Things related to traditional festivals

The 30th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar

(The night of the 30th day of the lunar calendar is called New Year's Eve. The original meaning of the character "除" is "to go", which is derived from "易"[交替]; the original meaning of the character "夕" is "sunset". The original meaning of the character "夕" is "sunset", which is derived from "night". Therefore, the night of New Year's Eve contains the meaning of "the old year will be removed here, and the new year will be replaced tomorrow". The word "New Year's Eve" means to get rid of the old and bring in the new. New Year's Eve first originated in the pre-Qin period of the "by removing". According to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals - The Record of the Seasonal Winter", the ancients used to beat drums on the day before New Year's Day to drive away "epidemics and plague ghosts" so that they would be free from diseases and calamities in the coming year. This is the origin of the "New Year's Eve" festival. "New Year's Eve" in ancient times there are many other names, such as in addition to the night, in addition to the year, in addition to the year, in addition to the big, big end and so on. Although there are many names, but it is always the meaning of sending the old to welcome the new, to get rid of the disease and eliminate disasters.)

The Spring Festival

The first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar

(is the first year of the Lunar Calendar, commonly referred to as the "big year. The origin of the Spring Festival has a history of about four thousand years in China. It is one of the most lively and grandest traditional festivals in China. Ancient Spring Festival, refers to the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar, "spring" season, after the North and South Dynasties will be the Spring Festival at the end of the year, and refers to the entire spring, when the earth back to spring, everything is renewed, people will take it as the beginning of a new year. In the early years of the Republic of China after the Xinhai Revolution, the first day of the first month of the year was designated as the Spring Festival after the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian [solar] calendar. It was not until September 27, 1949, that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference officially designated the first day of the first month of the new year as the Spring Festival, and many people still call the Spring Festival the Chinese New Year).

New Year:

(Everyone often refers to the Spring Festival as "New Year", but the original meaning of "New Year" is not the same as today's. It is said that in the very ancient times, the word "New Year" was used to refer to a period of time in which the Chinese people had to live in a very different way. It is said that in ancient times, there was the most vicious beast in the world called "Nian". It grew bigger than a camel. It ran faster than the wind and roared louder than thunder. When it came out, it ate people and hurt animals, and people's lives were seriously threatened. In order to punish the "year", the gods locked it into the mountains, only allowed it to come out once a year. People in the long-term practice, found that the "year" has "three fears" - afraid of red color, afraid of loud noise, afraid of fire. So, one year, on the night of the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, people put red paper on the door, and constantly beat the gongs and drums, firecrackers, and light up the house all night long. "Year" came at night to see, bright lights in every house; listen, everywhere the sound of firecrackers, scared it did not dare to enter the village. During the day, it sneaked down the mountain, see still red on the door of every house, thud everywhere, scared it scared, turned around and ran back. Since then, the "year" has not dared to come back, it is said to starve to death in the mountains and old forests. Later on, people turned the prevention of "Nian" and "Nianxuan" into a peaceful and stable New Year. There is no more "Nian", but the custom of celebrating the New Year still remains. (Bright red spring couplets, brilliant lights, crisp firecrackers, loud gongs and drums, every year.)

The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the Duanwu Festival, a traditional Chinese folk festival, which is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. Duanwu is also known as Duanwu, Duanyang. In addition, the Dragon Boat Festival has many aliases, such as: Wuzhi Festival, heavy five festival, May Festival, Bath Orchid Festival, Daughter Festival, Tianzhong Festival, the ground wax, Poet's Day, Dragon Day, Doll Festival and so on. Although the name is different, but on the whole, the people around the custom of the festival is still the same more than different.

Over the Dragon Boat Festival, is the traditional habits of the Chinese people for more than two thousand years, due to the vast area, many ethnic groups, coupled with many stories and legends, so not only produced a number of different names of the festival, but also has different customs. Its content is mainly: the daughter back to his mother's home, hanging Zhong Kui statue, welcome the ghost ship, avoiding Wu, posting Wu Ye Fu, hanging calamus, wormwood, swim in a hundred diseases, Pei Xiangbao, ready to sweet, dragon boat racing, martial arts, batting, swinging, to the children painted with xionghuang, drinking xionghuang liquor, calamus wine, eat five poisonous cakes, salted eggs, zongzi and seasonal fruits, etc., in addition to superstitious color of the activities have gradually disappeared, the rest of the so far spread all over China and the neighboring countries. Some activities, such as dragon boat racing, have been newly developed, breaking through time and geographical boundaries and becoming international sporting events.

