Why does the dragon look up and get a haircut?

On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon heads up, which is a traditional folk festival in China, also called "Dragon Head-raising F

Why does the dragon look up and get a haircut?

On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon heads up, which is a traditional folk festival in China, also called "Dragon Head-raising Festival". On this day, people of all ages, men and women, go to the barber shop to get their hair cut. And then what? Now, let me introduce you. Welcome to reading.

The reason why the dragon looked up for a haircut:

On February 2nd, the dragon looked up and everyone shaved his head. In the old days, there was a saying in Huai 'an that "people who have money but no money shave their heads for the New Year". It's more than a month before the Spring Festival, so it's time for a haircut. On February 2nd, the dragon looked up, which was an auspicious day. After a long time, the custom of shaving on February 2 was formed. "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up and every child shaved his head". For good luck, the word "dragon" was added in the middle of the haircut, which was called "shaving tap" to distinguish it from other haircuts. Some girls also chose this day to get their ears pierced. In addition, parents choose this day to send their children to school.

Sort out the past:

In ancient times, how to treat hair was very important.

"The Book of Filial Piety" is said to have been written by Confucius, saying: "Parents dare not damage the body and skin, and filial piety begins."

So some people think that in ancient times, ordinary Han people only combed their hair and didn't cut it, let alone shaved it.

However, Li Ya, an associate professor in the Department of Stage Art of Shanghai Theatre Academy, pointed out in her book Cosmetics of Past Dynasties in China that from the unearthed cultural relics, the hairstyles in primitive society can be described as haircut, bun, tying hair and distinguishing hair. Judging from the unearthed cultural relics, in the Shang Dynasty, the hairstyle has not yet formed a system. Although most men distinguish hair, the image of broken hair and bundled hair is not uncommon. By the Zhou Dynasty, there had been a complete crown service system and a customized hairstyle. So bun became the most common hairstyle in ancient China, which lasted for thousands of years in China.

Why is this day a "haircut day"?

On the second day of the second lunar month, spring returns to the earth, which is the season of planting crops, and the earth is eager for rain. In China culture, the dragon is an auspicious thing that dominates the wind and rain. As the saying goes, it doesn't rain until the dragon looks up, so the dragon looks up as a symbol of recovery and auspiciousness. In folk customs, people choose to shave their heads on this day in order to look forward to good luck.

In addition to good luck, there are also taboo reasons. Mr. Liu, a Harbin native who works in a barber shop in Shanghai, said that he used to work in the hairdressing industry in Beijing and Hebei. There is a custom of not shaving in the first month, so the business is extremely hot at the end of the twelfth month, and employees are busy from morning till night. There were few guests in the first month. Some bosses simply give their employees a holiday and close their doors. On the first day of the first month, especially on the second day of February, the guests are full. However, when he came to Shanghai, he found that there was no big difference between the changes of passenger flow in the previous year or so.

Regarding haircuts, the saying that "my uncle died in the first month" is widely circulated in the northern region. This is actually misinformation. "Dead uncle" is the homonym of "homesickness". In the early Qing Dynasty, * * missed the Ming Dynasty because he didn't shave his head in the first month, and he didn't dare to openly confront Qing * * who issued the "haircut order", so he had the above statement. According to the reporter, northerners don't shave their heads in the first month, mostly for fear of "death". People without uncles have no such scruples, but with the development of society, more and more people shave their heads in January.

There is no such thing as not shaving your head in Shanghai in the first month. Just to welcome the new year, most people will choose to get a good haircut at the end of the twelfth lunar month, which will obviously reduce the number of people who get a haircut in the first month, but it does not limit the inability to get a haircut in the first month.

Other customs of the dragon looking up:

On February 2nd, every family picks up their daughters. In the old society, in the first month, the bride didn't come back, the daughter-in-law didn't go out, and there was no room in the first month. At the same time, there is a superstition that "a married daughter can't look at her parents' lights in the first month, and her parents' lights kill her father-in-law", so a married daughter in the first month is not allowed to go back to her parents' house. For more than a month, the girl missed her mother, and her mother missed her, so February 2 was not only the first month, but also an auspicious day, so everyone took their daughters back to their parents' home.

On February 2nd, according to Fang Liang, scorpions and clams have nowhere to hide. On this day, the candles left over from the Lunar New Year sacrifice are lit to illuminate the beams and walls to drive out pests. In addition, on this day, the children knocked the ladle dry with chopsticks and said, "On February 2, knocking on the ladle fork made nine mice blind." Knock on the small glass with chopsticks and say, "On February 2nd, knock on the small glass, and ten nests of mice are empty" to drive away the mice and kill them. Write a list of "On February 2nd, insects and ants went straight to the ground" with white paper, in which "insects and ants went straight to the ground" should be reversed and then pasted on the table or bed leg to avoid insects and ants.

