Taste the Dragon Boat Festival and pass on civilization
The word “DuanWu” first appeared in the .”Western Jin Dynasty’s “Record of the Land“: “Midsummer Duanwu is on the fifth day of the fifth month, according to custom, people attach importance to this day, just as they attach importance to the summer solstice.” Duan, in ancient Chinese, has the meaning of beginning, initial. “Shuowen Jiezi“: “Duan, the first thing born of the title also”, that is, Duan for the beginning of the meaning, so the fifth day of May is called “Dragon Boat Festival”.
Dragon Boat Festival customs, distinctive features
Dragon boat race
Dragon boat racing is common in the southern part of China, while in the north most people row dry dragon boats or dance dragon boats. When rowing the dragon boat, people will sing the dragon boat song to cheer.
Zigui in Hubei has a complete singing voice, and the words and songs are based on local folk songs and trumpets, and the songs are majestic and beautiful and heart-warming.
Hanging mugwort, calamus and banyan branches
Mugwort, calamus and garlic is called “Dragon Boat Festival three friends”, also known as “three weapons”, the ancients believe that you can disperse snakes, insects, germs, cut off the demons.
Some places will Dragon Boat Festival in the door hanging mugwort, calamus or pomegranate, garlic. People usually mugwort, banyan, calamus with red paper tied into a bundle, and then inserted or hanging on the door.
Painting forehead
Dragon Boat Festival has the custom of smearing children’s foreheads with strawberry, which is said to drive away poisonous insects. The typical method is to use xiong huang wine in the child’s forehead painting “king” character, the first means xiong huang to drive away poison, the second said the tiger, (“king” like the tiger’s forehead pattern, the tiger is the king of the beast) to suppress evil.
Wearing incense packets
Wearing incense packets are quite delicate. The elderly for disease prevention and fitness, generally like to wear peaches, apples, dolls holding roosters and other shapes, symbolizing good luck, family harmony.
Children like is the flying birds and animals class. Young people, if a hot lover, the girl very early to elaborate chic incense bags, in time to give their loved ones before the festival.
Bathing
Dragon Boat Day bath orchid soup is the ancient custom recorded in the “Da Dai Li”. But the text of the orchid is not orchids, but the chrysanthemum family of pelargonium, aroma, can be decocted water bath.
Later, the general use of fried pope, mugwort and other herbs to bathe. In Guangdong, flowers and herbs such as mugwort, pope and white magnolia are used.
Xionghuang Wine
The Record of Jingchu Years and Times records that “Calamus is made into a powder of crumbs to cool the wine.” Pu wine taste aromatic, refreshing feeling, and later people added Xiong Huang, vermilion, etc. in the wine. This custom is more widely spread.
