Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

Customs of Dragon Boat Festival

China's folk over the Dragon Boat Festival is more grand, the celebration is also very rich in activities, starting from dawn in the morning, and lasts until noon before the end. More common activities are the following forms:

1, dragon boat race

Dragon boat race, is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that it originated in the ancient Chu people because they could not afford the wise minister Qu Yuan threw himself into the river to die, many people rowed boats to catch up with the rescue. They scrambled and chased to Dongting Lake when they disappeared. After that, they rowed dragon boats on May 5 every year to commemorate it. The dragon boat was used to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body. The practice of racing, prevalent in Wu, Yue, Chu.

In fact, "dragon boat racing" as early as the Warring States period. In the sound of drums, rowing a canoe carved into the shape of a dragon, to do the game of racing, to entertain the gods and people, is a half-religious, half-entertainment program in the rituals.

Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people around the world also put a different symbolism.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas of the dragon boat, both to commemorate the local birth of the modern female democratic revolutionaries Qiu Jin meaning. Night on the dragon boat, lights and colors, back and forth, water and underwater, the scene is moving, interesting. Miao people in Guizhou in the lunar calendar May 25-28 held "Dragon Boat Festival" to celebrate the victory of rice-planting and wishing a good harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots in the Water Festival Dragon Boat Race, in honor of the ancient heroes of the rock red nest. Different ethnic groups, different regions, paddle dragon boat legend is different. Until today in the south of the many near the rivers, lakes and seas of the region, the annual Dragon Boat Festival will be held in their own characteristics of the Dragon Boat Race activities.

Qing dynasty Qianlong twenty-ninth year (1736), Taiwan began to hold dragon boat racing. At that time, Taiwan's governor, Chiang Yuan-jun, hosted a friendly race at the Half Moon Pond of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Nowadays, dragon boat races are held in Taiwan every year on May 5th. In Hong Kong, races are also held.

In addition, rowing dragon boat has been introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. 1980, dragon boat racing is included in China's national sports competitions, and held annually, "Qu Yuan Cup" Dragon Boat Race. 1991 June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), in the second hometown of the Qu Yuan in Hunan City, China, Yueyang City, the first international dragon boat festival. International Dragon Boat Festival. Prior to the race, the "Dragon Head Festival" was held, which preserved the traditional rituals and injected new modern elements. The "dragon head" was carried into the Qu Zi Ancestral Hall, where the athletes "reddened" the dragon head (draped with a red sash), the officiating priest read out the sacrificial text, and the dragon head was "opened" (i.e. lighted). Then, participate in the sacrifice of the dragon all the staff three bows, the dragon is carried to the Miluo River, running to the Dragon Boat Race. More than 600,000 people participated in the race, fair and celebration, which was an unprecedented event. Since then, Hunan has been organizing the International Dragon Boat Festival on a regular basis. Dragon boat racing will be prevalent in the world.

2, Dragon Boat Festival food dumplings

Duanwu Festival to eat dumplings, which is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "corn", "tube dumplings". It has a long history, a variety of patterns.

According to records, as early as in the Spring and Autumn period, with Zizania leaves (wild rice leaves) wrapped in millet into a horn-shaped, called "corner of millet"; bamboo tube with rice sealed and baked, called "tube zong". The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to grass ash water soaked in millet, because the water contains alkali, with Mushroom leaves wrapped in millet into a quadrangular shape, cooked, became the Guangdong alkaline water dumplings.

Jin Dynasty, dumplings were officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, the package of raw materials in addition to glutinous rice, but also add the Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren, cooked zongzi called "Yi Zhi Zong". Zhou Zhou, "Yueyang customs and local records" recorded: "Commonly wrapped in millet with Aizome leaves, ...... cooked, and rotten, in the fifth of May to the summer solstice to eat, a zong, a millet." North and South Dynasty period, the emergence of mixed rice dumplings. Rice mixed with animal and poultry meat, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki beans, etc., more varieties. Zongzi also used as a gift for interaction.

The Tang Dynasty, rice dumplings, has "white as jade", the shape of the cone, diamond-shaped. Japanese literature recorded in the "Tang dumplings". Song Dynasty, there has been "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruit into the dumplings. Poet Su Dongpo has "in the dumplings see prunes" poem. At this time also appeared with zongzi piled up into buildings, pavilions, wooden cars, cows and horses for the advertisement, indicating that the Song Dynasty to eat zongzi has been very fashionable. Yuan, Ming period, zongzi parcel material has changed from zongmu leaf for Ruo leaf, and later appeared with reed leaf package zongzi, additional material has appeared bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates, walnuts and so on, more colorful varieties.

The morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, families ate zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan, generally the day before the zongzi package, cooked at night, the morning to eat. Packing dumplings are mainly used by the river and pond side of the abundance of young reed leaves, there are also bamboo leaves, collectively referred to as dumplings. Zongzi traditional form for the triangle, generally named according to the flesh, wrapped glutinous rice called rice zongzi, rice mixed with small beans called small beans zongzi, mixed with red dates called jujube zongzi; jujube zongzi harmonic for "early", so eat the most jujube zongzi, intended to study the children ate can be early in the Scholar. In the past, readers to participate in the day of the imperial examinations, the morning to eat jujube rice dumplings, to date, secondary school, university entrance exams in the morning, parents also want to do jujube rice dumplings to the candidates to eat.

Cooking rice dumplings in the pot must be boiled eggs, conditions and then cook some duck eggs, goose eggs, eat sweet rice dumplings dipped in sugar, and then eat eggs dipped in salt "pressure top". It is said to eat May end of the dumplings pot of hard-boiled eggs in the main summer does not give birth to sores; the dumplings pot of boiled duck eggs, goose eggs in the sun at noon and then eat, the whole summer does not have a headache.

Till today, every year at the beginning of May, the Chinese people have to dip glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, package zongzi, its color varieties are more varied. From the filling point of view, the north more packages of small jujube Beijing jujube zong; the south has bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolks and other fillings, which is represented by Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi. Eat zongzi custom, for thousands of years, in China prevailed, and spread to North Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

3, Pei Xiangbao

Duanwu Festival children Pei Xiangbao, legend has the meaning of the evil spirits to drive away the plague, is actually used for lapel head embellishment decoration. Incense capsule inside the cinnabar, andrographis, incense medicine, wrapped in silk cloth, fragrant, and then five-color silk string buckle into a rope, for a variety of different shapes, knotted into a string, colorful, exquisite and lovely. ★ In some southern cities in China, young men and women also use scented pouches to express their love.

4, hanging moxa calamus

Folk proverb: "Qingming willow, Dragon Boat Festival moxa". In the Dragon Boat Festival, people put the insertion of moxa and calamus as one of the important content. Every family sweeps the court, with calamus, moxa inserted in the door eyebrow, hanging in the hall. And with calamus, moxa, pomegranate, garlic, dragon boat flower, made of human or tiger-shaped, known as Ai man, Ai tiger; made of wreaths, ornaments, beautiful and fragrant, women compete to wear, to drive away miasma.

Ai, also known as Ai, Artemisia absinthium. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oil. It produces a peculiar aroma, can drive flies, insects and ants, purify the air. In Chinese medicine, moxa is used as a medicine to regulate qi and blood, warm the uterus, and dispel cold and dampness. The leaves of moxa are processed into "moxa velvet", which is an important herb for moxibustion.

Calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long, narrow leaves contain volatile aromatic oils, which are used to refresh the mind, strengthen the bones and eliminate stagnation, as well as to kill insects and sterilize medicines.

See, the ancients inserted the wormwood and calamus is a certain role in disease prevention. Dragon Boat Festival is also passed down from ancient times, "Health Festival", people in this day to clean the courtyard, hanging ai sticks, hanging calamus, sprinkle andrographis water, drink andrographis wine, and stir up turbid in addition to the corrosion, sterilization and disease prevention. These activities also reflect the fine tradition of the Chinese nation. Dragon Boat Festival on the mountains to pick medicine, is China's various nationalities **** the same custom.

5, hanging Zhong Kui statue

Zhong Kui catch ghosts, is the Dragon Boat Festival custom. In the Jianghuai area, the family is hanging Zhong Kui statue, used to suppress the house to drive away evil spirits. Tang Minghuang Kaiyuan, from the Lixan martial arts back to the palace, malaria, dreaming of two ghosts, a small, small, small ghosts wearing red crotchless pants, stealing Yang Guifei's scent bag and Minghuang's jade flute, around the temple and run. The big ghost is wearing a blue robe and hat, caught the little ghost, gouge out its eyes, swallowed. Ming Huang asked, the ghost said: my surname Zhong Kui, that is, the martial arts not first, would like to remove the demons for His Majesty, Ming Huang woke up, malaria cured, so the painter Wu Daozi, according to what I saw in the dream painted Zhong Kui to catch ghosts of the portrait, the world in the end of the Dragon Boat Festival, all posted to drive away the evil spirits.

