Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional stories - The significance and symbol of wormwood in Dragon Boat Festival

The significance and symbol of wormwood in Dragon Boat Festival

The significance and symbol of wormwood in Dragon Boat Festival is to avoid the nuisance of mosquitoes and flies, pray for health, look forward to a bumper harvest and welcome good luck.

1 to avoid the nuisance of mosquitoes and flies.

The Dragon Boat Festival is also called "May 5", and May is the starting point of the whole summer heat, and the "five poisons" become active. The fifth day of May is poison day. The ancients thought that this day was an important time node to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and wormwood was needed to prevent the nuisance of mosquitoes and flies. Artemisia argyi, also known as Folium Artemisiae Argyi and Artemisia argyi, is a special plant. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oil, and its unique fragrance can keep the ancients away from the nuisance of mosquitoes and flies.

Step 2 pray for health

Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" handed down from ancient times. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang branches of Artemisia argyi, sprinkle realgar wine, stir up turbidity and remove rot. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival, hanging wormwood on the door, indicates that the family is in good health, all the best and good luck.

Step 3 look forward to a bumper harvest

The Dragon Boat Festival is full of gas and rain, and all parts of the country have entered the flood season, which has brought a lot of trouble to people's lives and work. People don't understand scientific knowledge, and they think that water monsters are making waves. Everyone thinks that swords can deal with water monsters, just like the leaves of wormwood are shaped like swords, so the ancients hung wormwood at home during the Dragon Boat Festival to deter water monsters and look forward to a bumper harvest.

4. Welcome auspiciousness

In the folk, wormwood and calamus can also be tied into a bundle during the Dragon Boat Festival. The reason why Acorus calamus is added is that its leaves look like a sword, so in the folk, it also symbolizes removing ominous swords, removing bad luck and welcoming good luck and well-being.

Dragon boat festival custom

1, eat zongzi

As a sacrifice, Zongzi appeared as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was not until the Jin Dynasty that Zongzi was officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. In this period, in addition to glutinous rice, Alpinia oxyphylla was also added as the raw material for making zongzi, and the boiled zongzi was called "educational zongzi".

2. tie five-color silk thread

In the traditional culture of China, the five colors "blue, red, white, black and yellow" symbolizing the five elements are regarded as auspicious colors. On the Dragon Boat Festival, children should tie colorful silk threads on their wrists and ankles to protect their health.

3. Dragon Boat Race

Dragon boat race is one of the customs of China Dragon Boat Festival, and it is also one of the most important festivals and folk activities. It is widespread in the south of China, and there are also dragon boat races in cities near rivers, lakes and seas in the north, and most of them are held in the form of dragon boat rowing and dragon boat dancing.