In ancient times, people in Jingchu would cook glutinous rice or steam rice cakes and throw them into the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in order to sacrifice Qu Yuan who threw himself into the river. Fearing that fish would eat them, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice with rice leaves and colored silk.
Step 2 hang wormwood
During the Dragon Boat Festival, people will hang wormwood or calamus in front of the courtyard and under the eaves, because they are both Chinese herbal medicines. Mosquitoes are afraid of this smell and can repel mosquitoes.
3. Dragon Boat Race
Legend has it that Chu people used dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river to prevent the fish from eating Qu Yuan's body.
4. Eat five poisonous cakes
The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching the summer solstice, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, bacteria are breeding, and people are prone to heatstroke and illness, so the ancients ate Wudu cake to get rid of illness and strengthen their health.
Step 5 hit a hundred herbs
In ancient times, when people arrived at the Dragon Boat Festival, they would go to the suburbs to collect herbs together and compete for grass on the way, which gradually formed a custom.
Step 6 collect five poisons
During the Dragon Boat Festival, girls should put "tapirs" on their chests. It is said that this kind of zongzi-like cloth sewn with colored silk thread can ward off evil spirits.
7. stick gourd flower
Old Beijingers like gourd, because gourd is the homonym of "Fulu". archaic
8. Order realgar wine
Old Beijingers also have the custom of drinking realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival. They will write the word "Wang" on the boy's forehead and point five dots on the girl's head. It is believed that realgar wine is used to crush mosquitoes and flies to ward off evil spirits and avoid harm.
Extended data:
"Palm fragrance, sweet kitchen. Folium Artemisiae Argyi smells fragrant. Peach branches are inserted in the grating, and you can see the wheat yellow when you go out. It's sunny here, sunny there and sunny everywhere. " This nursery rhyme is about the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival in China.
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional folk festival in China-Dragon Boat Festival, which is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival and Duanyang. In addition, there are many nicknames for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Such as: Noon Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Magnolia Festival, Daughter's Day, Zhongyuan Festival, Dila Festival, Poet's Day, Dragon Boat Festival and so on. Although the names are different, on the whole, the customs of people everywhere are more similar than different.
Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival has been a traditional habit of China people for more than two thousand years. Due to the vast territory, numerous nationalities and numerous stories and legends, not only many different festival names are produced, but also different customs exist in different places.
Its contents mainly include: daughter going back to her mother's house, hanging Zhong Kui statue, welcoming the ghost boat, hiding in the afternoon, sticking leaves in the afternoon, hanging calamus and wormwood, traveling in all diseases, wearing sachets, preparing sacrificial bowls, dragon boat races, competitions, hitting the ball, swinging, drawing children with realgar, drinking realgar wine, drinking calamus wine, eating poisonous cakes, salted eggs, zongzi and seasonal fresh fruits.
There are many opinions about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as: in memory of Qu Yuan; In memory of Wu Zixu's theory; In memory of Cao E; From the three generations of summer solstice festival; The theory of exorcising evil days on the moon, the theory of national totem sacrifice in wuyue and so on. Each of the above has its own source.
According to more than 100 ancient books and archaeological studies by experts listed in Wen Yiduo's Dragon Boat Festival Examination and Dragon Boat Festival History Education, the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is a totem festival held by Wuyue people in the ancient south of China, earlier than Qu Yuan.
However, for thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in people's hearts, so people "cherish it and mourn it, talk about it in the world, and tell it through the ages." Therefore, the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan has the widest and deepest influence and occupies the mainstream position. In the field of folk culture, China people associate dragon boat racing and eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival with commemorating Qu Yuan.
Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular grand festival among the people of China. Today, the Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national statutory holiday. From June 7th to 9th this year, we will be able to enjoy the first Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
What is the story of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is gradually forgotten by us? How did people in the past spend this special day? The Dragon Boat Festival is coming again. In addition to savoring the past, we may be able to appreciate the more authentic flavor of the Dragon Boat Festival behind the fragrant zongzi, or we may find some cultural memories that should not be forgotten in the depths of the fragrant zongzi.