According to legend, Zhong Kui is a Tang Dynasty person, to Chang'an to take the exams in the Scholar, because of its appearance was abolished, and the indignation touched the temple steps and died. Later, he sent a dream to Emperor Ming of Tang, determined to wipe out the world's devils. At that time, the palace was haunted by ghosts and evil, Tang Ming Huang called the great painter Wu Daozi according to what he saw in the dream, painting "Zhong Kui catch ghosts". And this painting will be hung in the back of the door to drive away demons and evil, the palace was then peaceful. Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty named Zhong Kui as the "Great God of Exorcism", so Zhong Kui statue traveled all over the world, cut off the ghosts and demons, and made great achievements, and then myths and legends by the Jade Emperor as "Exorcism Emperor". People hang Zhong Kui statue in the Dragon Boat Festival, used to quell ghosts and evil spirits, and seek peace in the family.

6, hanging purse and tethered colorful silk thread

Ying Shao "customs" recorded: "May 5, to colorful silk tie arm, the name of the long-life wisp, a renewed life wisp, a life of the Bing Zeng, a five-color wisp, a Zhu Suo, and ghosts, the fate of the people do not get sick plague".

Ancient China worshiped the five colors, to five colors for the auspicious color. Therefore, early in the morning of the festival, the adults in each family get up the first big thing is in the children's wrists, ankles, neck tethered to the five-color line. When tying the thread, children are forbidden to speak. The five-color line can not be arbitrarily broken or discarded, only in the first summer rain or the first bath, thrown into the river. It is said that children wearing the five-color thread can avoid the harm of snake and scorpion-type poisonous insects; throwing it into the river means letting the river wash away the plague and diseases, and children can thus preserve their health and well-being.

Meng Yuanlao's "Tokyo Dreaming Records," Volume VIII records: Dragon Boat Festival objects, hundred of rope, mugwort, silver-like drums, flowers and cleverly painted fans, incense candy, dumplings small, white dough. Perilla, calamus, papaya, and all velvet cut, to incense and medicine, with plum red box wrapped. Since the first of May and the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, selling peaches, willow, sunflower, cattail leaves, Fudao Ai. The next day, every family spread at the door, with five-color water ball, tea and wine offerings. The next day, all the houses spread out the flowers on the doorsteps and made offerings of five-colored water balls and tea and wine.

Chen Shiliang's "Years and Seasons," citing "Miscellaneous Records of Years and Seasons," mentions a kind of "Duanwu to red and white coloring such as a capsule, with colorful threads, twitching to make the shape of a flower, or with or nailed to the door, in order to avoid the red mouth and white tongue, and is also called twitching money". As well as another "mussel powder bells": "the fifth day of the end of the mussel powder in the silk, decorated with sheep, such as a number of beads. So that the children to bring to absorb sweat." The contents of these portable bags have changed several times, from the clam powder to absorb sweat, to drive away evil spirits, copper coins, andrographis powder to ward off insects, developed into a spice-filled scented pouches, the production is also becoming more and more sophisticated, and became the Dragon Boat Festival unique folk art.

Similarly, there is drinking xionghuang wine: this custom, in the Yangtze River Basin area of the family is very popular. Swimming in a hundred diseases: this custom, prevalent in the Guizhou region of the Dragon Boat Festival.

7, hide five

May of the lunar calendar, the summer heat is approaching, the plague and poisonous insects breeding, the ancient times called May for the "evil month". And that the fifth day of May is an unlucky day. On this day, parents should bring children under the age of one to their grandmothers' houses to hide, in order to avoid the inauspicious.

8, send time

Central Plains Duan Yang Festival, where the newly married girl's mother's family, before the festival or the festival to give the man to send straw hats, rain fans, mats, etc. to prepare for the heat and rain, so the Duan Yang Festival is also known as the "send time Festival.

9, drive five poisons

Five poisons refers to scorpions, centipedes, snakes, shrimp salamanders, geckos five kinds of poisonous insects." At the Duanyang Festival, the weather is hot; the five poisons are awake and unsettled." So by the day of the Duanyang Festival people put paper-cut images of the five poisons on their doors to avoid their poison. Some places also put the head of the five poisons figure and then tie a needle, said to get rid of them nailed to death. Driving away the five poisons reflects people's good wishes to get rid of pests and prevent diseases.

