Customs and Highlights of Guangzhou Dragon Boat Festival

Today's Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat scenes from major rivers in Guangzhou will be staged one after another. As the most lively folk festival in Guangzhou every year, it should not be missed. There are many customs and ceremonies in Guangzhou Dragon Boat Festival, which is also a valuable intangible cultural heritage of Guangdong Province.

How does the dragon boat leave the water?

Dragon boat activities are mainly divided into five steps: starting the dragon, picking the green and racing the dragon (Youlong, diving the dragon and dispersing the dragon). On the day of each ceremony, many villages have the custom of getting together to eat dragon boat meals. In addition, the custom of eating dragon boat rice will run through the whole month.

Riding a dragon

Repairing centenarians by tightening dragon tendons and brushing tung oil.

When rowing a dragon boat, you should first pray for firecrackers by the river, put apples and other sacrifices to pray for peace, and then dozens of young and middle-aged people board the boat with bare arms and shorts. After that, a detailed physical examination will be conducted on the dragon boat buried for one year. Dragon boat maintenance is also very particular. Generally, the old dragon boat in every village has a history of dozens or even hundreds of years, and it is a veritable "old man".

First of all, it is important to extend a thin board between the bow and stern to make the dragon boat tougher. The second process is to brush oil on the dragon boat. In the past, villagers fried lard with indigenous methods, but now some villages have switched to tung oil. After the maintenance is completed, it is necessary to decorate the dragon boat, add color to the dragon boat and its tail hidden in the ancestral hall, and arrange the umbrella flag to get ready.

Picking green

Longan leaves are full of vitality and cypress branches are evergreen all the year round.

After starting the dragon, because the dragon boat has been sleeping for a year, a ceremony will be held to refresh the dragon boat, so the second ceremony is "picking green".

This ceremony is usually held around April 28th of the lunar calendar. After the dragon boat comes out of the water, please pick it up at the paddy field on an auspicious day of the ecliptic and pick a handful of young crops to worship.

Before the green picking ceremony, fresh longan leaves, cypress branches and other sacrifices should be picked. Longan leaves represent vigorous growth, and cypress branches represent evergreen. Then hang colored balls made of red cloth on the faucet and you can have a good draw. After picking the green, you can officially pick the dragon boat.

Lung Yu

This time of year is the busiest time to visit relatives and friends and visit the dragon boat scenery.

The most popular dragon boat activities are dragon racing and Youlong, that is, "dragon boat picking". For hundreds of years, dragon boat fishing has been divided into two types: competition and cruise. Now it's more about visiting relatives and cruising, which is the dragon boat scenery.

The dragon boat scenery in a village is the most lively day of the year, which is more grand than the Chinese New Year. Since the morning, the dragon boats in Yingjing Village have come to the riverside of Zhao Jing Village. The person in charge of the ship must go ashore first and write a letter to each other. Some villages also give all kinds of gifts. The recipient of Cambodia and the gift will immediately post the name of Cambodia and the gift outside the ancestral hall. The more ancestral temples in Cambodia, the more face there is.

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2022 Guangzhou Dragon Boat Festival.