On the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, there are many ways of saying, such as: to commemorate Qu Yuan said; to commemorate the Wu Zixu said; to commemorate the Cao E said; the summer solstice festival in the third generation said; the evil month of the day to drive away to avoid said, Wu Yue national totem festival said, to commemorate the Nuwa said, and so on. Each of the above said, each of its own source. According to scholars Mr. Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival" and "Dragon Boat Festival of the history of education" listed in more than a hundred ancient records and expert archaeological evidence, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, is the ancient Chinese southern Wu Yue national totem festival, earlier than Qu Yuan. However, over the centuries, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been widely and y rooted in people's hearts, so people "cherish and mourn them, and the world discusses their words in order to pass them on to each other", therefore, commemorating Qu Yuan's words has the widest and deepest impact, and occupies a mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, the Chinese people put the Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Race and eat zongzi, etc., are associated with the commemoration of Qu Yuan.

To this day, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular and solemn festival among the Chinese people. The Dragon Boat Festival is now a national holiday.

Legend of Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival, which began in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods in China, and has a history of more than 2,000 years. There are many origins and legends of the Dragon Boat Festival, only the following four are introduced:

The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the "Dragon Boat Festival". Duan is the "beginning", "first" meaning. The first five days can be called the end of the five. Lunar calendar to the Earth's branches of the month, the first month of building c, February for the d, in turn to May for the noon, so that May for the month of noon, "five" and "noon" through, "five" and for the number of yang, so the Dragon Boat Festival also known as Duanwu is also known as the fifth, heavy five, Duanyang, in the day, etc.. From the historical point of view, "Dragon Boat Festival" two words were first seen in the Jin Zhou Zhi "land and customs": "mid-summer Dragon Boat Festival, cooking rasping corn". Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of the Han Chinese people in China. The essential activities of this day gradually evolved into: eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging calamus, moxa, fumigation Cangzhu, Angelica dahurica, drink xionghuang wine. It is said that eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing, is to commemorate the Qu Yuan, so after the liberation of the Dragon Boat Festival was named "Poet's Day" to commemorate the Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus, moxa leaves, fumigate Cangzhu, Angelica dahurica, drink Xionghuang wine, it is said to be in order to suppress the evil spirits. Although the Dragon Boat Festival every year, but about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, but not very clear, summarized, roughly the following said.

One, to honor Qu Yuan said. This is the earliest from the Southern Liang Dynasty Wu Jun "continued Qi Harmony" and the Northern Zhou Zong hours "Jing Chu chronicle" records. It is said that Qu Yuan on the fifth day of May threw himself into the Miluo River, after his death for the dragon trapped, the world mourned, every day to throw five-color silk dumplings in the water to drive the dragon. It is also rumored that Qu Yuan cast Miluo River, the local people heard immediately rowing boats to rescue, a thousand straight line to the Dongting Lake, the end of the Qu Yuan's body is not seen. At that time, coinciding with the rainy day, the boats on the lake together gathered at the shore by the pavilion. When people learned that is to salvage the wise minister Qu Daifu, once again braved the rain, scrambling to paddle into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to send their condolences, people swung their boats on top of the river, which has since gradually developed into a dragon boat race. 'It seems that the Dragon Boat Festival to eat zongzi, dragon boat races and commemorate Qu Yuan related to the Tang Dynasty Wenxiu 'Dragon Boat Festival' poem as evidence: "Festival points Dragon Boat Festival since who said, the rumors of the ages for Qu Yuan. I can laugh at the empty Chu River, can not be washed straight minister injustice."

Secondly, it is said to welcome the god of Tao. This is from the Eastern Han Dynasty "Cao E Stele". In the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a loyal minister of Wu, died of injustice, turned into the Tao God, the world mourned and sacrificed, so there is the Dragon Boat Festival.

Three, the Dragon Festival said. This argument comes from Wen Yiduo's "Dragon Boat Festival", and "Dragon Boat Festival's historical education". He believes that the fifth day of May is the ancient Wuyue region "dragon" of the tribe held a totem sacrifice day. The main reasons are; (a) the two most important activities of the Dragon Boat Festival eat zongzi and race, are related to the dragon. Zongzi into the water is often stolen by the mosquito dragon, while the race is used in the dragon boat. (B) the race and the ancient wu yue local relationship is particularly deep, and wu yue people also have broken hair tattoo "to like the dragon" custom. (C) in ancient times on the fifth day of May, there are "colorful silk tie arm" folk custom, which should be "like the Dragon" tattoo custom remains.