10, roll eat chicken, duck and goose eggs

All over the country are popular. Duanwu morning, the Northeast is a boiled chicken, duck and goose eggs by the elders on the children's belly rolling, and then peeled to let the children eat, it is said that this can be done to avoid children's stomach ache, in fact, for the festival of a hippie game. Other areas are mainly boiled, it is said that the original into the river water to feed the fish and shrimp to save Qu Yuan, so as to avoid the bones of the fish and shrimp, and then evolved into a boiled food to commemorate.

11, boiled garlic

Garlic is a traditional Chinese medicine, taste sweet, can kill poison sterilization, cooked food can clear the gastrointestinal toxins, dredge the blood. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the custom in most parts of the country is to cook new garlic to clear the blood, disinfect and sterilize.

12, broken eye of fire

Duanwu Festival customs around Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Is the day, in a bowl of water to put the right amount of staghorn, thrown into the two coins, the whole family with this water to wash their eyes, it is said to be able to prevent and control eye glass staghorn has the efficacy of sterilizing the poison, so that there are certain benefits.

13, swim a hundred diseases

Guizhou region Dragon Boat Festival customs. Duan Yang Festival day men and women, young and old to wear new clothes, take food to the outside to play all day, and in the mountains and fields to collect wildflowers and herbs, and bring back to the evening after the water boiled bath. The local people call this act as swimming or washing for a hundred diseases, and believe that this will make the year auspicious and safe.

14, cut color gourd

Colorful paper cut into a gourd shape, in the Duan Yang Festival, upside down on the door, to take the poisonous gas out of the meaning.

15, drink andrographis wine

andrographis is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine books say andrographis can cure all kinds of insect poison, insect and animal injuries, so the folk have "drink andrographis wine, all the diseases are far away," "May 5 drink andrographis calamus wine, can remove a hundred diseases and prohibit a hundred insects! ", "bring andrographis into the mountain is not afraid of snakes," and other sayings. In the iodine not invented era, our people is to use white wine mixed with andrographis and alum water to smear poisonous insect stings and mosquito bites. People are familiar with the "Legend of the White Snake" has depicted: the Dragon Boat Festival, Xu Xian listened to the words of Fahai, so that the White Lady drank the andrographis and revealed its original form. Now many places in the Duanyang Festival, but also in the house outside the spray andrographis water, and in the children's ears, nose, forehead smear andrographis. However, according to modern scientific analysis, andrographis is toxic and should not be taken internally.

[Hebei Province]

Beijing taboo Dragon Boat Festival well water, often in the festival before the pre-drawing, it is said to avoid well poisoning. Marketplace vendors also in the Dragon Boat Festival selling cherries and mulberries, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival ate cherries and mulberries, can be the whole year without flies. Furnace food store to sell "five poisonous cakes", that is, five kinds of poisonous insects decorated with patterns for the cake. Luan County has been hired by the male and female in-laws salty at the Dragon Boat Festival gifts to each other. Zhao County Dragon Boat Festival, the local government will hold a party to the south of the city, inviting the city of scholars to feast and poetry, known as the "step willow".

[Shandong Province]

Zouping County Dragon Boat Festival, each person needs to drink a cup of wine in the morning, and legend has it that it can avoid evil spirits. Rizhao Dragon Boat Festival for children wrapped in seven-color line, has to wear to the festival after the first rain before unraveling thrown in the rain. Linqing County Dragon Boat Festival, boys under the age of seven years with a charm (necklaces made of wheat), girls with pomegranate flowers, but also to wear their mother's hand-made yellow in the shoes, shoes with brushes painted with five kinds of poisonous insects. The meaning is to kill the five kinds of poisonous insects by means of Qu Yuan's ink. Imo washes his face with dew on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Shanxi Province]

Duanwu, Xiezhou, men and women wear moxa leaves, known as "to get rid of the disease", and the youngest children are tied to a hundred cords around their necks, which is said to be "for the Qu Yuan to tie the dragon". Xi'an County Dragon Boat Festival, the village sacrificed to the Dragon King, and hanging paper in the field. Huairen County Dragon Boat Festival is also known as "Zhu Men". At the Dragon Boat Festival in Dingxiang County, students were required to give gifts to teachers. Lu'an Province to wheat flour steamed dough, known as "white dough", and zongzi together to give each other.

