The four major traditional folk festivals in China: What are the traditional customs activities of the Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival, together with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, is also known as the four major traditional festivals among the people in China. It is a folk festival that integrates blessings and disasters, celebration, entertainment, and food. Since 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday. In May 2006, the State Council included it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists; in September 2009, UNESCO officially reviewed and approved the inclusion of China's Dragon Boat Festival in the world's intangible cultural heritage, becoming the first festival in China to be included in the world's intangible cultural heritage.

The name of the festival "Dragon Boat Festival" first appeared in the "Chronicles of Customs and Conditions" written by Zhou, a famous official in the Western Jin Dynasty: "Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of May, and customs emphasize this day, which is the same as the summer solstice." Duan, ancient Chinese has the meaning of beginning and beginning. Calling "Duan Wu" is just like calling "Chu Wu". Chen Yuanliang's "Guang Ji of the Year of the Year" in the Yuan Dynasty said: "The dust in the capital city takes the first day of May as the end one, and the second day as the end two. The number to five is called the end five." The ancients used to call the first few days of May respectively Duan, so the first noon day of the noon month was called the Dragon Boat Festival.

The ancients used the heavenly stems and the earth branches to mark the years, months, days and hours. According to the Ganzhi calendar, the first month was established. Calculated according to the order of the twelve earth branches, the fifth month was the "noon moon", and the noon day of the noon moon was called "noon"; and the noon day was also called "Yangchen", so the Dragon Boat Festival was also called "Duanyang". It is also called the "Tianzhong Festival" along the Tropic of Cancer (because the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the summer solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, and the sun's position in the sky is the most middle day of the year).

According to statistics, the Dragon Boat Festival is the most commonly named among all traditional festivals in China, with more than 20 names, such as Duanyang Festival, Chongnoon Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Zhengyang Festival, Duanwu Festival, Chongwu Festival, Dangwu Festival, Summer Festival, May Festival, Calu Festival, Tianyi Festival, Herbal Festival, Yulan Festival, Duowu Festival, Qu Yuan Day, Daughter's Day, Luna Festival, Poet Day, Dragon Day, Zongzi Festival, Wuhuang Festival, Jiezong Festival, Duan etiquette, etc.

The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the sacrifice of dragons in ancient times. Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, Canglong seven constellations ascended to the south of the sky, is the day of Longfei, that is,"Yi Jing Qian hexagram" fifth line line words: "Flying dragon in the sky." The astrology culture in ancient my country has a long history and is extensive and profound."Preface to the Spring and Autumn Calendar":"Heaven and earth were created, and all things were muddy and ignorant; Yin and Yang relied on, the celestial bodies began in the wild of the North Pole... the sun and the moon rotated at the five latitudes; the emperor emerged... The image of the sky, the instrument of the law of the earth, and the branches were used to determine the degree of the sun and the moon."

In ancient times, people determined the image of the sky and the instrument of the earth. According to the trajectory and position of the sun, moon and stars, the areas near the ecliptic and the equator were divided into "twenty-eight constellations". In the east, the "horn, kang, di, fang, heart, tail, and pan" form a complete dragon-shaped astrology, which is the "Canglong Seven Constellations". The appearance cycle of the Canglong Seven Susts is consistent with the four-hour cycle of the year. Spring rises in the east, summer rises in the south, autumn recedes in the west, and winter disappears under the northern horizon. During the mid-summer Dragon Boat Festival,"dragons are flying in the sky". The main star of the Canglong,"Fire"(Antares), hangs high in the south and mid-sky, and the dragon qi (yang qi) is strong. In the Book of Changes,"flying dragons in the sky" are both "right" and "right", which is a sign of good luck and good luck.

Ancient festivals are the carrier of the inheritance of ancient culture. The choice to hold the Dragon Sacrifice Festival at the Dragon Boat Festival is related to the seasonal phenomena in the south and middle of the Canglong Seven Susts. In traditional culture, location and time are linked together. On mid-summer noon, the dragon star flies to the south and mid-sky, just like the "I Ching Gua Qian" says: "The dragon flies in the sky"; On the Dragon Boat Festival Day, the dragon star is both "middle" and "upright". It is in the position of "justice", which is a sign of good luck and good luck.

