What are the customs and habits of Dragon Boat Festival? Why do dragon boat races take place in Dragon Boat Festival
4hw.org: the annual Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the oldest traditional festivals in China. In order to commemorate Qu Yuan, the first great patriotic poet in China, we all know that the Dragon Boat Festival is to eat zongzi and race dragon boats. But do you know that besides these, there are many customs on the festival! Let's learn about it with Xiaobian!
The Dragon Boat Festival began in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, and has a history of more than 2000 years. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commonly known as "Dragon Boat Festival", it means "beginning" and "beginning". The fifth day can be called the end five. Dragon Boat Festival this day essential activities gradually evolved into: eating zongzi, dragon boat race, hanging calamus, mugwort leaf, smoked Atractylodes, angelica, drinking realgar wine. It is said that the purpose of eating zongzi and dragon boat racing is to commemorate Qu Yuan. Therefore, after liberation, the Dragon Boat Festival was named "poet's Day" to commemorate Qu Yuan. As for hanging calamus and mugwort leaves, fumigating Atractylodes rhizome and Angelica dahurica, drinking realgar wine is said to be to suppress evil spirits.
The folklore of Dragon Boat Festival
In memory of Qu Yuan: it is said that Qu Yuan threw himself into Miluo River on the fifth day of May. After his death, he was trapped by Jiaolong. The world mourned that he would throw five colored rice dumplings into the water every day to drive Jiaolong away. It is also said that after Qu Yuan threw himself into Miluo River, the local people immediately rowed boats to rescue him. Thousands of people went straight to Dongting Lake, but no body of Qu Yuan was found. At that time, just in the rainy day, the boats on the lake gathered together by the pavilion on the bank. When people learned that it was to salvage the virtuous minister Qu, they went out again in the rain and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express their sadness, people went boating on rivers, and then gradually developed into dragon boat race. &Lsquo; it seems that eating zongzi and dragon boat racing on Dragon Boat Festival are related to the commemoration of Qu Yuan. Later, this custom spread all over the country, even to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
Commemoration of Wu Zixu: the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was first held to commemorate Wu Zixu, the official of the state of Wu in the spring and Autumn period. King Fu Chai of Wu gave Wu Zixu a sword to commit suicide for listening to slander. Before Wu Zixu died, he said to people, "after I die, I will dig out my eyes and hang them on the east gate to see the army of Yue go to the city to destroy Wu". After hearing this, Fu Chai was furious and ordered Wu Zixu's body to be put into the river on May 5. In order to commemorate Wu Zixu, Suzhou folk formed a series of folk activities in Dragon Boat Festival.
In memory of her filial daughter Cao'e: Cao'e was born in Shangyu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river and did not see the body for several days. At that time, Cao'e was only 14 years old and cried along the river day and night. After 17 days, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and picked up his father's body five days later. This is a myth.
In memory of the poetess Qiu Jin: Qiu Jin is named Ruiqing Jingxiong, Jianhu nvxia, Xiaozi Yugu, born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. As a child, she is good at poetry, CI, song and Fu, and likes riding and fencing. She is known as Hua Mulan and Qin Liangyu in the world. At the age of 28, he took part in the revolution and had a great influence. He was caught by the Qing soldiers in the premeditated uprising and died unyielding. He died bravely in xuanhengkou, Shaoxing, on June 5, 2003. In order to respect her poems and mourn her deeds of loyalty and bravery, later generations combined with poet's day to commemorate her, and poet's Day was set as Dragon Boat Festival in memory of patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
The custom of Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival in China is a grand folk festival, and the celebrations are also various. The more common activities are in the following forms:
dragon boat racing
Dragon boat racing is the main custom of Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that Chu people died in ancient times because they were reluctant to let Qu Yuan, a worthy minister, throw himself into the river. Many people rowed boats to catch up and rescue them. They rushed to Dongting Lake without any trace. After that, dragon boats are rowed every May 5 to commemorate it. Use dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. Race custom prevails in Wu, Yue and Chu.
In fact, Dragon Boat Race existed as early as the Warring States period. It is a semi religious and semi entertaining program in sacrifice to carve a dragon shaped canoe and play a race game to entertain gods and people. Later, in addition to commemorating Qu Yuan, people in different places also gave different meanings to dragon boat racing.
Dragon boat rowing in Jiangsu and Zhejiang area is of great significance to the memory of Qiu Jin, a modern female democratic revolutionary born there. On the dragon boat at night, with lights on, shuttling back and forth, water and underwater, the scene is moving and unique. The Miao people of Guizhou hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 25 to 28 of the lunar calendar to celebrate the success of transplanting seedlings and to wish a good harvest. Dai people in Yunnan race dragon boats on the water splashing festival to commemorate the ancient hero Yan hongwo. There are different legends about dragon boat rowing among different nationalities and regions. Until now, in many areas of the south near rivers, lakes and seas, dragon boat races with their own characteristics are held every year.
In 1736, the dragon boat race was held in Taiwan. At that time, the governor of Taiwan, Jiang Yuanjun, presided over the friendship match in the half moon pool of fahua temple in Tainan. Now Taiwan holds a dragon boat race every May 5. In Hong Kong, there are also races.
