Customs around the Dragon Boat Festival, quick ah, I'm doing handbook ~~~~~

Dragon Boat Racing, is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Legend has it that it originated in ancient times when the people of Chu could not bear to see the wise minister Qu Yuan throw himself into the river to die, and many people rowed after him to save him. They scrambled and chased to Dongting Lake when they disappeared. After that, they rowed dragon boats on May 5 every year to commemorate it. The dragon boat was used to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body. The practice of racing, prevalent in Wu, Yue, Chu.

In fact, "dragon boat racing" as early as the Warring States period. In the sound of drums, rowing a canoe carved into the shape of a dragon, to do racing games, to entertain the gods and people, is a half-religious, half-entertainment program in the rituals.

Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people around the world also put a different symbolism.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas of the dragon boat, both to commemorate the local birth of the modern female democratic revolutionaries Qiu Jin meaning. Night on the dragon boat, lights and colors, back and forth, water and underwater, the scene is moving, interesting. Miao people in Guizhou in the lunar calendar May 25-28 held "Dragon Boat Festival" to celebrate the victory of rice-planting and wishing a good harvest. Yunnan Dai compatriots in the Water Festival Dragon Boat Race, to commemorate the ancient hero rock red nest. Different ethnic groups, different regions, paddle dragon boat legend is different. Until today in the south of the many near the rivers, lakes and seas of the region, the annual Dragon Boat Festival will be held in their own characteristics of the Dragon Boat Race activities.

Qing dynasty Qianlong twenty-ninth year (1736), Taiwan began to hold dragon boat racing. At that time, Taiwan's governor, Chiang Yuan-jun, hosted a friendly race at the Half Moon Pond of Fahua Temple in Tainan City. Nowadays, dragon boat races are held in Taiwan every year on May 5th. In Hong Kong, races are also held.

In addition, rowing dragon boat has been introduced to neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. 1980, dragon boat racing is included in China's national sports competitions, and held annually, "Qu Yuan Cup" Dragon Boat Race. 1991 June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), in the second hometown of the Qu Yuan in Hunan City, China, Yueyang City, the first international dragon boat festival. International Dragon Boat Festival. Prior to the race, the "Dragon Head Festival" was held, which preserved the traditional rituals and injected new modern elements. The "dragon head" was carried into the Qu Zi Ancestral Hall, where the athletes "reddened" the dragon head (draped with a red sash), the officiating priest read out the sacrificial text, and the dragon head was "opened" (i.e. lighted). Then, participate in the sacrifice of the dragon of all personnel three bows, the dragon is carried to the Buro River, running to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in the race, fair and celebration, which was an unprecedented event. After that, Hunan will regularly organize the International Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat racing will be prevalent in the world.

Duanwu food dumplings

Duanwu Festival to eat dumplings, which is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "corn", "tube dumplings". It has a long history, a variety of patterns.

According to records, as early as in the Spring and Autumn period, with Zizania leaves (wild rice leaves) wrapped in millet into a horn-shaped, called "corner of millet"; bamboo tube with rice sealed and baked, called "tube zong". The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, to grass ash water soaked in millet, because the water contains alkali, with Mushroom leaves wrapped in millet into a quadrangular shape, cooked, became the Guangdong alkaline water dumplings.

Jin Dynasty, dumplings were officially designated as Dragon Boat Festival food. At this time, the package of raw materials in addition to glutinous rice, but also add the Chinese medicine Yi Zhi Ren, cooked zongzi called "Yi Zhi Zong". Zhou Zhou, "Yueyang customs and local records" recorded: "Commonly wrapped in millet with Aizome leaves, ...... cooked, and rotten, in the fifth of May to the summer solstice to eat, a zong, a millet." North and South Dynasty period, the emergence of mixed rice dumplings. Rice mixed with animal and poultry meat, chestnuts, jujubes, adzuki beans, etc., more varieties. Zongzi also used as a gift for interaction.

The Tang Dynasty, rice dumplings, has "white as jade", the shape of the cone, diamond-shaped. Japanese literature recorded in the "Tang dumplings". Song Dynasty, there has been "candied rice dumplings", that is, fruit into the dumplings. The poet Su Dongpo has "in the dumplings see prunes" poem. At this time also appeared with zongzi piled up into buildings, pavilions, wooden cars, cows and horses for the advertisement, indicating that the Song Dynasty to eat zongzi has been very fashionable. Yuan, Ming period, zongzi parcel material has changed from zongmu leaf for Ruo leaf, and later appeared with reed leaf package zongzi, additional material has appeared bean paste, pork, pine nuts, jujube, walnuts and so on, varieties are more colorful.

Till today, the beginning of May every year, the Chinese people have to dip the glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves, package zongzi, its more colorful varieties. From the filling point of view, the north more packages of small jujube Beijing jujube zong; the south has bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolk and other fillings, which is represented by Zhejiang Jiaxing zongzi. Eat zongzi custom, for thousands of years, in China prevailed, and spread to North Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Pei Xiangbao:

Duanwu Festival children Pei Xiangbao, the legend has the meaning of the evil spirits to drive away the plague, is actually used for the lapel head embellishment decoration. The scented capsule inside the cinnabar, andrographis, incense medicine, wrapped in silk cloth, fragrant, and then the five-color silk string buckle into a rope, for a variety of different shapes, knotted into a string, colorful, exquisite and lovely.

Suspension of calamus leaves:

Folk proverb says: "Qingming willow, Dragon Boat Festival plug Ai". In the Dragon Boat Festival, people put the plug and calamus as one of the important content. Every family sweeps the court, to calamus, moxa inserted in the door eyebrow, hanging in the hall. And with calamus, moxa, pomegranate, garlic, dragon boat flower, made in the shape of a man or a tiger, known as Ai man, Ai tiger; made of wreaths, ornaments, beautiful and fragrant, women compete to wear, to drive away miasma.

Ai, also known as Ai, Artemisia absinthium. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oil. It produces a peculiar aroma, can drive flies, insects and ants, purify the air. In Chinese medicine, moxa is used as a medicine to regulate qi and blood, warm the uterus, and dispel cold and dampness. The leaves of moxa are processed into "moxa velvet", which is an important herb for moxibustion.

Calamus is a perennial aquatic herb, and its long, narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oils, which are medicines for refreshing the mind, strengthening the bones and eliminating stagnation, and killing worms and sterilizing bacteria.

See, the ancients inserted the wormwood and calamus is a certain role in disease prevention. Dragon Boat Festival is also passed down from ancient times, "Health Festival", people in this day to clean the courtyard, hanging Ai Zhi, hanging calamus, sprinkle andrographis water, drink andrographis wine, and stir up turbid in addition to the corrosion, sterilization and disease prevention. These activities also reflect the fine tradition of the Chinese nation. Dragon Boat Festival on the mountains to collect medicine, is China's various nationalities *** with the same customs