Why is the Dragon Boat Festival called "unlucky day"?

In the pre-Qin period, it was generally believed that May was a poisonous month and the fifth was an evil day. Midsummer in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals stipulates that people should abstain from sex and fast in May. "Xia Zheng Xiao" records: "Store medicine this day to get rid of poisonous gas." It is recorded in "Da Dai Li" that "the livestock orchid takes a bath on May 5", and there are many legends that the fifth day is the taboo day for bathing to exorcise evil spirits.

The famous Meng Changjun in Historical Records and Biography of Meng Changjun was born on May 5th. His father asked his mother not to have him, thinking that "a child born in May is longer than a family, which is not good for parents." "Custom Pass" was lost. "It is said that on May 5th, a child was born, and the male harmed his father and the female harmed his mother". Wang Chong, the author of Lun Heng, also described: "The first month and May are taboos; Kill your father and your mother in May of the first month. " Wang Zhene, a general of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was born on the fifth day of May. His grandfather named him "Zhen Xie". Evonne and Song Huizong were born on the fifth day of May, and were fostered outside the palace since childhood. It can be seen that it is a common phenomenon to regard the fifth day of May as an evil day in ancient times. It can be seen that this day has been an unlucky day since the pre-Qin period. In this way, it is logical to insert calamus and mugwort leaves to exorcise ghosts, smoke atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica and drink realgar wine to avoid the epidemic on this day.

It is generally believed that the formation of the Dragon Boat Festival originated from avoiding "evil days" in ancient times. Noon and summer solstice is coming, this time.

During this period, the yang is the most abundant, and all kinds of mosquitoes appear. When it comes to "emphasizing five", five is the number of yang, which also means "extremely yang". China traditional culture pays attention to the harmony between yin and yang. It is generally believed that this sunny day is unlucky and there are many diseases and plagues, so the custom of "hiding in the afternoon (fifth day)" has been formed. Later, it was rumored that it was the Dragon Boat Festival.

Many festivals and customs of Dragon Boat Festival are centered on exorcising evil spirits, such as drinking realgar wine, inserting wormwood, hanging calamus (the leaves of calamus are like swords, which means exorcising evil spirits), tying five-color silk ropes to children, wearing a belly pocket with five poisons, sewing purses with spices and so on. In order to achieve the purpose of exorcism and pest control. According to textual research, dragon boat racing was also related to exorcism at the earliest. People put evil spirits on dragon boats through certain ceremonies to see who can send them quickly and far.

Dragon Boat Festival was originally a festival formed by festivals, and it is more related to climate change. Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Dragon Boat Festival has been associated with the commemoration of Qu Yuan, which has injected cultural connotation into the festival. Due to people's recognition of Qu Yuan's noble moral integrity and great personality, there is an interactive relationship between Qu Yuan and the Dragon Boat Festival: the Dragon Boat Festival has a richer festival connotation because of Qu Yuan, and Qu Yuan's principles are constantly remembered and missed by people.