Today is the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar. There is a folk saying in our country that on the second day of February, the dragon heads up; when the big warehouse is full, the small warehouse flows. According to folklore, on the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the Dragon King in charge of clouds and rain rises in the sky; from then on, the rain will gradually increase. Therefore, this day is called 'spring Dragon Festival'. So what is the origin of dragon head Festival?
What does dragon head up mean?
Dragon head up is the ancient people's appellation of solar terms. It represents the coming of spring and the recovery of all things, indicating that a year's agricultural activities are about to begin. In the north, February 2 is also called dragon head up day, also known as the spring Dragon Festival. In the south, the dragon head up is also known as the outing Festival.
On the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, there is a folk saying 'on the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, the Dragon rises to its head' on the second day of February. In the north, February 2 is also called dragon head up day, also known as the spring Dragon Festival. In the south, it's called the outing Festival, and in ancient times it was called the picking vegetable Festival. About from the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese have had the custom of February 2. According to records, the origin of this sentence is related to ancient astronomy's understanding of the movement of stars and agricultural solar terms.
"February 2, dragon head up" is probably the most popular saying about February 2. What does "dragon head up" mean? If we want to trace the origin of this sentence, it should be related to the ancients' understanding of the movement of stars.
In ancient times, people used the twenty eight constellations to indicate the position of the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky, so as to judge the seasons and remind the farming season, which is recorded in the book of rites. The seven constellations of Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji constitute a complete dragon constellation, in which Jiaosu is like the two horns of a dragon. On the night of February 2 of the lunar calendar, the two horns of the Dragon (i.e. the one star and the other two) rise slowly from the eastern horizon. At this time, the whole body of the 'Dragon' is still hidden below the horizon, so it is called 'dragon head up'.
The origin of the rise of the dragon in February
The second day of February is the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar. Why is this day the day of the dragon's head? It can be explained from the following aspects: first, China has a typical subtropical monsoon climate. After the second day of February of the lunar calendar, many parts of China begin to enter the rainy season. For the ancient farming society, the rainy season after the middle of winter means the harvest of food and the prosperity of life. In the traditional concept, the contribution of bringing rain to people's harvest is often attributed to the dragon. Therefore, the dragon has a lofty position in the hearts of Chinese people. It not only represents the strong and solemn, but also is the master of wind and rain. So every year on February 2 of the lunar calendar, people habitually call it dragon head up, which is the origin of dragon head up in February 2.
(1) The cultural origin of the rise of the dragon in February
As the saying goes, "on the second of February, the dragon looks up.". Around the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar is one of the 24 solar terms. It is said that the hibernating dragon, on this day, was awakened by the rumbling spring thunder, and then rose up. Therefore, the ancients called the second day of the second lunar month as the spring Dragon Festival, also known as dragon head festival or Green Dragon Festival. Therefore, on this day, people will go to the river bank to sacrifice the Dragon God. "The Chinese national custom · the age of spring" notes: "on the two day of February, the fragrant incense water bank is dedicated to the Dragon God. As we all know, dragon is the totem of the Chinese nation since ancient times. Therefore, we are proud to claim that the descendants of the Chinese are the descendants of the dragon. For thousands of years, people regarded the dragon as a mysterious mascot. February 2 is the day when dragons raise their heads. Naturally, it has become an important folk festival. Many customs are related to dragons. As a matter of fact, the theory of "dragon head up on February 2" has something to do with ancient astronomy. In ancient China, the position of the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky and the seasons were used in ancient China. The seven constellations of Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji constitute a complete dragon constellation, which is similar to the horn of a dragon. Every February after the spring breeze, Longjiao star appears from the eastern horizon at dusk, so it is called "dragon head up".
(2) The historical origin of the rise of the second dragon in February
February 2 spring Dragon Festival has a long history. There is also a legend in the folk. Once upon a time, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province. There is a small mountain village in the east of Lishan Mountain in Lintong. There is a young man named Shuishui in the village. Seeing the drought, he tried to look for water everywhere. One day, in Yuantou village, a hundred miles away, he heard an old man say something like this: "the Jade Emperor knew about the drought in Guanzhong. Zeng ordered the grandson of Donghai Dragon King to sow rain. But when the little dragon arrived at Guanzhong, he rushed to the dragon river and forgot about the rain sowing event. "Shui Shui Shui asked:" how to subdue it? "The old man said," you must get a dragon subduing wood. "Shuishui finally finds the Dragon subduing wood and subdues Xiaolong after many hardships. When he looked up, there was a big thunder storm in the sky. In order to commemorate the day of "dragon head up", people set February 2 of the lunar calendar as the "spring Dragon Festival", leaving many customs.
According to Shen bang of Ming Dynasty in his miscellany of Wanshu, it is said that in February, the dragon is attracted and the insects are smoked. &Hellip & hellip; the villagers use the ash to enter the kitchen from the outside of the door, and wind the water tank, calling for the dragon to return. Spread pancakes with flour. Fumigation of the bed Kang makes a hundred insects die. According to the history of the Ming Palace: "on the second day of the first day of the Ming Dynasty, the millet flour jujube cake was fried in oil, or the flour and thin were spread as pancakes, which were called smoked insects. Guo Chong, a man of the Qing Dynasty, also said in his book "the year of Yanjing": on February 2, people today call it "dragon head up". It is a kind of solar eclipse cake, which is called dragon scale, and it is also called longxumian. Stop sewing in boudoir for fear of hurting Longmu. One of the Customs has been followed up to this day.
In the mid-1980s, there was a custom of eating millet in Northern Henan. On the morning of February 2, every household will fry millet cake. The masses call it "New Year cake". There is also a folk song: "on February 2, fry the rice cake, make it light, and burn it slowly. Don't burn the old man's beard. At noon, they all eat 'laolongbu egg'. That is, corn molting, commonly known as corn and noodles. In fact, people are concerned about the commemoration of "dragon head up" in various forms. The fundamental reason is that it has something to do with agricultural production. As the ballad says: 'on February 2, the dragon looks up, the big warehouse is full, and the small warehouse is flowing. 'Because February is the season for planting crops. In the age of underdeveloped science, people express their strong desire to pray for Dragon blessing, good weather and good harvest through various commemorative activities.