Folk activities of solar terms in beginning of spring

Spring Festival, ancestor worship, spring outing (exploring spring, stepping on spring), lion dance and whipping spring cattle.

Beginning of spring is one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. "Li" means "start". Since the Qin Dynasty, China has always regarded beginning of spring as the beginning of spring.

In order to welcome the arrival of the solar term (spring), people will have many activities. Spring Festival is an important activity that begins in spring, so it is necessary to prepare for rehearsal in advance, commonly known as spring performance.

"beginning of spring" is the first of the twenty-four solar terms, and it is an important festival of twenty-four. China had a ceremony to welcome "Spring" 3,000 years ago, and the unique folk customs and cultural connotations of "beginning of spring" are quite rich. Besides, not only the Han people attach importance to "beginning of spring", but also some ethnic minorities celebrate this year's festival. For example, Bai people call "beginning of spring" Day "Spring Festival", while Dong people perform Spring Bull Dance on "beginning of spring" Day.

Since the Qin Dynasty, beginning of spring has been the beginning of spring in China. Beginning of spring is divided from astronomy, but in nature and people's minds, spring is warm and flowers are fragrant. Spring is growth, cultivation and sowing.

Speaking of beginning of spring, people obviously feel that the days are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer. Temperature, sunshine and rainfall are often at the turning point of the year and tend to rise or increase. The growth of crops in early spring is accelerated, and the water consumption for bolting rape and jointing wheat is increased. Irrigation and topdressing should be done in time to promote growth. Agricultural proverbs remind people that "it rains in early spring, get up early and go to bed late", and Da Chun has also begun to prepare for agriculture. Although it is spring, most parts of South China are still very cold. The snow in spring came too late, so it is flying through the Woods. These climatic characteristics should be taken into account when arranging agricultural production.

On the day of "beginning of spring", commemorative activities have a long history, which appeared at least 3,000 years ago. At that time, the sacrificial Ju Mang, also known as the Mang God, was the spring god in charge of agriculture. According to documents, the ceremony of welcoming beginning of spring in the Zhou Dynasty was as follows: Three days before beginning of spring, Emperor Tiandi began to fast. On that day in beginning of spring, he personally led the princes and doctors of the three counties to welcome the Spring Festival in the eastern suburbs of Bali, praying for a bumper harvest. So, why go to the eastern suburbs to welcome the Spring Festival? This is because Ju Mang, a god worshipped during the Spring Festival, lives in the East. Later, the location of Spring Festival activities was not only in the eastern suburbs. For example, in the Song Dynasty's Dream of Liang Lu, it was recorded that "beginning of spring Day, under the slaughter of ministers, celebrated when entering the DPRK." This proves that the Spring Festival has entered the palace from the countryside and has become a mutual worship among officials.