"On February 2nd, the dragon looks up, the big hoard is full, and the small hoard flows". It is another folk custom to draw grain depots or granaries with blue gray, or to draw circles of different sizes in front of the door with blue gray, symbolizing that the big circle meets the small circle and prays for a bumper harvest.

On February 2, some people ate rice crust on New Year's Eve, and women were forbidden to use needlework. It is said that when dragons look up, they will get their eyes stitched.

February 2, according to legend, is the birthday of the land father-in-law, which is called "land birthday". In order to "warm the life" of the land god, some places have the custom of holding a "land meeting": every family raised funds to celebrate the birthday of the land god, went to the land temple to burn incense and set off firecrackers, which gradually faded after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Food customs:

Ordinary people eat noodles, spring cakes, popcorn, pork head and so on. On this day. Different regions have different foods, but most of them are related to dragons. Generally, the name of food is added with the title of "dragon". For example, eating jiaozi is called eating "dragon ears"; Eating spring cakes is called eating "Longlin"; Eating noodles is called eating "dragon beard meat"; Eating rice is called eating "dragon son"; Eating wonton is called eating "longan"

1, eat mustard rice

Eating mustard rice on the second day of the second lunar month is a popular custom in Wenzhou. It is said that eating mustard rice will not cause scabies. In the old society, ordinary people lived in poverty and had a weak sense of health. Coupled with the lack of medical care and medicine, there are many patients with scabies and other panel diseases, which are easy to be infected. Mustard contains a lot of chlorophyll and vitamin C. Regular consumption of vegetables rich in chlorophyll and vitamin C can improve immunity and enhance resistance, which is good for people's panels. Therefore, there is a saying that eating mustard rice does not cause scabies.

It is said that this custom has an interesting legend. One day, Emperor Qianlong visited a farmer's home in southern Zhejiang and found that a young man, Zhang, who had read a lot of poetry books, could not go to Beijing to catch the exam because of his poor family, so he had to study hard at home. Zhang was hospitable and invited Emperor Qianlong to have a light meal. Just as he was preparing to cook, Zhang found that there was not enough rice in the rice jar and there was nothing to eat. Zhang had a brainwave, and the plan came to mind. Tell his wife to prepare the fire first, go out from the back door and peel a handful of green and tender mustard in the garden, add some seasoning and cook a pot of white mustard rice. Emperor Qianlong was used to eating delicacies. By noon, he was already hungry. When he smelled the delicious mustard rice, his appetite increased greatly, and he ate it with relish and was full of praise. He even asked how to cook this green rice with white inside. Zhang's wife replied, "This is called mustard rice, and it won't cause scabies after eating it."

On this day, it happens to be the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, and the custom of eating mustard rice on the second day of February has been handed down since then.

Step 2 eat spring cakes

Eating spring cakes is called "eating Longlin". A spring pancake bigger than the palm of your hand is like a piece of Long Lin. Spring cakes are hard and contain many dishes. Such as sauce meat, elbow, smoked chicken, sauce duck, etc. Cut them into filaments with a knife and stir-fry them with some home-cooked dishes, such as fried shredded pork with leek, fried shredded pork with spinach, mung bean sprout vinegar, vegetarian fried vermicelli and scrambled eggs. , and rolled into spring cakes, dipped in shredded onion and sesame oil noodle sauce, really delicious and refreshing. When eating spring cakes, the family sits around, puts the baked spring cakes into the steamer and takes them while eating. Hot and happy.

Step 3 eat pig's head meat

There is also a saying that pig's head meat is eaten on February 2. Since ancient times, pigs, cows and sheep have been used to worship the gods, and later it was simplified to the head of the three animals, and the pig head is one of them. According to a story recorded in Qiu Chi's Notes in the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhongling was very hungry after pacifying Bashu, so he broke into a temple in a small village, but he met a drunken monk. Wang Zhongling was furious and wanted to cut it, but he didn't know that the monk was afraid. Wang Zhongling was very surprised and asked him for food. Soon the monk presented a plate of "steamed pig's head" and wrote a poem for it: "The monk said that when steaming, the banana leaves were wrapped and watered with apricot paddles when cooked. Red, fresh and elegant, called Jin panting, ripe and soft, really like jade. If there is no comparison between hairy roots, felt roots will eat vines. " Wang Zhongling ate steamed pig's head, and was very happy to hear the funny and unique "pig's head poem", so he named the monk "Master of Purple Clothes". It seems that the pig's head is really delicious and an auspicious symbol of turning the corner. Now there is a famous dish called "roast pork face", which can be served after twelve steps, such as selecting ingredients, cleaning, spraying, soaking, making sauce and cooking for more than ten hours. There are three kinds of "roast pig face", one is the original taste; The second is to dip in the sauce; The third is to roll pancakes to eat. Every way of eating has a different taste. "Roasted pig's face" is fat but not greasy, the meat and bones are separated, and it tastes delicious, which brings beauty and brain-strengthening effects to modern people. Eating modern "pork noodles" on February 2 nd and recalling the history of ancient catering is really a perfect experience of blending contemporary and history.