The "dragon" mentioned in the line line of "Yi·Qian" is essentially an interpretation of the operation of Canglong's seven suns at four seasons in the year. The astronomical phenomenon "dragons flying in the sky" has been given multiple meanings and sustenance, forming the etiquette and custom of offering sacrifices to dragons to reward the dragon ancestors for their kindness, praying for blessings and auspicious events, and driving away evil spirits and resisting disasters, which has evolved into the "Dragon Boat Festival". The Dragon Boat Festival culture fully reflects the natural view of the ancestors of the Chinese nation that "man and man are integrated". The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival covers ancient astrological culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects, and contains profound and rich cultural connotations; in the inheritance and development, it mixes a variety of folk customs into one, and the festival and customs content are rich.

Dragon Boat Festival customs are rich and colorful, and there are differences in customs content or details across the country due to different regional cultures. These festivals and customs revolve around forms such as dragon sacrifices, praying for blessings, and resisting disasters, expressing people's desire to welcome good fortune and ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters. Traditional festival rituals and related customs activities are important contents of festival elements. During the Dragon Boat Festival, various traditional folk activities can not only enrich the spiritual and cultural life of the people, but also inherit and promote traditional culture.

The main ones include raking dragon boats, hanging wormwood and calamus, gathering lunches, washing herbal water, putting paper kites, swinging, pasting "noon talismans", tying hundreds of ropes, beating noon water, dipping dragon boat water, putting paper dragons, dragon boat rice, watching dragon boats, ordering mugwort sticks, smoking atractylodes rhizome, giving fragrant fans, sun-drying ginger for a hundred days, hanging yellow kudzu vine, painting forehead, carrying fragrant sachet, carrying long-life strands, tying five-color threads, eating rice dumplings, picking medicine to make tea, standing eggs, carrying damselflies, pasting pictures of the five poisons, swimming in drought dragons, rowing happy boats, nine lions worshipping elephants, robbing green, horse-riding, and carving, and carving a statue of Kui, Customs such as flower tasting banquets. Dragon boat scraping is very popular along the southern coast of China. After it spread abroad, it has been deeply loved by people of all countries and formed an international competition.

Dragon Boat Picking is a multi-person collective rowing competition. It is an important activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is a festival of ancient dragon totem sacrifices and a legacy. It is an important event during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is still very popular in the southern coastal areas of my country. After it spread abroad, it has been deeply loved by people of all countries and formed an international competition. Archaeology shows that about 7000 years ago, ancestors who lived along the coast used canoes to carry out fishing activities offshore. According to the "Report on the First Phase of Excavation of Hemudu Site", as early as 7000 years ago, ancient ancestors used single trees to make wooden boats, and added wooden paddles to paddle the boat. The dragon boat was originally a canoe carved with a dragon shape on a single wooden boat, and later developed into a dragon-shaped boat made of wooden boards. Among the records on the origin of dragon boats in ancient classics, it first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to the records in "The Original Things":"The competition started with Gou Jian, and today's dragon boat is the same." Mr. Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival Examination" said that more than a thousand years before Qu Zi threw the river, the custom of dragon boat rowing already existed in the Wuyue water town area. The purpose was to pray to avoid common floods and droughts by offering sacrifices to the totem dragon.

There are dragon boats and phoenix boats at the Dragon Boat Festival. Phoenix boats originated from ancient black boats, and there are dragon and phoenix boats in some places. Dragon boat raking is a form of dragon worship in folk beliefs, that is, to borrow the power of the dragon to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters. These dragon boats usually sink at the bottom of the rivers and lakes. Some people also place the dragon boats on wooden frames on land and build sheds to protect them. Every year, on an auspicious day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat is launched or floated from the bottom of the water. The sailors begin training and train until the Dragon Boat Festival to participate in competitions. Dragon boat racing is divided into several stages: inviting dragons, offering sacrifices to dragon gods, swimming dragons and harvesting dragons. Before dragon boat racing, dragons must be invited and gods offered sacrifices. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, you should rise out of the water. After offering sacrifices to the gods, you should install the dragon head and tail before preparing for the race. He also bought a pair of paper cocks and placed them on the dragon boat, believing that they could keep the boat safe (it could vaguely correspond to the ancient phoenix boat). Fujian and Taiwan went to Mazu Temple to worship. In Guangdong and Fujian, various sacrificial and commemorative ceremonies include incense sticks, burning paper coins, and providing chickens, rice, meat, fruits, rice dumplings, etc. In the old days, when people sacrificed their sacrifices to the Dragon God, the atmosphere was very serious, praying for blessings, good weather, elimination of evil spirits, resisting disasters, and everything went well. In Zigui, Qu Yuan's hometown in Hubei Province, there is also a ritual of rowing a dragon boat to pay homage to Qu Yuan.