Four, said the evil day. In the pre-Qin era, it is generally believed that May is a poisonous month, the fifth is a bad day. Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals in the chapter of "Zhong Xia Ji" provides that people in May to abstain from sex, fasting. In the Xia Xiaozheng, it is written, "This day is for storing medicines in order to remit the poisonous energy." Dadailei" in the record, "the fifth day of the fifth month of the animal orchids for the bath" to bathe to drive away evil spirits that the fifth day of the death of the legend is also a lot of. The Historical Records of the Grand Historian (史记-孟尝君列传) recorded that the famous Grand Historian Meng Chang Jun (孟尝君) was born on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. His father asked his mother not to give birth to him, believing that "the son of the month of May, longer than the household Qi, will be unfavorable to his parents." According to an anonymous article in the book "Customs", "It is said that if a child is born on the fifth day of the fifth month, the male will harm his father and the female will harm her mother. Wang Chong, author of "Lun Heng", also recorded: "taboo to lift the first month, May son; to the first month, May son to kill the father and mother, shall not be lifted also." In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the great general Wang Zhenxiao was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, so his grandfather named him "Zhenxiao". Song Huizong Zhao Ji was born on the fifth day of the fifth month, from childhood foster outside the palace. It can be seen that the ancient May 5 as a bad day, is a common phenomenon. Can be seen from the pre-Qin later, this day are unlucky day. In this way, in this day plug calamus, mugwort to drive away ghosts, lavender, dahurica and drink andrographis to avoid the epidemic, is a logical thing.

Fifth, the summer solstice said. This view of Liu Deqian in the "" Dragon Boat "" and "" Chinese traditional festivals "", put forward three main reasons: (a) the authoritative work of years and times "" Jing Chu years and times "" did not mention the May 5 to eat zongzi holiday customs, but to eat zongzi written in the summer solstice festival. As for the Jingdu, the Sui dynasty Du Daiqing made the "jade candles BaoDian" it is classified as a summer solstice recreational activities, it is not necessarily for the salvage of the great poet Qu Yuan cast into the river. (b) Some elements of the Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as "stepping on a hundred grasses", "fighting a hundred grasses", "picking miscellaneous medicines", etc., actually have nothing to do with Qu Yuan. (C) years and years of winds and customs Hua Ji Li" on the Dragon Boat Festival, the first explanation is: "the day leaf is the sun, when the Dragon Boat Festival that is the middle of summer, so the Dragon Boat Festival can also be called the days in the festival. This is the earliest origin of the Dragon Boat Festival when the summer solstice. Tui Dang out, and to commemorate the Qu Yuan said the most extensive impact. Because of Qu Yuan's personality and art, people are also willing to attribute this anniversary to him.

Sixth, in honor of Nuwa said. In Gansu Qingyang area over has been retained a strong Dragon Boat Festival customs. This day is a festival for women to juggle threads and dress up dolls, so it is said to be the Festival of Dolls or Nuwa. The doll carries an embroidered big green wow on its back, or a disk of snakes on its back. Then with the five poisons, head wearing a tiger hat, foot on the tiger shoes, the vitals on the embellishment of the double tiger, chest wearing a load of herbs in a variety of styles (these later collectively referred to as the Qingyang incense packets). Wrists, ankles tied to the five-color thread rolled into the flower flower rope, are made from the hands of women. This festival heritage originated in when when generation, can not also have no information to prove, just a kind of intangible cultural heredity (Qingyang incense packet in 02 years was listed as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage). If these folk oral language and dolls to wear with some of the history of the East and West claws of the records corroborate, it is not difficult to find it with the Chinese humanities a lineage of vein relationship. The word "娃" and "娲" have the same sound, and "女娃" also has the same sound as "女娲", and the Dragon Boat Festival, as the folk saying goes, is the Festival of the Dolls, and the Festival of the Nuwa is the Festival of the Nuwa. The Dragon Boat Festival is known as the Doll Festival, and the Nuwa Festival is also known as the Nuwa Festival. From this, we can surmise that the Dragon Boat Festival, which took place in Qingyang, the birthplace of China, is a way of transmitting mother's love, as it is a way of memorializing and commemorating the childhood years of human beings, and it is a way of commemorating Nuwa. Mother's love and the potential of childish relationship, generation to generation produce a mysterious call, accumulated into a folk consciousness. Its origins are very ancient, far more ancient than the current era of the test. This is the source of the Dragon Boat Festival, which laid the foundation for the formation of China's great cultural system of "five characters at the beginning", and became the framework for the thinking of Chinese descendants on the origin of nature.

I hope my answer can help you.