The Origin and Customs of Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is an important traditional festival of the Chinese nation. Dragon Boat Festival was originally a festival to drive away plague and dragon boat festival in summer. This is a sacrifice to the dragon by the ancients, and it is also said in memory of Wu Zixu, Cao E and Jiezitui. Later, on this day, the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan committed suicide by the river, so people took the Dragon Boat Festival as a day to commemorate Qu Yuan.

Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, also known as Duanyang Festival, Noon Festival, May Festival, May Festival, Ai Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Noon Festival, Noon Festival and Summer Festival. It was originally a festival to drive away the plague in summer. Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional festival of Han nationality in China. The essential activities of this day gradually evolved into eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging calamus, wormwood and wormwood leaves, smoking Atractylodes rhizome and angelica dahurica, and drinking realgar wine.

Qu Yuan is one of the greatest romantic poets in China, and also the earliest known famous poet and world cultural celebrity in China. He initiated the style of "Chu Ci" and the tradition of "vanilla beauty". His representative works include Li Sao and Nine Songs. In the history of our country, the saying that the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan has a history of 1500 years. According to legend, after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, the local people immediately rowed for rescue, and all the way to Dongting Lake, but Qu Yuan's body was never seen. It was raining at that time, and the boats on the lake gathered at the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that it was to salvage the sage Dr. Qu, they went out in the rain and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to mourn, people rowed on rivers, and later it gradually developed into a dragon boat race. People were afraid that fish in the river would eat his body, so they went home and threw rice balls into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from ruining Qu Yuan's body. Later, eating zongzi became a custom.

The custom of Dragon Boat Festival:

The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival include dragon boat racing, eating zongzi, wearing sachets, hanging mugwort leaves, hanging clocks, hanging purses and colored silk threads, ordering realgar wine, eating poisonous cakes and drawing poisonous pictures.

1, dragon boat race. Dragon boat race is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. According to legend, it originated in ancient times. Because Chu people could not bear to be separated from the sage Qu Yuan, they died in the river, and many people rowed to catch up and save. They rushed to catch up until Dongting Lake disappeared. After that, I will row a dragon boat on May 5th every year to commemorate it. People use dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. The habit of competition prevailed in wuyue and Chu.

2. eat zongzi. Eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of China people. Zongzi, also known as "corn millet" and "tube zongzi". It has a long history and various patterns. On the morning of Dragon Boat Festival, every family eats zongzi to commemorate Qu Yuan. Zongzi is usually wrapped the day before, cooked at night and eaten in the morning. Jiaozi is mainly made of tender reed leaves which are rich in ponds, and bamboo leaves are also useful in some areas, collectively called zongye. The traditional form of zongzi is a triangle, which is generally named after the inner pulp. Glutinous rice dumplings are called zongzi, adzuki bean dumplings are called adzuki bean dumplings, and jujube dumplings are called jujube dumplings, which are collectively called glutinous rice dumplings. Jujube jiaozi homophones "junior high school", so it eats the most. Children who plan to study can win the championship early. In the past, Jinshi ate jujube jiaozi on the morning of taking the imperial examination. Until now, on the morning of the entrance examination day in middle schools and universities, parents have to make jujube jiaozi for the candidates and wish them a good school.

3. Wear a sachet. Children wear sachets on the Dragon Boat Festival, which is said to mean to ward off evil spirits and plague (ancient people thought their illness was caused by demons and ghosts), but it is actually used for the decoration of the inner head. The sachet contains cinnabar, realgar, and fragrant medicine. It is wrapped in silk, and the fragrance is overflowing. Then it is tied into a rope with five-color silk threads, and made into various shapes of strings, which are small and lovely. In some cities in southern China, young men and women also use sachets to express their deep love.

4. hang Ai. There is a folk proverb that says, "Willows are inserted in Qingming Festival, and Ai is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival". On the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard inserting wormwood and calamus as one of the important contents. Every household should sweep the courtyard, put calamus and moxa sticks in the eyebrows of the door and hang them in the main room. Acorus calamus, Folium Artemisiae Argyi, Liu Hua, Garlic and Dragon Boat Flower are made into human or tiger shapes, which are called Ai Ren and Ai Hu. It is made into garlands and decorations, beautiful and fragrant, and women compete to wear it to ward off evil spirits. Dragon Boat Festival is also a "health festival" handed down from ancient times. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort leaves, hang calamus, sprinkle realgar wine, drink realgar wine, stir up turbidity, remove rot, sterilize and prevent diseases.

5. Hanging Bell Statue. It is the custom of Dragon Boat Festival for Zhong Kui to catch ghosts. In the Jianghuai area, bells and statues are hung in every household to ward off evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty returned to the palace after lecturing in Lishan, and malaria was rampant. He dreamed that two ghosts, one big and one small, were running around the temple wearing red crotch pants and stealing Yang Guifei's sachet and the jade emperor of the Ming Dynasty. GREAT GHOST, wearing a blue robe and a blue hat, caught the child, gouged out his eyes and swallowed it in one gulp. When the Ming emperor asked GREAT GHOST, he said, "My surname is Zhong Kui, that is to say, my martial arts is not excellent." . I am willing to exorcise your majesty. After Ming Taizu woke up, malaria was cured, so the painter Wu Daozi drew a picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts according to what he saw in his dream, and ordered all people to post it on the Dragon Boat Festival to drive away evil spirits.

6. Hang wallets and colorful silk threads. Ying Shao's "Customs Pass" records: "On May 5, people tied their arms with colorful silks, which were called Longevity Silk, one who continued life, one who made soldiers fight, one who made five-color silks, and one who made soldiers fight ghosts, so that people would not get sick." In ancient China, five colors were revered and regarded as auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first important thing for adults after getting up is to tie five-color lines on their wrists, ankles and necks. Children are not allowed to talk when tying the thread. The five-color line cannot be broken or discarded at will, and can only be thrown into the river during the first heavy rain in summer or the first bath. It is said that children wearing five-color thread can avoid the harm of snakes and scorpions; Throwing it into the river is to let the river wash away plagues and diseases and make children safe and healthy. Others say that colored silk thread can be thrown into the river and turned into a dragon, taking away plagues and diseases.

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7.order realgar wine. Realgar is also a kind of medicinal material, which is said to kill all kinds of poisons. Therefore, during the Dragon Boat Festival, Shaanxi people will soak realgar in wine and put realgar wine on children's ears, nose, forehead, wrists and ankles. It is said that this practice can keep mosquitoes, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos and spiders away from the body.

8. Eat five poisonous cakes and draw five poisonous pictures. The five poisons refer to toads, snakes, centipedes, scorpions and geckos. People print five kinds of poisonous insects on cakes on this day, and if they eat them that day, they can avoid the plague brought by these poisonous insects.