[Shaanxi Province]

In Xing'an Prefecture, at the Dragon Boat Festival, the local officials led their subordinates to watch the ferry race, which was called "Treading Stone". Xingping County, the Dragon Boat Festival with silk sewn small corn, and then sewn underneath a small doll, known as "play dolls". In Tongguan County, the door of the Dragon Boat Festival is covered with a sticker and a paper cow, which is called "Zhen Disease".

[Gansu Province]

Jingning State Dragon Boat Festival pick roses pickled in honey for syrup. Zhenyuan County Dragon Boat Festival to the newlyweds incense fan, Luo Qi, scarf, Ai Hu. Sons and daughters and invite their fathers and brothers to feast on the master, known as "enjoy the festival". Zhangxian County Dragon Boat Festival, shepherd children worship mountain gods. Accumulation of salary mound, burned before the cock crows, commonly known as "burning high mountains.

[Jiangsu Province]

Jiading County Dragon Boat Festival, rich or poor, must buy stone head fish (commonly known as koji) cooking. Yizheng County also has "when the pants, buy yellowtail" proverb. Nanjing Dragon Boat Festival, each family is a box of water, add a little andrographis, googly-eyed money two, the size of the family are using this water to wash their eyes, known as the "broken fire eye", it is said to protect a year without eye disease. Wujin night dragon boat theater, the night on all sides of the dragon boat hanging on the small lights racing, and there are xiao drums and singing.

[Sichuan Province]

Shizhu "out of the Dragon Boat Lo" custom. A large square table covered with a red carpet is lifted by four people with two bamboo poles. Carpet with bamboo gabions braided a Taoist priest riding a tiger. Drums and gongs are beaten, and a street parade is held. In the old days, there was also the custom of "typing" at the Dragon Boat Festival in western Sichuan. On this day, Chengdu people buy plums, in the southeast corner of the city under the city tower, up and down to throw, gather tens of thousands of observers. The custom was stopped in 1895 because of a conflict between the plum throwers and foreign missionaries. Leshan, Xinjin and other places in the Dragon Boat Race, but also held a grand commodity fair.

[Xijiang Province]

Tonglu County township schoolchildren, the Dragon Boat Festival with the gift to the teacher, called the "clothes". The doctor is at noon to collect medicine, according to legend, this day the sky doctor star in the sky.

[Jiangxi Province]

Jianchang Province, Wu Festival with a hundred grass water bath to prevent scabies, Xinchang County, Xionghuang, Dansha drink wine, called the "open eyes".

[Hubei Province]

Huanggang County Dragon Boat Festival Bahe town to meet Nuo people, flower crown body, sounding gold by epidemic. Yichang County Dragon Boat Festival, but in May 13, 14, 15 three days of the special. May 15, also known as the "big Danyang", eating rice dumplings, drinking bus wine, routine with the Dragon Boat Festival.

[Hunan Province]

You County Dragon Boat Festival, pregnant women, rich people with flower money wine and food, poor people prepared chicken wine, bamboo clip kozo money, for the dragon boat in front of the dragon's head to pray for a safe birth. In Yuezhou Prefecture, people race to avoid disasters and illnesses. They also make straw boats to flood the water, which is called "sending the plague".

[Fujian Province]

Fuzhou Dragon Boat Festival old custom, the daughter-in-law is the day to life clothes, shoes and socks, dumplings, fans into the in-laws. Jianyang County to five days for the drug king sunshine capsule day, people are on this day for the sauce. Shanghang County Dragon Boat Festival with a small boat bound reeds as a dragon play on the waterfront, known as the race. Xianyou County Dragon Boat Festival after the race, offering paper in the Hu Xiaotan, to commemorate the Jiajing Dec. Qi Jiguang drowned soldiers in this. Shaowu Province before the Dragon Boat Festival, women to Jiang Jiang yarn for the bag Sheng Fu. And the five-color velvet as a square victory, associated with colorful threads, tied to the hairpin. Young girls are hanging on the back, known as "Dou Niang".

[Guangdong Province]

Conghua County Dragon Boat Festival at noon to burn water hand-washing eyes, sprinkled in the road, known as the "send disaster". Xinxing County Dragon Boat Festival, people from their neighboring temples to welcome the guide statue of the gods on patrol. Witches and water, stickers to expel the evil mortal charm. Shicheng County Dragon Boat Festival, children flying kites, known as "put the disaster".

(Taiwan Province)

Taiwan is located in the subtropical, early immigrants from the mainland were unable to adapt to the climate here, died of miasma plague epidemic, heard from time to time. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival, which is based on the spirit of expelling diseases and avoiding epidemics, is particularly important.