According to legend, in ancient times, the third day of the third lunar month was not only the birthday of the Yellow Emperor, but also a traditional festival for many ethnic groups in China, among which the Han, Zhuang, Miao and Yao ethnic groups are the most typical. The following is what the editor brings to you about the customary activities on March 3rd. I hope you like it!
What are the customary activities on March 3rd?
1. Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse
p>On the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, Chinese people have the custom of eating local vegetables and boiling eggs. Shepherd's purse, also known as field vegetables, field vegetables, etc., is a delicious, nutritious wild vegetable that grows in the corners of fields. "The Book of Songs" contains the poem "It's as sweet as a shepherd's purse"; Eating shepherd's purse in spring is also a long-standing traditional custom in our country.
2. Exorcism
It refers to the removal of disasters. Ancient witches used it to remove darkness. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was popular to soak in hot springs, bathe by the water, wash the body with orchid grass, and dip willow branches into it. The ceremony of nodding the petals in water is a blessing to eliminate disasters.
3. Bathing/soaking in hot springs
Using spring water to wash away dirt, it is believed that doing so can remove the diseases accumulated throughout the winter, making the new year clean and immune, and bringing good luck.
4. Repairing evil spirits
Going to the waterside for a swim is an ancient ritual to ward off misfortunes and pray for blessings. It later evolved into a classic paradigm for ancient Chinese poets to gather together.
5. Give each other vanilla
The ancients believed that vanilla has the power to ward off evil spirits and is of great benefit to the body.
6. Spring outing in the countryside
It is not only a festival to ward off evil spirits and seek good luck, but also a free and happy spring outing. Young men and women go out in the wild, play with each other by splashing water, and freely choose their spouses. It is the true meaning of Valentine's Day in China, and peony is used as a token of love.
7. Drinking banquet near the water
It is also called Qushui Banquet. When drinking wine, people set up mats, tea sets and flowers by the water, feast and recite poems and rhymes. It is very elegant and has become an entertainment activity for literati. This trend was especially prevalent in the Tang Dynasty and gradually became unknown after the Song Dynasty.
8. Appreciating Peach Blossoms
The peach blossoms are most luxuriant on the third day of the third lunar month, so enjoy the beauty of peach blossoms during your spring outing.
9. Flying kites
As the saying goes, "It's March 3rd again, and kites are flying all over the sky."
In modern times, every year on March 3rd, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hainan and other places hold a series of activities with new forms, high intentions and high public participation, attracting the attention of tourists from all over the country. From a traditional ethnic festival to a cultural tourism festival, and eventually transformed into a local cultural tourism brand, the development of "March 3rd" has provided useful reference and inspiration for the innovative development of traditional ethnic festivals.
What to eat on March 3
Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse
Spring is the season for eating shepherd's purse, and the homophone of shepherd's purse is "accumulating wealth". Shepherd's purse, also known as field vegetables, field vegetables, etc., is a wild vegetable growing in the corners of fields. Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse can not only dispel rheumatism, clear fire, relieve waist and leg pain, but also prevent spring plague. Therefore, there is a folk proverb that "on March 3rd, shepherd's purse is the elixir."
Five-color glutinous rice
Every year on the third day of the third lunar month or Qingming Festival, every household of the Zhuang people steams five-color glutinous rice to celebrate the festival. Five-color glutinous rice is named after its five colors: black, red, yellow, purple and white. Zhuang people regard five-color glutinous rice as a symbol of "good luck" and "abundance of grain". It is an excellent delicacy for entertaining guests and one of the offerings to ancestors. Zhuang people like five-color glutinous rice very much, but due to language differences, Zhuang people in different regions have different names for five-color glutinous rice. Some are called Zineng, while others are called black rice, green rice, five-color rice, flower rice, etc.
Artemisia Papaba
Traditional Jiangnan - Artemisia Papaba, also known as Artemisia Papaba. It is another practice derived from the traditional Jiangnan Youth League. Eating mugwort cake on March 3rd of the lunar calendar every year is a traditional folk custom of the Han people in the Jianghuai and Jiangnan areas of Anhui. Every year in March, family members collect the young leaves of Artemisia papa, wash them, and then mix them with sticky rice and glutinous rice flour to make flat and round cakes. They put them in a pot and steam them over high heat. They taste soft, waxy, sweet and delicious. . The custom of eating mugwort cakes is to commemorate the deceased, and at the same time wish everyone health and longevity and protection from evil spirits.
Mugwort Baba
March 3rd is the Song Festival of the Zhuang people. It is a festival for families to worship their ancestors and pray for blessings. On this day, mugwort cakes are also eaten. Mugwort leaf is a kind of Chinese herbal medicine and a widely used food ingredient. Southerners have always eaten delicacies made with mugwort leaf as raw material. mugwort cake made with glutinous rice flour is the traditional delicacy we are going to eat today.
Chicken dung vine
Eating chicken dung vine on the third day of the third lunar month is a traditional custom of the locals in Beihai, Guangxi. Mix chicken vine leaves with rice and grind them into powder, then make pieces of chicken vine noodles. It has a fragrant and sweet taste and is a favorite snack among locals. According to legend, the third day of the third lunar month is the birthday of Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi, the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Beihai people commemorate this great man.
What are the customs of various ethnic groups on March 3
The Yao people in Yunnan have the "Ganba Festival". In each village, men, women, old and young go into the mountains in pairs to hunt or fish in the river, have a collective feast, pray for a good harvest, sing and dance, and celebrate the festival.
March 3 is also called "Fu Nian Fu" by the Li people of Hainan Island. It is not only a festival to wish for "Mountain Orchid" (mountain dry valleys) and a good harvest of fishing and hunting, but also a "love day" for young men and women. .
On this day, villages gather to wish for a good harvest, and young men and women sing and dance to each other, taking "March 3" as the day of love. The old people carry wine jars, visit relatives and friends, and drink "unity wine".
Every family of the Buyi people in Yunnan makes glutinous rice to entertain relatives and friends. This day is a festival for family reunions and gatherings of relatives and friends. There is a legend about three Buyi sisters who invited their grandfather to have a meal.
On the third day of the third month of the Han lunar calendar, the Han people have the custom of eating ground vegetables and boiled eggs. On this day, there are folk activities such as cup-flowing, egg-flowing, date-flowing, begging for children, wearing willow rings, spring visits, outings, pure rice meals and singing performances. In Fujian, March 3rd is the "March Festival". Some people choose to visit tombs on the Shangsi Festival on the third day of March, which has the meaning of outing and getting rid of bad luck.
The Zhuang people in Guangxi have the "Song Fair Festival" and "Song Fairy Festival". According to legend, they are held to commemorate the singing fairy Liu Sanjie. Every family steams five-color glutinous rice and makes red eggs, sacrifices to their ancestors, and receives relatives and friends. People go to the singing fair, build singing booths, and hold singing parties. Young men and women sing to each other, bump eggs, throw hydrangeas, fall in love, and have fun and entertainment. Singing continues all day long, which has become today's "Singing Festival."
The Dong people usually hold activities such as grabbing fireworks, bullfighting, horse fighting, antiphonal singing, and marching in the hall on March 3rd, which is also called the "Fireworks Festival".
For the She people, March 3rd is the birthday of Gumi, and every family eats black rice. Legend has it that Lei Wanxing, a hero of the She nationality in the Tang Dynasty, led a rebel army to resist the encirclement and suppression by the official army. He used Wu Ning fruit to satisfy his hunger and the army became more powerful. On March 3, he successfully broke through the encirclement and won consecutive battles. To commemorate this event, She people eat black rice and gather in antiphonal songs on March 3rd every year.