Hanging wormwood and calamus During the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard planting wormwood and calamus as an important part. Every family sweeps the courtyard, planting calamus and moxa strips on the eyebrows of the door and hanging them in the hall. People believe that wormwood can also ward off evil spirits and attract blessings. During the Dragon Boat Festival, it became a custom to hang wormwood on the door.

Acorus is a perennial aquatic herb. Its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil, which is a medicine that refreshes the mind, strengthens bones and eliminates stagnation, and kills insects. The Acorus leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits, so alchemists called it a "water sword", and later custom was extended to "Pu sword", which can kill thousands of evil spirits. Mugwort represents Zhao Baifu. It is a kind of medicinal herb that can cure diseases. It is inserted at the door and can keep the body healthy.

There is a custom of hanging wormwood during the Dragon Boat Festival in all parts of the north and south. What is interesting is that whether the south regards it as an auspicious day for pure Yang and upright Qi in heaven and earth to exorcise evil spirits and eliminate diseases, or the north regards it as a vicious moon and evil day to avoid evil and poison, the customs connotations such as hanging mugwort, smoked mugwort, calamus, and medicinal bath are the same.

Washing herbal water with herbal water is one of the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon Boat Festival is the day of the year when grass and trees have the strongest traditional Chinese medicine. Dragon Boat Festival is filled with medicines everywhere. Washing herbal water on Dragon Boat Festival can cure skin diseases and eliminate evil spirits. During the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a custom in many places in our country to collect medicinal herbs, boil medicinal herbs and bathe in water. The medicinal properties of medicinal herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival play a vital role in this. Herbal water is Mulan soup recorded in ancient books. The existing written records on the custom of washing herbal water were first found in the "Da Dai Li Ji·Xia Xiaozheng" at the end of the Western Han Dynasty. However, the orchids in the text are not orchids, but the eupatorius orbifera of the Compositae. or herbal medicine, with aroma, can be boiled in water for bathing. Volume 22 of "Sui Shi Guang Ji" quotes the lost article in "Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji":"On May 5, the competition to collect miscellaneous medicines can cure all diseases." This custom still exists and is widely popular. In Guangdong, children use Vallissima herb medicine or flowers such as mugwort, cattail, impatiens, and magnolia to boil and wash. Teenagers and adult men go to rivers and seashore to take a shower. It is called washing dragon boat water to wash away bad luck and bring good luck. In Hunan, Guangxi and other places, cypress leaves, root of wind, wormwood, calamus, peach leaves, etc. are boiled into liquid medicine to bathe, and the whole family, regardless of age, washes it.

Worship to gods and ancestors is one of the important customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. "Heaven and earth are the foundation of life; ancestors are the foundation of mankind." Heaven and earth are the foundation of life, ancestors are the foundation of mankind, and worshiping ancestors is a custom that inherits filial piety. According to folk concepts, one's ancestors, like heaven, earth, and gods, should worship seriously. Because the "spirits in heaven" of our ancestors always care about and watch the descendants of future generations, people on the earth must pray for and repay their protection and blessings through sacrifices.

Wearing fragrant sacs is one of the traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. The sachet is usually filled with some fragrant Chinese herbal medicines, which have the effects of fragrance, insect repellent, pest prevention and disease prevention. Duanyang ties his arms with four-color threads and wears a sachet. It is small, exquisite and exquisite. The sachet is also called a sachet, sachet, or purse. It is usually filled with spices and wrapped with five-color silk threads, or wrapped with cotton with colored satin or cloth, mixed with Sichuan lovage rhizome, angelica dahurica, paicao, qin grass, cloves, mugwort, asarum, nardopine, angelica dahurica, licorice, realgar powder and other traditional Chinese medicine powders, and then tied and embroidered with colored silk. Various threads of red, green, green, blue and purple hang on the bottom and are worn on the chest. The aroma reaches the nostrils.

