Dragon Boat Festival".
Eating noodles fans in Minqin County, Gansu Province, steamed noodles fans during the Dragon Boat Festival. The noodle fan is steamed with hair noodles, which is fan-shaped and has five layers. Each layer is sprinkled with ground cooked peppers, and the surface is kneaded into various patterns and dyed, which is very beautiful. This diet custom is said to have evolved from the custom of making, selling and giving away fans during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Eat tea eggs in Nanchang, Jiangxi, and cook tea eggs and salted eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival. Eggs include eggs, duck eggs and goose eggs. Eggshells are painted red, packed in colorful net bags and hung around the child's neck, which means wishing the child good luck and safety.
Eating Garlic Eggs In rural areas of Henan, Zhejiang and other provinces, housewives get up early every Dragon Boat Festival and cook garlic and eggs prepared in advance for breakfast. In some places, when cooking garlic and eggs, you will put some mugwort leaves. Eating garlic, eggs and fried buns for breakfast is said to avoid the "five poisons" and is good for health.
Dragon Boat Festival is a grand festival for Korean people in Yanbian, Jilin Province. The most representative food on this day is sweet cake. Caking is to put mugwort and glutinous rice in a big wooden trough carved with a piece of wood and beat them with a long-handled wooden pestle. This kind of food has national characteristics and can add festive atmosphere.
Eating fried piles in Jinjiang, Fujian, every household will eat "fried piles" during the Dragon Boat Festival. The so-called fried pile is made of flour, rice flour or sweet potato powder into thick paste and fried into large pieces in an oil pan. According to legend, in ancient times, it was the rainy season in southern Fujian before the Dragon Boat Festival, and the rain continued. People say that God has pierced a hole and wants to "mend the sky". The rain stopped after eating "fried piles" on the Dragon Boat Festival. People say that the sky has been mended. This diet custom comes from this.
Eating pancakes In Wenzhou, every household still has the custom of eating pancakes during the Dragon Boat Festival. Pancakes are made of white flour paste, baked into translucent cakes in a large flat-bottomed iron frying pan, shaped like a full moon and as thin as silk, and then stuffed with mung bean sprouts, leeks, shredded pork, shredded eggs and mushrooms, rolled into a cylinder, and bitten in one bite, you can taste various flavors.