What activities are there on February 2nd when the Dragon Raises its Head? What relevant activities are there in coastal areas?
The second day of the second lunar month is one of the many festivals in my country, with a long history. In addition to various food cultures, there are also some customs and activities related to the second day of the second lunar month. So let’s find out what activities are there on the second day of the second lunar month? What relevant activities are there in coastal areas?What activities are there on February 2nd when the Dragon Raises its Head?Activity 1: Dragon SacrificeIn the past, the Dragon Head-raising Festival was a day for worshiping the Dragon God. On this day every year, people would go to the Dragon God Temple or the waterside to burn incense and offer sacrifices to the Dragon God, praying for the Dragon God to create clouds and rain and bless a good harvest for the year. However, in many areas, especially in the south, people also regard the second day of the second lunar month as the "birthday of the God of Land" and hold community sacrifices to worship the God of Land. Activity 2: Scattering Ashes This festival custom has a long history and is still popular in many rural areas today. The ash used for spreading ash is generally wood ash, but some people also use lime or rice bran. The specific practices vary from place to place, but generally speaking: scattering ashes in front of the door is called "blocking the door to ward off disasters"; scattering ashes in the corners is intended to "ward off insects"; scattering ashes in the yard to make circles of varying sizes, and symbolically placing some grains, called "enclosing the granary" or "making ash storage", to pray for a good harvest; scattering ashes beside the well is called "attracting the dragon back", in order to pray for good weather. The way of spreading the gray line varies from place to place. Generally, it starts from the well, spreads all the way to the kitchen, and surrounds the water tank. The gray line is winding and continuous, which is quite interesting. Activity 3: Fumigation of insects As the second month of the lunar calendar approaches, the weather gradually warms up and various insects begin to move around. Some insects are harmful to human health, so on the second day of the second month, people make pancakes and burn incense, hoping to drive away poisonous insects with the smoke. Activity 4: Hitting the beams It means using a wooden stick or bamboo pole to knock on the beams of the house to scare away poisonous insects such as snakes and scorpions to prevent them from causing harm. In some places, it is popular to knock on the edge of the kang, which has the same purpose as knocking on the beams of the house. Activity 4: Stir-fried scorpion beans The most popular activity on this day is stir-frying scorpion beans. In Weixian, Laizhou and other places, it is called "Baojie", which sounds like "baozhe". It is said that if you eat fried scorpion beans, you will not be stung by scorpions for a year. In Yuncheng and other places, it is called "fried scorpion claws". Children sing as they eat it: "After eating scorpion claws, there is no need to kill scorpions." What relevant activities are there in coastal areas?Worship the God of LandFebruary 2 is both the Dragon Raising Head Festival and the birthday of the God of Land. The "Birthday of the God of Land" is also called the "Community Day Festival." The community day is divided into Spring Community Day and Autumn Community Day. In ancient times, the Spring Community Day was the fifth day of the Wu period after the Beginning of Spring, and the Autumn Community Day was the fifth day of the Wu period after the Beginning of Autumn (Wu, belongs to the earth element in the five elements). The ancients believed that the earth gave birth to all things, and the land god was one of the most widely worshipped gods. People believe that the God of Land is in charge of the growth of grains and local peace, so people in many places worship the God of Land on the second day of the second month. Eat Dragon Food Since people in coastal areas worship dragons, they eat foods with the word "dragon" on the day of the Dragon Raising its Head to get some "dragon spirit", so most of the foods with the Dragon Raising its Head flavor are named after "dragon". The noodles are called "dragon beard noodles" and the pancakes are called "dragon scale pancakes". People hope to pray to the Dragon King for a year of good weather and good harvests. Dragon Boat Rising On the day when the dragon raises its head, some coastal areas will have the activity of "launching the dragon boat", where people jump into the water to "launch the dragon boat", invite the dragon out of the water, clean the dragon boat, and try to row the dragon boat. People choose this day as the traditional day to "start the dragon boat race" to show their respect for the dragon boat and their wish for everything to go well. Cutting faucet The custom of "cutting the dragon head" on February 2 has been popular in coastal areas. On this day, both adults and children have their heads shaved, which is called "shaving the happy head." Boys in particular all have to have a haircut, which is called "cutting the dragon's head". It is said that getting a haircut on this day can bring good luck for the whole year, and it also means that if you want good luck, you should get a haircut. |
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