Children wear sachets on Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to be meant to ward off evil spirits and banish plague. The sachet is made in various shapes and formed into a string. It is small and cute, and has now become a common handicraft. In some cities in southern China, young men and women also use sachets to express their deep love.

"Lun Heng" by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty records the etiquette and customs of "casting Yang Sui" during the Dragon Boat Festival: "Yang Sui takes fire from the sky. In the middle of the fifth month of May, it removes and refines the five stones and casts them into objects. The stimulation generates light. If you look up to the sun, the fire will come. This is the way to get real fire." The ancients believed that the noon moon had triple fires at noon, which was a time when the yang qi was extremely strong. At this moment, using fire to suppress gold was the best time to melt gold and cast a mirror. The bronze mirror cast had incredible power. The custom of using mirrors to ward off evil spirits is widely used and inherited in the southern coastal areas. Children who were born soon can often be seen wearing silver mirrors and other ornaments on their bodies. These small silver-decorated mirrors are used for children to ward off evil spirits. In newly built temples and Taoist temples, bronze mirrors are often decorated in the middle of the roof. Even above the doors and windows of brand-new buildings in modern communities, mirrors can often be found hanging. These are all used for so-called evil spirits. This shows that the cultural belief of mirrors to ward off evil spirits is deeply rooted among the people.

The

is tied with five-color silk thread, also commonly known as five-color silk and five-color silk. Ancient customs names such as Doubing Zeng, Zhu Suo, etc. Those tied to mosquito nets and cradles are also called Wanzhuan ropes and Jianropes. Ying Shao's "Custom Tong" said: "On May 5th, colorful silk will be used to tie the arms. It is called Changsheng Silk, one is called Sustainment Silk, one is called Pibing Silk, one is called Five-Color Silk, and the other is called Zhu Suo. It is called Pibing Soldiers and ghosts., order people not to get sick or sick." In ancient China, five colors were respected and regarded as auspicious colors. Therefore, on the early morning of the festival, the first big thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color threads around their children's wrists, ankles, and necks.

Children are forbidden to speak when tying the thread. Traditionally, thick red, green, yellow, white and black silk threads are twisted into colored strings and tied them around children's arms or necks. They are tied from May 5 until the birthday of "Qiniangma" on the seventh day of the seventh day. They are not untied and burned together with the golden bamboo. It is also said that on the first rainy day after the Dragon Boat Festival, cutting out the colorful threads and throwing them in the rain means letting the river water wash away plagues and diseases. It means that it can eliminate evil spirits and resist disasters, and will bring good luck for a year.

The five colors of the five-color silk represent the five elements, and the five colors represent the five directions. They generate and suppress each other and have the mysterious effect of dispelling evil spirits and welcoming good luck. Cyan belongs to wood, representing the east; red belongs to fire, representing the south; yellow belongs to earth, representing the center; white belongs to gold, representing the west; and black belongs to water, representing the north. With animals as the symbol, the east is the Qinglong, the south is the Suzaku, the west is the white tiger, the north is the Xuanwu (turtle snake), and the center is the Huanglong, all of which are spiritual objects. In fact, the symbolic significance of five-color silk's ability to exorcise evil and avoid plague is far more obvious than the actual function.

In "Baopuzi" by Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there is also a description of the witchcraft of hanging five-color paper in the mountains to summon ghosts and gods from the five directions. This probably used the five colors to symbolize the unity of ghosts and gods from the five directions to protect them. The five-color silk thread originated from the concept of the five elements in ancient China and may be related to the tattoo custom of ancient southerners. The five-color silk was tied to the arm, or it was a legacy of tattoo. "Han Shu":"Yue people are often in the water, so they cut off their hair and paint their bodies to resemble dragons, so they don't see any harm." The Dragon Boat Festival used to tie the arms with five-color silk threads, which was once a very popular festival. After being passed down to later generations, many beautiful ornaments such as longevity strands, longevity locks, sachets, etc. have been developed into increasingly sophisticated jewelry, becoming a unique folk artifact of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Flying paper kites In cities in southern China, flying kites on the Dragon Boat Festival is also a custom. During the Dragon Boat Festival, children fly kites and call it "flying disasters." Kite, also known as paper kite. It is a toy. Bamboo strips and other skeletons are pasted with paper or silk, and the long wire tied to it is pulled. It can be put into the sky while the wind is blowing. It belongs to an aircraft that simply uses aerodynamic power.

