Why do we wear colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival? What are their functions and significance?

Why do we wear colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival? What are their functions and significance?
The Dragon Boat Festival customs in each place have their own local characteristics. So, do you know the custom of wearing colorful ropes during the Dragon Boat Festival? What are the specific requirements? The editor will reveal it to you now! According to the 24 solar terms, the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the middle of summer, so May is called "midsummer" or "midsummer". If you want to know more about the fifth month of the lunar calendar in 2020, please follow Mr. Shui Mo's website!

What is a colorful rope?

The five-colored rope, also known as five-colored silk or five-color silk, is a mascot and ornament for the Dragon Boat Festival. It has the function of warding off evil spirits and has the beautiful meaning of praying for good luck.
The five-colored rope originated from the ancient Chinese concept of the five elements and evolved from the ancient custom of tattooing.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, the pure yang energy of heaven and earth is at its peak. Using the pure yang energy of heaven and earth to ward off evil spirits is an important custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Among the many customs of warding off evil spirits, tying five-colored silk threads on the arms was once a very popular festival custom.
In later generations, the five-colored silk was developed into many kinds of beautiful ornaments, and the production became more and more refined, becoming a unique folk art for the Dragon Boat Festival.
In fact, the five-colored rope has another particularly nice name. In ancient times, the five-colored rope was also called the longevity thread. It is made by twisting five colored threads into a colorful rope and tied around the child's arm or neck. It is called the longevity thread or the life-extending thread.
The Ming Dynasty poet Yu Youding's poem "Song of the Fifth Day in the Imperial Capital" said "Tying out five threads can prolong one's life", which refers to this custom. Han Dynasty Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs" records: "On May 5th, people tie five-colored silk on their arms, which is called the long life thread." Later generations also called it "the life-extending thread" or "the five-color thread."

The function of the five-colored rope: exorcising evil spirits and ensuring safety

In ancient China, five colors were worshiped and considered auspicious, symbolizing praying for good fortune and warding off evil. Children wearing colorful ropes is an important custom of the Dragon Boat Festival.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household hangs five-colored silk ropes on the lintels to ward off bad luck.
The Dragon Boat Festival is also known as "Children's Day". Wearing colorful ropes on this "poisonous day" can protect against evil spirits, eliminate diseases and strengthen the body.
Precisely because of its important significance, the custom of wearing colorful threads during the Dragon Boat Festival continues to this day.
In the early morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the first thing adults do after getting up is to tie colorful strings on the wrists and ankles of sleeping children. When tying the strings, the children cannot speak.
Some married men were forced by their wives to wear colored ropes. Many men were afraid of being laughed at by others, so they secretly tied them around their ankles.
According to folk customs, five-colored threads can also bring good popularity and a good marriage.
For example: an unmarried woman can choose a moonlit night, pray sincerely to the moon for a good marriage, and then wear a five-color thread bracelet on her hand to enhance her good marriage.
When the baby is one month old, place five-colored threads in the bathtub and let the baby hold on to them. This will help the baby to be more popular with people from five directions, and increase his popularity. When he grows up and seeks a job or fame, there will naturally be someone to help him.
Of course, no matter whether you are a man or a woman, old or young, as long as you follow the tradition, wearing a five-color thread bracelet during the Dragon Boat Festival can bring you good luck and avoid bad luck, make you feel peaceful and calm, exude a friendly charm, and make it easier for you to get help from noble people.
In the years when traditional culture had not yet faded, every Dragon Boat Festival, men and women, young and old, high officials and commoners all tied colorful threads on their clothes!
The colorful thread bracelet should be worn on the left by men and on the right by women. It can be tied around the wrist or the ankle.

The meaning of the colorful rope bracelet

The five-colored thread is a lucky charm commonly used in Taoism and among the people. In traditional Taoism, the five colors represent the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. They complement and restrain each other and have the mysterious effect of exorcising evil and welcoming good fortune.
The five directions are east, west, south, north and center, and are symbolized by animals. The east is the Azure Dragon, the south is the Vermillion Bird, the west is the White Tiger, the north is the Black Tortoise (turtle and snake), and the center is the Yellow Dragon, all of which are spiritual creatures.

How to wear the colorful rope during the Dragon Boat Festival

Tying colorful ropes is an important custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, which has the beautiful meaning of praying for good luck.
The predecessor of the longevity lock is the "longevity thread", which is also called the "longevity thread". Its significance is to lock the child's life and prevent diseases and plagues from invading and harming the child.
The ancients believed that once a child wore a lock, he would be able to grow up safely without disasters; the longevity lock more often expresses the elders' blessing to the younger generation.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household hangs five-colored silk ropes on the lintels to ward off bad luck. Therefore, it is traditional to weave ropes out of five-colored silk, pair them with silver locks or peach wood, and wrap them around the wrists or ankles in order to pray for warding off evil spirits, eliminating disasters, curing diseases and prolonging life!
1. Five-colored thread is made of threads of five colors.
2. Wear the five-colored rope before the sun comes out. Therefore, in the early morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the first thing adults do after getting up is to tie five-colored threads on their children's wrists, ankles, and necks.
3. The colorful thread should be worn by men on the left and women on the right. It can be tied around the wrist or the ankle.
4. When wearing the colorful rope, children are forbidden to speak, and the rope cannot be torn or discarded at will. It can only be thrown into the river during the first bath after the festival.
5. It is said that children wearing five-colored threads can avoid being harmed by poisonous snakes, scorpions and other insects. Throwing them into the river means letting the river water wash away the plague and disease, so that the children can stay healthy.
6. Another saying is: It is agreed that after the first rain after the Dragon Boat Festival, the colored ropes should be taken down and thrown into the river or lake to be blown away by the rain, symbolizing staying away from evil, troubles, diseases and sorrow.

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