What is the Spring Festival?

The Spring Festival is the second day of February in the lunar calendar. Also known as "Spring Farming Festival", "Farming Festival" and "Dragon Rising", it is a traditional folk festival in China. Dragon heads up every year on the second day of the second lunar month, commonly known as Qinglong Festival. Legend has it that this is the day when dragons look up. It is a traditional festival in urban and rural areas of China. Celebrate the "Dragon Head Festival" to show respect for the dragon and pray for rain so that God can help ensure a bumper harvest. 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 "land meetings": every family raises funds to celebrate the birthday of the land god, burns incense and sacrifices at the land temple, and sets off firecrackers with gongs and drums. There is also a saying that "the dragon looks up in February and the dragon ends in August" in the Zhuang area in central and northern Guangxi.

Originated in the Fu era, Fuxi "attaches great importance to agriculture and mulberry, cultivates fields", and on the second day of February every year, "Huang Niang delivers meals and cultivates them". When I arrive in Zhou Wuwang, every year on the second day of February, a grand ceremony will be held to call on all civil and military officials to work together.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was called the day when the dragon looked up, because the second day of the second lunar month coincided with the "shocking" solar term. Many animals, such as snakes, earthworms and frogs. In winter, if you don't eat or drink, you will go into hibernation, which is called "entering the sting". By February 2nd, the weather was getting warmer, and some insects and animals seemed to be awakened from their sleep by the sunshine and thunder in spring, so this festival was named "Jing Zhe". In fact, there is no legendary dragon. That kind of dragon was created by our ancestors on the basis of snakes and earthworms. Around the second day of February, spring returns to the earth, and people expect dragons to kill all harmful poisonous insects and expect a bumper harvest. This is the saying "On February 2nd, the dragon looks up".

In Beijing, there are many customs on February 2, such as "On February 2, look at the house beams, scorpions and centipedes have nowhere to hide"! On this day, people will drive away pests, light candles and drive away scorpions and centipedes according to the beams and walls. These insects will fall down and be destroyed at the sight of light. On this day, folk food is usually named dragon for good luck. For example, eating jiaozi is called eating "Dragon Ear", eating rice is called eating "Dragon Son", eating wonton is called eating "Dragon Tooth", and the surface of steamed cake is also shaped like a dragon forest, called "Dragon Forest Cake". On this day, women avoid needlework so as not to hurt the dragon's eyes. Even shaving a child's head is called "shaving tap".

People in the Tang Dynasty have regarded the second day of February as a special day, saying that it is a day to welcome wealth, and eating "fruit to welcome wealth" on this day means eating some snacks. The court of the Song Dynasty also had special activities on this day. When the Song people carefully recorded the Southern Song Dynasty in Old Wulin, there was a "picking vegetables" royal banquet in the palace on the second day of February. At the banquet, fresh vegetables such as lettuce are planted in some small hooves (measuring instruments with small mouths and big bottoms), and the names are written on silk and placed under the hooves for everyone to guess. According to the result of the guess, there are rewards and punishments. This activity is both an early adopter and an entertainment, so at that time, "the palace is also more effective." However, these "February 2" activities in the Tang and Song Dynasties have nothing to do with "Dragon Rising".

February 2 of the Yuan Dynasty was clearly "the dragon looked up". Analysis of Tianjin Record mentioned that "February 2nd is the day when the dragon rises" when describing the customs of metropolis in Yuan Dynasty. On this day, people eat noodles, which is called "Longxu Noodles". There are pancakes called "Longlin"; If it includes jiaozi, it is called "dragon tooth". In short, it should be named after the dragon body.

After the Yuan Dynasty, there were more records about various folk activities of "Dragon Rising on February 2". People also call this day the Dragon Head Festival, Spring Dragon Festival or Qinglong Festival. The Chronicle of Yanjing Years Old in the late Qing Dynasty said: "February 2nd ..... Today people call for the dragon to look up. During the eclipse, those who eat cakes are called Longlin cakes, and those who eat noodles are called Longxu Noodles. Don't sew in the boudoir, lest you hurt the dragon's eyes. " At this time, not only do you want to eat cakes and noodles, but women can't do needlework for fear of hurting the dragon's eyes. "Liaozhong County Records" recorded the local folk custom of February 2 in the Republic of China, saying: "February 2, commonly known as the dragon looks up. In the morning, knocking on the beam with a pole means knocking on the tap, which means that the dragon stabbed to the ground and covered the shock stage. Farmers eat cakes and steamed bread made of coarse rice flour for breakfast. Therefore, women shave their children every day, covering up the meaning of the dragon's head. " This is a folk custom in Liaoning. Knock on the beam with a long pole in the morning to wake up the dragon. At the same time, I also make some pasta to eat.

In addition to eating pasta, there are activities to fetch water from home. The Qing Dynasty's "Wan Shu Miscellaneous People" said: "On February 2, everyone called the dragon to look up, and the villagers used gray twisted cloth to enter the kitchen from the outside and circled the water tank, which was called bringing the dragon back." This activity is in the early morning of the festival. People scatter plant ash and chaff all the way from the river and the well to the water tank at home, just to have good weather. If you don't trust, only when it rains, you must bring water into your home and let the rain fall on your own fields, so that you can get what you want. This is a reflection of the economic consciousness of small farmers. In some places, there are activities of playing dragon lanterns, which also means begging for rain. It is a custom in many places to pay attention to shaving your head on this day.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the activities of "smoking insects" and "frying beans" have been added on February 2nd. The Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" said: "On February 2, the dragon looked up ... smoked the bed kang and smoked the insects, so as to attract the dragon, the insects could not get out." In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi's Daxing County Records recorded that "on February 2, each family made vegetarian cakes and fried them, which was called smoked insects."

See Baidu Encyclopedia:/view/26664.htm.