Immersing dragon boat water during the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom in South China. People call the water before and after the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat water, Duanyang water, dragon water, dragon precipitation, etc., and consider this water to be auspicious water., have the effect of evil spirits. Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival stars soar in the south and mid-sky. In folk customs, dragons are auspicious creatures and masters of weathering and rain. They fly into the sky and spread clouds and rain. In terms of natural phenomena, around the Dragon Boat Festival every year, the warm and humid air currents in southern China are active, and they intersect with the cold air from the north south in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and Hainan. Continuous large-scale heavy precipitation often occurs. When heavy rainfall came during the Dragon Boat Festival, the water level of the river rose rapidly, providing good site conditions for dragon boat raking. According to traditional saying, dipping in dragon boat water means good luck and everything goes well. Every year when "dragon boat water" comes, people will take their families to the riverside to wash the dragon boat water. The ancients believed that "dragon boat water" has the effect of evil spirits, which can purify the body, wash away bad luck, and bring good luck.

Long-life Trench is a Yansheng ornament during the Dragon Boat Festival. Long-life Trench is also known as the Life-extending Trench, the Life-extending Silk, the Long-life Trench, the Long-life Line, the Baisuo, the Pibing Shao, the Colorful Trench, etc. It has different names, and the shape and function are roughly the same. It is customary for the Dragon Boat Festival to make a rope made of five-color silk, which is hung at the front of the door, worn on a child's neck, tied on a child's arm, or hung on a bed tent, cradle, etc. It is said that it can eliminate evil spirits, avoid disasters and diseases, and prolong life. This custom began in the Han Dynasty. Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty,"Customs Tong·Lost Wen":"In the afternoon, tie your arms with colorful silk to avoid ghosts and soldiers, so that people will not get sick. One is called Longevity, and the other is called Pibing Soldiers Shao."

Water at noon during the Dragon Boat Festival "Water at noon" is a traditional custom prevalent in the southern coastal areas. Water at noon is to draw water from the well between 11:00 and 13:00 on the Dragon Boat Festival. The ancients regarded the water at noon as the Great Good Fortune River, and the water at this time is the most effective to ward off evil spirits. At noon on the noon day, the yang adds yang, so "noon water" is called "extreme yang water"; also known as Longmu water, Zhengyang water, etc. On this day, the yang qi is at its peak at noon, and the best at noon on Dragon Boat Festival is at noon. It has the effect of dispelling evil spirits, purifying the body, and removing obstacles. Tainan has a tradition of taking noon water to forge iron. Using the most yang energy of noon water can make various iron tools stronger and more durable. It is said that noon water is particularly fragrant when used to make tea and make wine, and drinking it raw can even have miraculous effects on treating diseases. A folk proverb in southern Fujian says,"Wash your eyes at noon, and it will be as bright as a crow"; it also says,"Take a sip of water at noon, and it will be better to take tonic medicine for three years."

In the old days, there was a custom of pasting "noon symbols" in some places in Guangdong. After lunch, every family puts up a "noon symbol". The talisman uses a yellow paper about an inch wide and nearly a foot long, with cinnabar written on it with words such as "At noon on May 5, official non-tongue diseases, snakes, insects, rats and ants are eliminated." Hang calamus, phoenix tail, mugwort leaf, etc. on the gate, tie a bunch of garlic, and apply cinnabar to ward off evil spirits. Some people also put a small couplet written on yellow paper on their doors: "Ai Qi welcomes hundreds of blessings, and Pu Jian kills thousands of evil."

