Dragon Boat Festival knowledge: Why hang mugwort and wear sachets? Yulan | Name | Dragon Boat Festival

Release time:Apr 13, 2024 22:37 PM

It's the Dragon Boat Festival again. Avoiding pestilence and health care, remembering the ancestors... Around the theme of these festivals, people have gradually formed colorful customs such as eating Zongzi and wearing sachets.

Cheng Peng, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Literature at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, stated that in traditional Chinese culture, the five colors that symbolize the Five Directions and Five Elements, namely "green, red, white, black, and yellow," are considered auspicious colors. During the Dragon Boat Festival, children will tie five colored silk threads, symbolizing "warding off evil spirits.".

The Dragon Boat Festival also has the custom of applying realgar to children's foreheads. The typical method is to use realgar wine to draw the character "Wang" on the forehead of children. One uses realgar to drive away toxins, and the other uses fierce tigers to ward off evil spirits.

Besides eating Zongzi, what other interesting customs are there on the Dragon Boat Festival?

What is "Dragon Boat Festival"?

The Dragon Boat Festival has rich cultural connotations, with the original meaning of the word "duan" for "zheng" and "wu" for "zhong". On the noon day of the midsummer lunar month, the Canglong Seven Mansions soar in the center of the south and are at the most "central" position throughout the year, hence the name "Dragon Boat Festival".

The ancients used the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as carriers, and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches were universal in the era. The Dragon Boat Festival was originally the noon day of the Meridian Month in the Gan Zhi calendar. The first month is Jianyin, and the fifth month is the Meridian Month. The noon day of the Meridian Month is called Zhongwu.

In addition, Duan has the meaning of "beginning", and the first day of the noon month is known as "Dragon Boat Festival". In the "Fengtuji" written by Zhou Chu of the Jin Dynasty, it was recorded that "during the midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, we cooked corn and sorghum. Duan, also known as the beginning, was the fifth day of the fifth lunar month."

How did it come from?

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is related to the celestial phenomena, calendar, and religious culture of ancient times. The concepts of "eliminating diseases and preventing epidemics" and "avoiding disasters" in the summer have given rise to a series of health and wellness customs.

The worship of water gods and dragon totems in the southern region has led to customs such as dragon boat racing and throwing food into the river. In the process of historical development, content commemorating historical figures such as Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu, and Cao E has gradually been incorporated.

Later, the commemoration of Qu Yuan became the most widely and deeply influential statement. Slowly, people linked the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat race and eating Zongzi with the commemoration of Qu Yuan.

Why is it also called Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival also has many aliases, mainly due to different naming methods. The names of festivals such as Zhongwu Festival and Duanyang Festival are mainly based on the Ganzhi era; The Dragon Boat Festival, Yulan Festival, Acorus Festival, Ai Festival, etc. are named after the relevant customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.

Cheng Peng said that many names are actually regional in nature, with a small scope of dissemination and not very high "popularity", such as "Dang Wuxun".

Why did ancient folk people "hide during the Dragon Boat Festival"?

In the ancient understanding, due to the prevalence of heat and toxins during the Dragon Boat Festival, snakes and insects appeared, making people prone to illness and epidemics. Therefore, May 5th was known as the "Evil Month" or "Evil Day".

As a result, a series of distinctive folk customs have emerged, such as "hiding during the Dragon Boat Festival". There are also some taboos, such as not building houses, "Building houses in May can make one bald."; It is not advisable to have children, that is, not to give birth to a child in May.

What is the "Dragon Boat Three Friends"?

There is a saying that mugwort, calamus, and garlic are known as the "Dragon Boat Festival Three Friends", mainly used to ward off evil spirits and dispel diseases.

When the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, people usually put mugwort and calamus on their doors. The "Jingchu Suishi Ji" records: "Picking mugwort as a person, hanging it on the door to ward off poisonous gas."

Ai, as an important medicinal plant, has a special fragrance that can drive away diseases, prevent mosquitoes, and ward off evil spirits. At this time, it is the peak growth period of mugwort, which has the best effect, so people will compete to pick and hang mugwort.

What are some interesting customs?

When it comes to the Dragon Boat Festival, people always think of the custom of dragon boat racing.

Cheng Peng introduced that in northern China, due to the lack of rivers, there is rarely a custom of dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival. However, on this day, people will shoot willows and play polo, mainly due to the competitive customs of northern nomadic ethnic groups.

In some southern regions, there is a custom of releasing paper kites during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Why is there a custom of picking herbs at this time?

In ancient folklore, it was believed that during the Dragon Boat Festival, the Yang energy was strong, making it the time when various herbs grew most vigorously and had the strongest medicinal properties. At this time, the stems and leaves of the herbs matured and had good medicinal properties, so the herbs collected were the most effective and effective.

This custom has a long history and had a widespread influence during the Han Dynasty. Volume 22 of "Suishi Guangji": "Collecting Miscellaneous Medicines" cites a lost article from "Jingchu Suishi Ji": "On May 5th, competing to collect miscellaneous medicines can cure all kinds of diseases."

What decorations should I wear during the Dragon Boat Festival?

During the Dragon Boat Festival, there are mainly customs such as wearing sachets, five colored silk threads, wearing Douniang, and hanging "duck egg dumplings".

In traditional Chinese culture, the five colors that symbolize the Five Directions and Five Elements, namely "blue, red, white, black, and yellow", are considered auspicious colors. During the Dragon Boat Festival, children should tie five colored silk threads on their wrists and ankles to ward off evil spirits. Later on, ornaments such as long life chains and locks were also developed.

What do you eat during the Dragon Boat Festival?

Among all kinds of delicacies on the Dragon Boat Festival, Zongzi undoubtedly occupies the "C" position. It has a long history, also known as corns in ancient times.

There is a custom in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to eat "Five Yellow" during the Dragon Boat Festival. Wuhuang generally refers to yellow croaker, cucumber, eel, duck egg yolk, and yellow wine. There may be slight differences in certain areas, and other foods such as soybeans may be used instead of one of them.

In addition, in the Jinjiang area of Fujian Province, every household should eat "fried piles" during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Why post the "Five Poisons Map"?

The weather is hot in summer, and people believe that May is the time when the five poisons appear. Various methods should be used to prevent the harm of the five poisons.

Usually, the Five Poisons map is pasted in the house, with five types of toxins printed and drawn on red paper, and then five needles are punctured on it, symbolizing that it cannot move horizontally. Folk people also embroider the five poisons on clothing and adorn cakes with patterns of the five poisons, all of which contain the intention of expelling them.

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