On February 2 nd, the origin of the dragon's rise was 200 words.

On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, there is a proverb in China, "On the second day of February, the dragon looks up", which means that spring comes, everything recovers, and the dragon begins to sting people, which indicates that a year's farming activities are about to begin. In the north, February 2 is also called Dragon Head-Up Day, also known as Spring Festival. It was called the picnic festival in the south and the vegetable picking festival in ancient times. China people have had the custom of "February 2nd" since the Tang Dynasty. According to records, the origin of this sentence is related to the understanding of star movement in ancient astronomy and agricultural solar terms.

In China's ancient astronomical observation model, 28 constellations were identified on the ecliptic on Sunday, called 28 nights. The ancients divided these 28 stars into four palaces according to the southeast and northwest, with 7 nights in each palace, and attached them to four kinds of animals according to their images. Among them, the seven nights in the East Palace is imagined as a dragon stretching from north to south, consisting of 30 stars.

Stars are relatively static. When the position of the earth's revolution makes the dragon constellation and the sun in the same direction, the sunlight will drown the starlight, and people will not see the dragon in the sky. After a while, the position of the earth shifted and the dragon constellation appeared again. Time and again, the ancients discovered this law and used it to judge the seasons.

The seven-night East Palace, known as the "Dragon Horn", appeared on the horizon on the first night, which was the time when spring came, so the ancients took its appearance as a symbol of spring. At this time, it coincides with the rainy solar term in February of the China lunar calendar, resulting in the saying that "on February 2nd, the dragon rises". Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, said in a poem: "On February 2, it was sunny and rainy, and the grass buds were born for a while; The light shirt is thin and the horse is young, and the cross is full of words. "

Folklore experts explain in detail why "February 2" is "the dragon looks up"

There is a folk saying that "on February 2nd, the dragon rises". Why did the dragon look up on February 2? Folklore experts explain this.

According to a professor from Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, this folk custom is related to festivals. Around the first day of February, it was a "shock". Many animals, such as frogs, snakes, earthworms, etc., go into hibernation in winter, which is called "entering the sting". Around February of the following year, the weather turned warmer, and some insects gradually ended their hibernation and began to go out. It seems to be awakened from sleep by a bright spring day or deafening spring thunder, so this festival is called "fright".

The professor also said that the legendary dragon was imagined by our ancestors on the basis of snakes and earthworms, so the people also called snakes "little dragons". Around February 2, snakes, earthworms, etc. End hibernation and start activities. Folk believe that the dragon is a symbol of the son of heaven, an auspicious thing, and the master of storms, and "February 2" is the day when the dragon will ascend to heaven and start activities, so it is called "February 2, when the dragon looks up".

So, why not "February 1st" or "February 3rd"? Folklore experts explained that this is related to our preference for even numbers in folklore.

Folklore experts said that in ancient China, especially before the Qin and Han Dynasties, all the days of 1 month 1 day, February 2nd, March 3rd, etc. were regarded as days when heaven and earth were in sympathy and communication. Therefore, on such days, people need to do more prayers, sacrifices or commemorative activities to achieve happiness, well-being and good luck.

Astronomical experts analyze "February 2, the dragon looks up"

"On February 2nd, the dragon looks up" symbolizes the return of spring to the earth and the revival of everything. So, where is the dragon? How does it "look up"? Astronomical experts explained this.

Different from western ancient astronomy, China divided the stars into seven star regions: three walls and four images. The so-called "wall" is the "city wall". "Three Walls" is the "Wei Zi Wall", symbolizing the palace; "Taiweiyuan" symbolizes the administrative organization; The "sky wall" symbolizes the bustling market. These three walls are arranged in a triangle around Polaris. There are four elephants around the "Three Walls": East Black Dragon, West White Tiger, South Suzaku and North Xuanwu. That is to say, the stars in the east are like dragons, the stars in the west are like tigers, the stars in the south are like big birds, and the stars in the north are like turtles and snakes. As the earth revolves around the sun, the stars in the sky change with the seasons. Every evening at the turn of winter and spring, the black dragon appears; At the turn of spring and summer, Xuanwu rose; At the turn of summer and autumn, white tigers emerge; At the turn of autumn and winter, Suzaku rises.

There are two stars on the "arcturus" of the black faucet: arcturus I and arcturus II, which respectively represent the two horns on the pale faucet. The four stars behind Jiao Su are Kang Su, which is the throat of the dragon. There are four stars under the throat arranged in the dustpan, showing the shape of "Jue Su", representing the dragon's paw. The room, heart, tail and skip behind the dragon's paw represent the dragon's heart and tail respectively.

Folk customs on February 2 nd

In some areas of China, during the Spring Festival, a dragon is painted on the ground with stove smoke, commonly known as lucky dragon. Folk beliefs attract dragons for two purposes: one is to invite them back, spread sex and rain, and pray for a bumper harvest in agriculture; The other is that the dragon is the god of all kinds of insects. When the dragon comes, all kinds of insects hide, which is beneficial to human health and crop growth. People in Nantong, Jiangsu Province make birthday peaches and livestock out of flour, steam them and insert them on bamboo sticks, and then insert them in the fields at night. They think this is food for the insect god and ancestors, and pray that the ancestors will drive away the pests and hope that the insect god will not hurt the crops.