Picking herbs is one of the ancient customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. People believe that there is strong yang energy at noon, which is the day of the year when vegetation and grass have the strongest traditional Chinese medicine. Medicine is everywhere during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is midsummer. At that time, everything grows and is at its peak. It is the time when medicinal herbs grow vigorously. During the Dragon Boat Festival, many places in our country have customs such as smoking mugwort leaves, hanging calamus, and drinking medicinal wine. Chinese herbal medicine plays a vital role in them. "Da Dai Li Ji·Xia Xiaozheng" at the end of the Western Han Dynasty records: "On this day, medicine is stored to eliminate the poison gas with poison gas." Volume 22 of the Southern Song Dynasty's "Sui Shi Guang Ji" quoted an lost article in "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji":"On May 5, the competition to collect miscellaneous medicines can cure all diseases." In the Later Wei Dynasty's "Qi Min Yao Shu·Miscellaneous Notes", there is a record of catching toads in May, which is also used for pharmaceuticals. In many areas, it is customary to catch toads during the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, Jiangsu collects toads on the Dragon Boat Festival and pricks their foam to make traditional Chinese medicine toad; people in Hangzhou also eat toads for children, saying that they can cool down the fire and avoid sores and boils in summer. Also on the fifth day, put ink ingots in the mouth of a toad, hang them and dry to make a toad ingot. Apply them on the abscess to dissipate. This custom of picking herbs was formed on this day because the stems and leaves of medicinal herbs were mature and had good medicinal properties before and after the Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat Festival is also the most suitable time for making medicines. Chen Yuanliang's "Sui Shi Guang Ji", Volume 22,"Combination of Zhuyao", quoted from "Piao Lu","When combined on the morning of May and the Dragon Boat Festival, the lunar calendar, and the three days before the day, the smell will not stop for a long time", which means that the efficacy of the drugs combined during the Dragon Boat Festival will last for a long time. Among the medicines made during the Dragon Boat Festival, Changmu wine, moxa wine, and realgar wine are more popular.

Painting forehead The custom of smearing realgar on children's foreheads during the Dragon Boat Festival can repel poisonous insects. A typical method is to use realgar wine to draw the word "Wang" on the forehead of children. One is to borrow realgar to dispel poison, and the other is to borrow tiger (the "Wang" resembles a tiger's forehead pattern, and the tiger is the king of beasts, so it replaces the tiger) to suppress evil spirits. Qing Fu Cha Dunshang's "Yanjing Year's Notes":"Every time we go to Duanyang, from the first day of the day, take realgar and wine and sprinkle it on the children's collar and nose and ears to avoid poisons." In addition to applying it on the forehead, nose and ears, you can also apply it on other places with the same intention. Shanxi's "Hequ County Annals" states: "During the Dragon Boat Festival, drink realgar wine and apply it to children's forehead, hands, and feet. It means that it can eliminate diseases and prolong life."

Xinbao Crafts Guangzhou people attach great importance to the Dragon Boat Festival. The old custom has a festival from the second day to the fourth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Young "newly-hugged"(daughter-in-law) use six or four "full boxes" and serve rice dumplings, pork, raw chicken, eggs, fruits, wine, etc. to return to their parents 'homes to celebrate the festival to their elders. Girls and children hang sachets, which are woven with five-color silk threads. The sachets contain sandalwood, star anise, pepper, jade ornaments, etc., which are generally given by new daughter-in-law. On the one hand, they reflect the virtue of the new daughter-in-law, and on the other hand, they reflect the new daughter-in-law's craftsmanship, commonly known as "Xinbao Crafts".

Sending disasters is a Dragon Boat Festival folk custom popular in some places in southern my country in ancient times. The main purpose of this folk custom is to exorcise evil spirits and eliminate disasters. After washing your eyes with burning talisman water at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, it was sprinkled on the road, which was called "sending disaster." Another form is to welcome the living statue from the temple in the community and out of the parade area, implying that the god will land among the people and patrol the countryside to protect the peace of the area; the Taoist officials also use Dharma water and paste talismans to drive out evil spirits.

Smoking atractylodes rhizome is one of the traditional customs activities of the Dragon Boat Festival. In folk, atractylodes rhizome is used to disinfect the air. That is, natural atractylodes rhizome is bundled together. The thin smoke produced after burning will not only give off a fragrance, but also drive away mosquitoes, making people feel refreshed.

