What are the traditional customs of Dragon Boat Festival?

? Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanyang Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival and Tianzhong Festival. It is a folk festival that combines offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, praying for evil spirits, celebrating entertainment and eating. The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of natural phenomena and evolved from the ancient Dragon Boat Festival. On the midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, the Black Dragon spent seven nights in Nanzhong, which is the most "positive" position in the whole year, just like the fifth poem in the Book of Changes: "The flying dragon is in the sky". Dragon Boat Festival is an auspicious day when dragons fly in the sky. Dragon and dragon boat culture have been running through the inheritance history of Dragon Boat Festival. Let me show you what I know about the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.

First, dragon boat race.

Dragon boat race is one of the customs of China Dragon Boat Festival, and it is also one of the most important festivals and folk activities. It widely exists in the south of China, and there are also dragon boat races in cities near rivers, lakes and seas in the north, and most of them are held in the form of dragon boat rowing and dragon boat dancing.

There are many sayings about the origin of dragon boat racing, such as offering sacrifices to Cao E, Qu Yuan, water god or dragon god, which can be traced back to the Warring States period. Dragon boat race was first introduced to Japan, Vietnam, Britain and other neighboring countries, and it was the official event of Guangzhou Asian Games in 20 10.

Second, hang wormwood and cultivate cattails.

On the Dragon Boat Festival, people put wormwood and wormwood as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the court, puts Yingpu and moxa sticks in their eyebrows and hangs them in the class. People believe that wormwood can also ward off evil spirits and attract wealth. During the Dragon Boat Festival, wormwood is hung on the door to show the habit, which has become the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival.

There is a custom of hanging wormwood on the Dragon Boat Festival all over the north and south. The south regards heaven and earth as pure yang, healthy qi and auspicious days to drive away evil spirits and diseases, while some places in the north regard evil moons and evil days to avoid evil spirits.

Third, eat zongzi.

Zongzi, also known as "pepper tree" and "Zongzi", is a traditional festival food of the Han nationality during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is steamed by wrapping glutinous rice with Zongzi leaves. Legend has been passed down to this day to commemorate Qu Yuan, which is the traditional food with the deepest cultural accumulation in China history. Until now, people still follow this traditional custom. At the beginning of May every year, palm seed is sold in the streets and alleys. Every family in China should dip in glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and make zongzi. This custom has also spread to North Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Fourth, fly a kite.

A kite is an aircraft that sticks paper or silk to a bamboo frame and pulls a long line on it. It can be put into the sky under the action of wind, and it belongs to an aircraft that only uses aerodynamic force. In southern China, children flying kites during the Dragon Boat Festival is called "flying disaster".

Five, wash herbal water

Herbal water, that is, Mulan soup recorded in ancient books, washing herbal water at noon can cure skin diseases and eliminate evil spirits. Noon is the day with the most Chinese herbal medicines in a year, and there are medicines everywhere. 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. Volume 22 of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection quotes the lost article of Miscellaneous Medicine Collection at the Age of Jingchu: "On May 5, competing for miscellaneous medicine can cure all diseases." The existing written records about the custom of washing medicine and water were first found in the book Da Dai Li at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, but the orchids mentioned in this paper are not orchids, but flying grasses or compositae herbs, which have fragrance and can be decocted and bathed in water. This custom still exists today and is widely popular. In Guangdong, children use wormwood wheat medicine or wormwood, cattail, impatiens, magnolia and other flowers to boil and wash, while teenagers and adult men take a bath on the river and beach, which is called dragon boat washing water to wash away bad luck and bring good luck. In Hunan, Guangxi and other places, cypress leaves, anemone roots, wormwood, calamus, peach leaves, etc. are boiled into liquid medicine for bathing, regardless of gender, age and family.

Six, 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.

These are the customs I know about the Dragon Boat Festival. I hope I can help you!