What is the origin and custom of Dragon Boat Festival?

First, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

1, Dragon Boat Festival is the oldest folk festival of the Chinese nation. Originally, it was a totem festival held by the tribes who worshipped dragon totem in ancient Baiyue. In Baiyue, there was an ancient custom of offering sacrifices to dragon ancestors in the form of dragon boat races.

2. Qu Yuan, a poet of Chu Ci in the Warring States Period, committed suicide by jumping on the Miluo River at the Dragon Boat Festival, and later took the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan; In some places, there are sayings in memory of Wu Zixu, Cao E and meson tui.

Generally speaking, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the totem sacrifice of Baiyue in the south. It started from the "bad month and bad day" in the north, and injected the seasonal fashion of "getting rid of diseases and epidemic prevention" in summer, and added commemorative contents such as Qu Yuan's suicide by jumping into the river, which finally formed the cultural connotation of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The word "Duan" means "early", so "Dragon Boat Festival" is the "fifth day". According to the calendar, May is the "noon" month, so the "Dragon Boat Festival" has gradually evolved into the current "Dragon Boat Festival". The Chronicle of Yanjing records: "The fifth day of May is the fifth day of May, and the transliteration of the word is also covered."

In Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan, the Dragon Boat Festival is divided into big Dragon Boat Festival and small Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon's Dragon Boat Festival is on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and the Dragon Boat Festival is on the fifteenth of the fifth lunar month.

Second, the custom of Dragon Boat Festival.

1. In the ancient land of Baiyue, there was a custom of offering sacrifices to dragon ancestors in the form of a race in the afternoon when the sun was strong. Today, dragon boat rowing is still an important activity of the Dragon Boat Festival.

2. The earliest recorded food of the Dragon Boat Festival belongs to the "owl soup" of the Western Han Dynasty. Quote Records of the Historian and the Book of Filial Piety: "The Han Dynasty sent owls to Dong Jun to cook soup for the owls on May 5th. Eat it because of bad birds. " Filing is the protagonist of the Dragon Boat Festival-Zongzi, which appeared after the Eastern Han Dynasty. It was not until the Jin Dynasty that zongzi became the festival food of the Dragon Boat Festival.

3, drink Pu wine, realgar, cinnabar wine, and spray with wine. Feng Ming Yingjing's Generalized Moon Order: "On the fifth day, cinnabar wine was used to ward off evil spirits and detoxify, and the forehead, chest, hands and feet were dyed with wine, so there was no danger of poisonous snakes (poisonous snakes mentioned in ancient books). Sprinkle walls, doors and windows to avoid poisonous insects. " This custom is widely circulated.

4. Hang wormwood, calamus and banyan. On the Dragon Boat Festival, wormwood, calamus (Pujian), pomegranate and garlic are hung at the door. Usually, wormwood, banyan and calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper, and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the head of five pistils in the sky, symbolizing evil sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the spirit of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits.

5, sachets, also known as sachets, sachets, purses, etc. It is made of colored silk thread and rags, and is filled with spices (made of Chinese herbal medicines such as Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Scutellariae Radix, Herba Sparganii, Rhizoma Kaempferiae, Gan Song, Gaobeng, etc.). It is worn on the chest and smells fragrant.

6, hiding from the Dragon Boat Festival, the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, refers to the newly married or married daughter going home for the New Year. Short for "hiding in the afternoon", it is also called "hiding out". It is customary to take May and May 5th as evil months and days, and it is necessary to ward off evil spirits in everything, because there is a custom of taking women home to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Extended data

According to statistics, the name of Dragon Boat Festival is called the most among all traditional festivals in China, reaching more than 20, which is the festival with the most aliases. For example, there are Dragon Boat Festival, Duanyang Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Noon Festival, Summer Festival, May Festival, Long Festival, Pujie Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Bathing Orchid Festival, Quyuan Festival, Bathing Orchid Festival, Noon Day, Daughter's Day, Dila Festival, Poet's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Noon Day, Lantern Festival and Five Eggs Festival.

Article 2 of the State Council's Decision on Amending the Measures for Holidays on National Day and Memorial Day (implemented on June 65438+1 October1day, 2008) stipulates that "all citizens have holidays:? (5) Dragon Boat Festival, a day off (Dragon Boat Festival in the Lunar New Year)? " Accordingly, since 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival has been officially listed as a national statutory holiday.

Today, with increasingly diverse cultures and abundant information, traditional festivals in China, such as Dragon Boat Festival, are facing many challenges. This urgently requires people to keep pace with the times, not only to maintain tradition, but also to adapt to the needs of today's people.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Dragon Boat Festival (one of the four traditional festivals in China)