Fighting grass is a folk game derived from picking medicinal herbs. Go out on Dragon Boat Festival and find some exotic flowers and grasses to compete with each other, and win with those who are novel or have many varieties. The origin is unknown, but it is generally believed that it is related to the emergence of traditional Chinese medicine. Before the Han Dynasty, there was no drama of fighting grass ("A Survey of Popular Things in Past Dynasties·Shang Binghe"). Fighting grass uses a duel to report each other's names and grass names. The one with the most wins, which has the fun of plant knowledge and literary knowledge; children hook each other with the stalks, hold each other and pull each other. Those who break the grass are the loser, and then change the leaf. Fight against each other.

The damselfly is a headwear for women on the Dragon Boat Festival in the old days and is often seen in Jiangnan. Some areas are also called healthy people. One thing originated from the ancient step shake, and the other was a different form of Ai Ren. "Qing Jialu" quotes "The Heritage of the Tang and Song Dynasties" as follows: "Who is the north and south of the river? The five-day hairpin head color victory system is extremely ingenious. Those who use silk and chopped leaves to make mugwort leaves, or use them to embroider the shapes of immortals, Buddhas, He, Wu, insects, fish, and beasts, as well as eight treasures and flowers.

Avoiding the Five Poisons Dragon Boat Festival was a poisonous day and an evil day in the eyes of ancient northerners. This idea has been passed down in folk beliefs, so there are various customs of seeking peace and avoiding the Five Poisons. The five poisons refer to centipedes, venomous snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads. These five animals were the five major poisons widely rumored in the north in ancient times.

Dancing on Zhong Kui, hanging Zhong Kui is like dancing on Zhong Kui: A folk dance, also known as "playing Zhong Kui". It is reported that the Zhong Kui jumping originated from the Northern Song Dynasty and is a traditional folk performance left over from ancient Huizhou. It has various contents such as "Going Out to Patrol","Marry a Sister", and "Eliminating the Five Poisons", which reflects the people's admiration for Zhong Kui's integrity and good wishes to pray for the elimination of evil and blessings. Among the people,"Zhong Kui" is a symbol of avoiding evil spirits and strengthening the body. Jumping Zhong Kui at the Dragon Boat Festival means eliminating the five poisons, peace all year round, and a prosperous life. In the Qing Dynasty, most residents in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas in the south of the Yangtze River would watch the clock on the gate or hall for a month in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, in order to exorcise evil spirits, eliminate evil spirits and attract blessings.

Chasing ghosts with bells: It is a popular custom during the Dragon Boat Festival in the Jianghuai area. In the Jianghuai area, every family hangs statues of Zhong Kui to hold houses and exorcise evil spirits. It is said that Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty returned to the palace from Mount Li to teach martial arts. He suffered from malaria and dreamed of two ghosts, one big and the other small. The little ghost was wearing red jockless trousers, stealing Yang Guifei's sachet and Emperor Ming's jade flute, and running around the hall. The big ghost wore a blue robe and a hat. He caught the little ghost, dug out its eyes, and swallowed it in one gulp. Emperor Ming shouted, and the big ghost reported: My name is Zhong Kui, and I am not qualified in martial arts. I am willing to eliminate demons for Your Majesty. After Emperor Ming woke up, the malaria recovered, so he ordered painter Wu Daozi to paint a portrait of a bell and a ghost catching portrait according to what he saw in his dream. He ordered the world to post it during the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.

The above is a brief introduction to some of the traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. Aren't there so many customs activities very lively? In addition to these colorful customs and activities, the Dragon Boat Festival also features festival foods with Dragon Boat Festival characteristics, such as rice dumplings, five yellow, wormwood cake, amici, cake, fried tui, tea eggs, five poison cakes, calamus wine, realgar wine, lunch tea and so on. The custom of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival has been prevalent in all parts of China since ancient times. It has become one of the most influential and wide-ranging folk dietary customs of the Chinese nation.

Dragon Boat Festival rice dumplings

Eating rice dumplings at the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom of the Chinese nation since ancient times. Zongzi belongs to a type of "rice dumplings". Rice dumplings are tributes used by people to worship gods during festivals and festivals. It is an ancient traditional custom to make rice dumplings and worship gods during festivals and festivals. There are many varieties of rice dumplings, and different rice dumplings will be made on different festivals. Rice dumplings are a tribute to the gods during the Dragon Boat Festival. The main materials of rice dumplings are rice, fillings and indocalamus leaves (or prunus leaves, ancient canthus cotyledons), etc., with a variety of varieties. Due to the different eating habits of various places, rice dumplings have formed a north and south flavor; in terms of taste, rice dumplings can be divided into two categories: salty rice dumplings and sweet rice dumplings. The custom of eating rice dumplings at the Dragon Boat Festival has been prevalent in China for thousands of years. It has become one of the most influential and widely covered folk dietary customs of the Chinese nation, and has spread to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

