The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese festival. When it comes to the Dragon Boat Festival, there are grand celebrations. What's the date of the festival? What are we going to do? What are the customs and taboos of the festival? Come and have a look!
What day is the Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month
Dragon Boat Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals, including dragon boat race, kite flying, wormwood hanging, calamus hanging, zongzi eating and realgar wine drinking. In September 2009, UNESCO officially approved its inclusion in the list of representative works of human intangible cultural heritage, making it the first festival in China to be included in the world intangible cultural heritage.
Taboos on the Dragon Boat Festival
1. Don't eat my mother's rice dumplings
In our country, there is a folk saying that if a daughter gets married, she can't go back to her mother's home on the Dragon Boat Festival, otherwise, she will have bad luck. Of course, this is a superstitious saying, believe it or not.
2. No swimming
In ancient times, people believed that when the Dragon Boat Festival came, some 'ominous things' were the most vicious. They wanted to find a double to return the sun for themselves and live a new life. Therefore, in some areas of our country, children will not be allowed to swim on this day, because there have been drowning accidents in some places, so it is more taboo.
3. Take care of the sachets worn by children
There is a folk saying that if a child's sachet is missing, there will be a disaster in the whole year; after the Dragon Boat Festival, children can directly throw their sachets into the river or water, so that they can avoid the disaster.
4. Avoid the bad moon and avoid the afternoon
In ancient times, people thought that may was a bad month, so there were some customs of hiding from the sun during the Dragon Boat Festival. If the baby was under one year old, it would be sent directly to grandma's home to avoid disaster.
What does the dragon boat festival do
1. Eating zongzi
Eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival is another traditional custom of the Chinese people. Zongzi is also called 'jiaoshu' and 'tongzongzi'. It has a long history and various patterns.
2. Dragon Boat Race
Dragon boat racing is the main custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that it originated in the ancient Chu state. Many people rowed boats to catch up and rescue because they were reluctant to give up Qu Yuan's death in the river. They scrambled to catch up with each other and disappeared when they reached Dongting Lake. After that, we rowed a dragon boat on May 5 every year to commemorate it. The dragon boat was used to disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. The custom of racing was popular in Wu, Yue and Chu.
3. Wearing Sachet
On the Dragon Boat Festival, children wear sachets, which are said to have the meaning of avoiding evil and driving away pestilence. In fact, they are used to decorate their lapels. Inside the sachet are cinnabar, realgar and fragrant medicine. The sachet is wrapped with silk cloth, and the fragrance is overflowing. Then the sachet is made of five color silk thread. It is made into various shapes and forms a string, which is exquisite and lovely.
4. Acorus calamus
In the Dragon Boat Festival, people take the insertion of Artemisia argyi and Acorus calamus as one of the important contents. Every family sweeps the courtyard and sticks Acorus calamus and moxa sticks into the eyebrow of the door and hangs in the hall. They also use Acorus calamus, Artemisia argyi leaves, durian flowers, garlic and dragon boat flowers to make human or tiger shapes, which are called AI Ren and AI Hu; they are made into wreaths and ornaments, which are beautiful and fragrant. Women compete to wear them to drive away malaria.
AI, also known as AI and 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.
Acorus calamus is a perennial aquatic herb. Its long and narrow leaves also contain volatile aromatic oil. It is a medicine for refreshing, invigorating bones, eliminating stagnation, killing insects and sterilization.
5. Hanging statue of Zhong Kui
Zhong Kui catching ghosts is the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. In Jianghuai area, the statue of Zhong Kui was hung in every family to drive away evil spirits. Emperor Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty came back to the palace from Lishan to talk about Wu. He had a lot of malaria. He dreamed of two ghosts, one big and one small. The little ghost wore red crotch less trousers, stole Yang Guifei's sachet and Ming emperor's Jade Flute, and ran around the palace. The big one wears a blue robe and hat, catches the little one, cuts out his eyes and swallows it. When the emperor of Ming asked, the big ghost said: the minister's surname is Zhong Kui, that is, he is not the first in the military examination. He is willing to get rid of demons for his majesty. When the emperor of Ming woke up, he recovered from malaria. So he ordered Wu Daozi, the painter, to paint a picture of Zhong Kui catching ghosts as he saw in his dream. He ordered the whole world to post it at the Dragon Boat Festival to exorcise evil spirits.
6. Tie five color silk thread
According to Ying Shao's folk customs, on May 5, he tied his arms with multicolored silk, which was named Changming thread. One was named Xuming thread, one was named Bibing tie, one was named wuse thread, one was named Zhusuo, which was named Bibing and GUI, and ordered people not to get sick and pestilence.
In ancient China, five colors were worshipped as auspicious colors. Therefore, in the early morning of the festival, the first thing for adults to do when they get up is to tie five colored threads on children's wrists, ankles and necks.
7. Drink realgar wine
This custom is very popular in the Yangtze River area.
8. You Baibing
This custom is prevalent in the Dragon Boat Festival in Guizhou.