Why do you hang mugwort leaves on Dragon Boat Festival?

Speaking of the custom of hanging mugwort leaves on the Dragon Boat Festival, we have to mention the origin of the word "Dragon Boat Festival" and the solar terms of the Dragon Boat Festival. There is a saying about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.

In ancient times, people observed the relationship and state of light and shadow between the sun and the vertical rod by the method of "measuring the shadow of the vertical rod", and indirectly understood the laws of the sun and the running changes of heaven and earth. Dragon Boat Festival refers to the state that the shadow of the sun is above the "noon pole" of the "shadow measuring vertical pole" at noon one day in a year, so it is called "Dragon Boat Festival", at which time the shadow of the sun is the shortest, which means that the spirit of the sun in nature is extremely strong.

Chinese medicine believes that "everything depends on Yang" and "Yang is the spirit. If the sky loses its position, the day will lose its life." In other words, Yang stimulates the growth and development of all things, and the growth and reproduction of all things cannot be separated from Yang. Dragon Boat Festival is a summer festival between Xiaoman and the summer solstice. At this time, there is plenty of sunshine, and everything can grow and reproduce, so snakes and insects can reproduce and grow and often haunt people. Around the Dragon Boat Festival, as the weather gets hotter, it is the peak of many infectious diseases. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is actually a poisonous day and an evil day in folk beliefs, and it is a festival for people to fight against infectious diseases and poisonous insects.

According to the climate characteristics of the Dragon Boat Festival, ancient people adopted some simple methods and articles to avoid the disaster of snakes and insects and pray for good health. There is a saying in Tao Hongjing's Notes on Materia Medica in the Southern Dynasties: "Moxibustion with pounding leaves can stop all diseases and blood injuries. Fruit juice can kill roundworms. Stir-fried leaves with bitter wine to cure tinea. " Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty also said: "Artemisia argyi is slightly bitter and bitter, and it is slightly bitter and bitter when cooked, and it is warm and ripe, pure yang. You can take the real fire from the sun and go back to Yuanyang. After eating it, the three yin meridians are opened, all the cold and dampness are driven away, and the cold is turned into harmony. Moxibustion cures all diseases and evils through various meridians. The person who is addicted is Kangtai, and his merits are also great. " That is, Artemisia argyi leaves are warm, pungent and fragrant, which can dispel cold, remove dampness, eliminate evil and kill insects. Taking Folium Artemisiae Argyi can dispel cold and dampness in the body. Moxibustion can treat many diseases of human body, and can also make patients who have been ill for a long time recover. Therefore, on the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival, hanging mugwort leaves on the portal can effectively ward off evil spirits, prevent infectious diseases and pray for health. Besides hanging mugwort leaves at the door, there are many customs in many areas, such as drinking mugwort water and mugwort wine, eating boiled eggs with mugwort leaves and sachets made of mugwort leaves. In fact, mugwort leaves are used to remove filth and turbidity, warm meridians and dispel cold, and dredge collaterals.