In addition, dragon boat rowing has also been introduced to neighboring Japan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. In 1980, dragon boat racing was included in the national sports events of China, and the "Quyuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. On June 16, 1991, the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, the second hometown of Qu Yuan. Before the race, a "dragon head Festival" was held, which not only preserved the traditional ceremony but also injected new modern factors The dragon's head was carried into the Quzi temple. After the athletes' made the dragon's head 'Red' (with red belt), the chief mourner read out the sacrifice and 'opened the light' for the dragon's head (that is, light up). Then, all the people who took part in the Dragon sacrifice bowed three times, and the dragon head was carried to Guruo River and ran to the dragon boat race. More than 600000 people participated in the competition, fair and Gala, which is unprecedented. Later, Hunan held the International Dragon Boat Festival regularly. Dragon boat racing will be popular in the world.
Dragon Boat Festival eating dumplings
It is another traditional custom of Chinese people to eat Zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi, also known as "Jiao millet" and "tube zongzi". It has a long history and various patterns.
According to records, as early as in the spring and Autumn period, millet was wrapped with wild rice leaves (Zizania latifolia) into horn shape, which was called "Jiao millet"; rice was sealed and baked with bamboo tube, which was called "zongzi". In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, millet was soaked in grey water of plants and trees. Because of the alkali content in the water, millet was wrapped in wild rice leaves to form a quadrangular shape and cooked to become an alkaline rice dumpling in Guangdong Province.
In the Jin Dynasty, zongzi was officially designated as the food for the Dragon Boat Festival. At this time, in addition to glutinous rice, the raw material of zongzi is also added with Chinese medicine Yizhiren. The cooked zongzi is called "yizhizong". According to the local records of Yueyang by the people of that time: "it is common to wrap millet in wild rice leaves, boil it with & hellip; & hellip;, and eat it from May 5 to the summer solstice. One is zongzi, the other is millet. 'in the northern and Southern Dynasties, zongzi appeared. The rice is mixed with animal meat, chestnut, jujube, red bean and so on. Zongzi is also used as a gift for communication.
In the Tang Dynasty, the rice used for zongzi was as white as jade, and its shape was cone-shaped and diamond shaped. In Japanese literature, there is a record of "Tang zongzi". In the Song Dynasty, there were already 'preserved zongzi', that is, fruit was put into zongzi. Su Dongpo, the poet, has a poem that "when I see arbutus in Zongli". At this time, there are also advertisements made of zongzi piled into pavilions, wooden cars, oxen and horses, indicating that it is fashionable to eat Zongzi in Song Dynasty. In the yuan and Ming Dynasties, the wrapping materials of zongzi changed from wild rice leaves to Ruo leaves, and then there were zongzi wrapped with reed leaves, and the additional materials were bean paste, pork, pine nuts, dates, walnuts, etc., with more varieties.
Until now, at the beginning of May every year, Chinese people have to soak glutinous rice, wash zongzi leaves and wrap zongzi, with a wide variety of designs and colors. From the perspective of stuffing, there are many packages of Beijing jujube zongzi in the north; there are many kinds of stuffing in the south, such as bean paste, fresh meat, ham, egg yolk, etc., among which Jiaxing zongzi in Zhejiang Province is the representative. The custom of eating zongzi has been popular in China for thousands of years and has spread to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Pei Xiang sac:
Dragon Boat Festival children wear sachets. It's said that they are meant to ward off evil and drive away plague. They are actually used to decorate their lapels. There are cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine in the sachet. It is wrapped with silk cloth, which is fragrant. Then, it is made of five colored silk strings, which are made into various shapes, forming a string. It is colorful, exquisite and lovely.
Acorus calamus L
There is a folk saying: 'insert willows in the Qingming Festival and AI in the Dragon Boat Festival'. On the Dragon Boat Festival, people regard the planting of Artemisia and calamus as one of the important contents. Every family swept the courtyard, and put calamus and moxa sticks in the door eyebrows and hung in the hall. And Acorus calamus, mugwort leaf, durian, garlic and dragon boat flower are used to make human or tiger shape, which is called mugwort and mugwort. They are made into wreath and ornament, which are beautiful and fragrant. Women compete to wear them to drive away malaria.
AI, also known as AI, AI Hao. Its stems and leaves contain volatile aromatic oil. Its peculiar fragrance can drive away mosquitoes, flies, insects and ants, and purify the air. In traditional Chinese medicine, AI is used as medicine, which has the functions of regulating qi and blood, warming the uterus and removing cold and dampness. The processing of wormwood leaves into 'wormwood' is an important medicinal material for moxibustion.
Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb. Its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil. It is a drug for refreshing and opening the body, strengthening the bones and eliminating stagnation, killing insects and sterilization.
It can be seen that the ancients inserted mugwort and Acorus calamus have certain disease prevention effect. Dragon Boat Festival is also a "Health Festival" passed down from ancient times. On this day, people sweep the courtyard, hang mugwort branches, calamus, realgar water, drink realgar wine, stimulate turbidity, eliminate corruption, kill bacteria and prevent diseases. These activities also reflect the fine traditions of the Chinese nation. It is a common custom of all nationalities in China to collect herbs on the Dragon Boat Festival.