On that day, the name of food was generally added with the name of "dragon" everywhere. Eating jiaozi is called eating dragon ears, eating spring cakes is called eating dragon forest, eating noodles is called eating dragon beard meat, eating rice is called eating dragon seeds, eating wonton is called eating longan and so on.

Women can't do needlework on this day, because the black dragon will look up at the world on this day, and using a needle will hurt the dragon's eyes. Before getting up, the woman said, "On February 2nd, the dragon looks up, and if the dragon doesn't look up, I will look up.". After getting up, I will light the beams with lanterns and read "February 2nd, light the beams, scorpions and centipedes have nowhere to hide". In some places, women stop washing clothes because they are afraid of hurting Longpi, and so on.

The third day of February is Wenchang's birthday. Japanese scholars worship Wenchang and seek the first place in the imperial examination. According to the old custom, children began to study formally on February 2. In the past, scholars had to perform four ceremonies, namely the opening ceremony, the advanced ceremony, the gratitude ceremony and the champion ceremony, among which the opening ceremony was the first gift of life. When you start writing, you start writing articles. The ceremony mainly includes the worship of Confucius, the teaching of the most basic principles of life, and the presentation of Four Treasures of the Study.

Scrape the tap on February 2.

As the saying goes, "the dragon doesn't look up, it doesn't rain." The dragon is auspicious and the master of weathering rain. On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, people pray for dragons to raise their heads to make rain and moisten everything, which is called "shaving the faucet on February 2" in history. It is generally believed in China that shaving one's head on this day will bring good luck. Therefore, the folk proverb says, "Blowing the tap on February 2nd will make you feel refreshed all year round". On February 2, every barber shop was full of customers and the business was booming.

In addition, there is a folk saying in our country that "my uncle died in the first month", so many people don't go to the barber shop for a month after cutting their hair in the twelfth lunar month until February 2. However, this folk taboo has gradually faded in recent years.

February 2 is the day when the dragon was stung to heaven. People in China always regard dragons as their totems. This day "shaving the dragon's head" reflects people's good wish to pray for the dragon's blessing.

What does the dragon look up to eat on February 2?

On February 2nd, there are some folk customs in China, such as shaving their heads, offering sacrifices, worshipping Wenchang God, eating noodles, frying oil cakes, popping popcorn, eating pig's heads, eating spring cakes, eating braised pork and eating scorpion beans. On this day, there is also a certain emphasis on diet, because people believe that "Rowen has great wealth", so most of the diet on this day is named Dragon. Eating spring cakes is called "eating Longlin", eating noodles is called "Fulong beard", eating rice is called "eating Zi Long", eating wonton is called "eating longan" and eating jiaozi is called "eating long ears". These customs have entrusted people with a strong desire to pray for the blessing of dragons, good weather and good harvests.

February 2nd Longtaitou Folk Activities

1, followed by "goo goo"

There is also an important activity on February 2, that is, picking up the "aunt", that is, picking up the married daughter at home, so there is a saying that "picking up the baby on February 2". Because old Beijingers have a lot of manners, among them, "aunt" can't live in her mother's house in the first month. After going to her mother's house on the second day of the second year, she must also go back to her husband's house that day, especially the newly married "aunt". But on the second day of February, her family came to pick up her daughter and stayed for a few days or half a month. First, I was busy for a long time in the first month. When I was tired, I took her home and had a good rest. Second, the new year has just begun, and you have to be busy again. Treat her well. Spring cakes, which are pancakes, are usually served. In the days when I was taken back, my "aunt" just chatted around and was relaxed and happy.

2. Emperor cultivated land

Another activity on February 2nd was the emperor ploughing the fields. Because on February 2 every year, almost before and after the shock, "a plow goes into shock, and the vernal equinox is full of gas." Since then, it has been a busy time for spring ploughing in the north. In order to mobilize people to invest in spring ploughing production quickly and not miss the farming season, on February 2, the emperor will symbolically lead officials out of the palace to loosen the soil for his "one acre and three points". The emperors of the Ming and early Qing dynasties went to Xiannongtan to plow and loosen the soil on February 2 every year. Starting from Yong Zhengdi in Qing Dynasty, they went to Yuanmingyuan on February 2 every year and cultivated land in the "one acre garden" (now the west side of Yuanmingyuan in Haidian). There used to be a New Year picture called "The Emperor Ploughing the Fields". In the picture, an emperor wearing a crown and a dragon robe is plowing the land by hand, followed by a minister, carrying a bamboo basket in one hand and sowing seeds in the other. A seven-pin county magistrate in robes is in charge, and in the distance is the queen and maid-in-waiting who pick baskets to deliver meals. There is also a jingle in the painting: "On February 2, the dragon looked up, the emperor plowed the fields and drove the cows, and the queen in the palace always delivered meals. The courtiers lost their species, and Xia Geng led the world in spring, and the crops were abundant in autumn and autumn. " This painting also shows that people hope to have an enlightened emperor who can personally cultivate Xia Yun in the spring, so that the people can have plenty of food and clothing.