What are the customs of Dragon Boat Festival?

The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival include: picking dragon boats, hanging wormwood and calamus, eating zongzi, washing herbal water and tying colorful silk thread. The origin of ancient traditional festivals is related to ancient primitive beliefs, sacrificial culture, astronomical phenomena, calendars and other humanistic and natural cultural contents. The two main activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, eating zongzi and running, are all related to dragons.

1, roast dragon boat

Dragon boat picking is an important activity of Dragon Boat Festival, a ritual of ancient dragon totem sacrifice and a kind of heritage. According to the first excavation report of Hemudu site, as early as 7000 years ago, ancient ancestors had carved wooden boats out of a single piece of wood and rowed them with wooden paddles. Dragon boat was originally carved into the shape of Jackie Chan by canoe, and later developed into a dragon boat made of wood.

Boating dragon boat has a long history, and it is a multi-person collective rowing competition. The dragon boat race is divided into several parts, such as inviting dragons, offering sacrifices to dragon gods, Youlong and collecting dragons. Before the dragon boat race, a grand sacrifice ceremony is usually held. One is to invite dragons to worship the gods. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, you should choose an auspicious day to come out of the water, and after offering sacrifices to the gods, you should install a dragon head and a dragon tail, and then prepare for the race.

2. Hang wormwood and calamus

On the Dragon Boat Festival, all kinds of flowers and plants that can drive away evil spirits and diseases have long been arranged. People regard wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents of the Dragon Boat Festival. Such as wormwood hanging on the door, Jingchu Chronicle: "Collecting wormwood is like hanging a door with poison gas." This is because mugwort is an important medicinal plant, and it can also be used for treating diseases, moxibustion at acupoints and expelling insects.

Folium Artemisiae Argyi contains the most oil in May (it is in the vigorous period of warm growth at this time), so the effect is the best, and people are scrambling to pick folium Artemisiae Argyi. Several mugwort plants are often hung at home. Because of its special fragrance, people use it to ward off evil spirits, prevent mosquitoes and ward off evil spirits.

3. Eat zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival

Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom of the Chinese nation since ancient times. Zongzi, or Zongzi, commonly known as Zongzi, is a kind of Zongzi. "Qi" is a tribute to the gods and ancestors in festivals. There are many kinds of qi, and different festivals will make different qi. It is an ancient custom to make Qi sacrifice to gods and ancestors.

The main materials of Zongzi are rice, fillings, bamboo leaves (or Hiragi leaves) and so on, and there are many kinds. Because of the different eating habits in different places, zongzi has formed a north-south flavor; In terms of taste, zongzi can be divided into salty zongzi and sweet zongzi. The custom of eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival has been popular in China for thousands of years, and it has become one of the most influential and extensive folk food customs of the Chinese nation, and spread to North Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Step 4 wash herbal water

Herbal water, that is, Mulan soup recorded in ancient books, can cure skin diseases and eliminate evil spirits by washing with herbal water at noon. Dragon Boat Festival is the day with the most Chinese herbal medicines in a year, and medicines are everywhere at noon. During the Dragon Boat Festival, many places in China have the custom of collecting herbs, boiling herbs and soaking in water, and the medicinal properties of the Dragon Boat Festival herbs play a vital role in it.

Step 5 tie five-color silk thread

In the traditional culture of China, the five colors "blue, red, white, black and yellow" symbolizing the five elements are regarded as auspicious colors. It was once a popular holiday custom to tie one's arm with colored silk thread during the Dragon Boat Festival. Passed on to future generations, it developed into many beautiful decorations, such as longevity wisps, longevity locks, sachets and so on. Its production has become increasingly exquisite and has become a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival. ?

On the Dragon Boat Festival, children should tie colorful silk threads on their wrists and ankles to ward off evil spirits. Traditionally, thick red, green, yellow, white and black silk threads are twisted into colorful ropes and tied around children's arms or necks. From May 5th, it was not until Qi's birthday on Qixi that they were untied and burned with Jin Jun ... There is also a saying that on the first rainy day after Dragon Boat Festival, cutting colorful threads and throwing them in the rain means that the river will wash away plagues and diseases, which means that it can ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for a year.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Dragon Boat Festival