There are many customs in the Dragon Boat Festival. Take Artemisia argyi as an example. There are corresponding allusions to the origin of inserting mugwort leaves in the Dragon Boat Festival, which sounds very interesting.
There is a saying among the people that willow is inserted in Qingming Festival and wormwood is inserted in Dragon Boat Festival. There has always been the custom of inserting mugwort leaves in the Dragon Boat Festival. This is because around the Dragon Boat Festival, Artemisia argyi leaves grow vigorously, and the rich fragrance of fresh leaves of Artemisia argyi leaves contains a lot of phytoncide, which can effectively repel mosquitoes and sterilize.
In ancient times, there was a very capable man named Zhao Qiao in Xiangtan, and people called him "Zhao Fuyuan". His father gave birth to him at the age of eighty. Shen Qiao studied at the age of five and was very clever. He is obsessed with the four books and five classics. At the age of eighteen, he was elected governor of Hunan.
After the governor took office, he was honest and did a lot of good things for the people. One year, a boa constrictor appeared in a cave in Yuelu Mountain, Changsha. This python often turns into an old monk. He went to the streets of Changsha City to beg for alms, and everyone said, "An overpass was built on Yuelu Mountain. Anyone who wants to live forever can walk from the bridge to heaven. " Many ordinary people believed it, but God didn't make it, but it went into the stomach of a boa constrictor. It turns out that this overpass is the snake's tongue sticking out. People walked into the snake's mouth from its tongue, and many people were eaten by it.
Zhao Fuyuan is determined to eliminate pests for the people. He thinks day and night, but he has no good plan. One night, he dreamed that an old beggar came to him and said, "If you want to get rid of the boa constrictor, you can only kill it by piercing the clouds with a bow and arrow, blinding it, and then poisoning it with realgar. If you poison people's homes, every household can hang calamus leaves and put some calamus roots in the water tank to avoid disasters. " When Zhao Fuyuan woke up, he found a stunning bow and a cloud-piercing arrow on the bed. It turns out that this old beggar is Taibai Venus.
After breakfast, Zhao Fuyuan led his entourage, carrying a bow and a cloud arrow around his waist, and headed for Yuelu Mountain. Sure enough, he saw a bluestone overpass. He walked onto the overpass with spikes on his feet. When he stepped on it hard, the stone bridge softened. Evil does not press right, boa constrictors are afraid. Zhao Fuyuan looked up and saw a pair of big lanterns on the top of Yuelu Mountain, brightly lit. He drew a bow and shot an arrow. A lantern went out, an arrow went out, and another lantern went out. At this time, the overpass suddenly disappeared.
When Zhao Fuyuan returned to the office, he immediately told the drugstore in Changsha that an ugly monk would come to buy eye drops tomorrow. You shouldn't sell him real medicine, but give him a pack of realgar. He also told every family that they would hang calamus and mugwort leaves at the door tomorrow and put some calamus roots in the water tank. The next day, a monk with bad eyes went to the drugstore to buy eye drops, and the drugstore owner gave him a pack of realgar. The rotten-eyed monk poisoned door to door and entered through the front door. Acorus calamus and mugwort leaves hung by every household turned into a sword, shining. He dared not enter through the front door, but ran to the back door to put poison in the kitchen water tank. Acorus calamus roots soaked in water dissolved all the toxins. After the rotten eyes of the python were painted with realgar, they immediately festered all over and died soon.
It was Duanyang Festival on May 5th, and people in the street rushed to tell each other, ecstatic, and praised Zhao Fuyuan's merits in unison. People rushed to Yuelu Mountain to see the python cave. This python is so big that it scares people to death. Later, people picked out dozens of human bones and gold and silver jewelry worn by women from the cave, and countless people ate them. From then on, every household hangs calamus leaves and drinks realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival.
The origin of inserting mugwort leaves in the Dragon Boat Festival sounds very interesting, and every allusion has its meaning in it. I believe that inserting mugwort leaves in the Dragon Boat Festival will help us to know more about the culture of the Dragon Boat Festival.
2. Insert peach branches in Dragon Boat Festival
"Zongzi is fragrant, and the kitchen is fragrant. 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 is a popular song describing the ancient Dragon Boat Festival. Then, why do you want to put peach branches on the door during the Dragon Boat Festival? Listen to me tell a story about inserting peach branches.
In ancient times, there were two brothers, the elder brother named Shen Tu and the younger brother named Lei Yu. They had no parents or children. They live in a humble hut called "Domingo Hill". Their eyes are different from others, that is, they can see the movements of ghosts. The local people here are called "water eyes". It is said that when they walk on the road, they will know what ghost they are when they meet a ghost in front. If they are a good ghost, a kind ghost and a sincere ghost, they will make way out of courtesy and let themselves deviate from the road. If you meet a spectre, a fierce ghost or an evil ghost, catch it. Shen Tu and Lei Yu have such skills.
Du Mingshan is very high, towering into the sky. Clouds were scattered around the mountainside. The mountains are lush with trees and ghosts often appear. Only a peach tree grows in front of Shen Tu and Lei Yu's house. I don't know whether this peach tree was planted by their grandfather or great grandfather, but I don't know. It's very old anyway. I'm afraid the old peach tree has thinned down, and the shade has covered the whole hut. Every morning, they check for ghosts coming out of the road under this old peach tree, because the road on the mountain comes from hell. If an evil spirit harms the world, it will come forward to catch it and tie it up to feed the tiger. So people at the foot of the mountain live a very healthy life.
Once, a farmer went up the mountain to cut wood. When he goes to the mountain, he wants to cut wood. He felt a little urgency, so he unbuttoned his crotch and began to urinate. Just then, two evil spirits passed by and peed on them. The evil spirit refused to let go and wanted to eat the farmer. When Shen Tu and Lei Yu found it under the peach tree, they immediately stepped forward to catch the evil soul, and Shen Tu sent them to feed the tiger. The farmer felt dizzy and almost fainted, so Lei Yu quickly helped the farmer into their room and protected him. After the farmer woke up, Lei Yu told the farmer about the bullying of evil spirits and said to the farmer, "If you want to pee in the mountains in the future, you must announce to the air,' I want to pee, please avoid it.' You will be fine, because you have committed evil spirits. The farmer only knows that there are two brothers on the mountain, Shencha and Lei Yu. He examines ghosts under the peach tree every day, so that people under his feet can be at peace.
I don't know how many years later, Shen Tu and Lei Yu brothers died one after another. People at the foot of the mountain painted portraits of Shen Tu and Lei Yu brothers on mahogany boards and hung them on both sides of the gate to ward off evil spirits. Later, the portraits of Shen Tu and Lei Yu were woodcut on paper and pasted on the doors of every household. Later, they spread to our Jiangnan area. Every Dragon Boat Festival, they cut some peach branches on peach trees instead of peach trees, which also symbolizes the brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu, asking them to guard the portal and play the role of exorcism.