The first written records related to rice dumplings in history may be found in Xu Shen's "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" in the Han Dynasty, which explains it as "reed leaves wrapped in rice." The "Feng Shi Ji" written by Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty clearly mentioned the word "corn millet":"The fifth day in midsummer, Fang Bo cooperates with each other. Enjoy the corn and the turtle scales shunde." Zongzi was originally used to worship ancestors and gods, but the exact origin date is unknown. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet rice was soaked in plant ash water. Because the water contained "alkali", the millet rice was wrapped in wild mushroom leaves into a quadrangular shape and cooked to make Guangdong alkali rice dumplings. In the Jin Dynasty, rice dumplings were officially designated as festive food for the Dragon Boat Festival. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, miscellaneous rice dumplings appeared. Rice was mixed with animal meat, chestnut, red dates, red beans, etc., and the variety increased. Zongzi was also used as a gift for communication.

By the Tang Dynasty, rice used for rice dumplings had become "white as jade", and its shapes appeared in cones and diamond-shaped shapes. During the Song Dynasty, there were already "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruits were put into rice dumplings. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, rice dumplings became auspicious food; legend has it that at that time, scholars who took the imperial examination had to eat "rice dumplings" specially made for them at home before going to the examination room. They looked slender and similar to brushes, and the homophonic pronunciation of "Bizhong" was to get a taste for it. At the beginning of May every year, China people soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, and make zongzi, which have a wide variety of colors and colors. From the perspective of fillings, in the north, there are many Beijing jujube rice dumplings packed with dates; in the south, there are a variety of fillings such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham, clams, egg yolk, etc.

Eat five yellows

Five yellows are yellow croaker, cucumber, rice eel, duck egg yellow, and realgar wine (realgar wine is toxic, and ordinary rice wine is generally drunk instead of realgar wine). Eating five yellows is a folk custom of the Han people and is popular in Jiangnan and other places. In the fifth month of the lunar calendar, Jiangnan is known as the Five Yellow Moon, named after five kinds of foods with the sound of "yellow" are on the market.

Eating a five-yellow meal at noon during the Dragon Boat Festival means mixing five yellow-colored foods together. Because traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that the Dragon Boat Festival is on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, when the yang qi is at its peak during the year, and noon is the time of the day when the yang qi is at its peak. You can use the power of the Dragon Boat Festival Qi to suppress bad luck and improve your energy.

Drinking Pu wine, realgar, and cinnabar wine, and spraying realgar with the wine is also a medicinal material that is said to kill all poisons. The custom of drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival was once extremely popular in the Yangtze River Basin. As the old saying goes,"If you drink realgar wine, the disease will go away." "Jingchu Chronicles of the Year" said: "Use calamus or carved or shredded, and use cold wine." The wine is fragrant and refreshing. Later, realgar, cinnabar, etc. were added to the wine. Feng Yingjing's "Yue Ling Guang Yi" of the Ming Dynasty: "On the fifth day, cinnabar wine is used to ward off evil spirits and detoxify. Use wine to dye your forehead, chest, hands, feet and hearts. You will not suffer from snake snakes (a type of poisonous snake mentioned in ancient books). They also sprinkle walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects." This custom is widely spread. Realgar, add water and sprinkle wine indoors to disinfect and sterilize. Drinking cattail is also quite beneficial.

Summary: The Dragon Boat Festival is a popular folk festival in China. Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional habit of the Chinese nation since ancient times. Due to the vast area and many stories and legends, not only have many different festival names produced, but also have different customs in various places.

Finally, Xiaobian would like to take advantage of the Dragon Boat Festival to thank the old iron friends and fans who have always supported me. I wish everyone good health, invincible happiness, and a happy Dragon Boat Festival! The afterglow of the sun reflects the colorful clouds, faces the breeze, and faces the sky. The soft breeze carried the holiday greetings and floated to you in the distance. May you spend all this wonderful things!​​