Why is the Dragon Boat Festival also called Girls' Day? What’s the reason why the Dragon Boat Festival is called the Girls’ Day?

Why is the Dragon Boat Festival also called Girls' Day? What’s the reason why the Dragon Boat Festival is called the Girls’ Day?
Introduction: The Dragon Boat Festival is coming in the blink of an eye. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the important traditional festivals in our country, so it has different customs. The Dragon Boat Festival also has different names, so why is it also called Girls' Day? What’s the reason why the Dragon Boat Festival is called the Girls’ Day? Let’s follow the editor to find out. The Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival because of the custom of dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival since ancient times. The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival vary from place to place, and it contains profound Chinese traditional folk culture.

Why is the Dragon Boat Festival also called Girls’ Day?

1. The first theory is that it was to commemorate the outstanding female politician Wu Zetian.

According to legend, on the Dragon Boat Festival in the sixth year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (624 AD), an official ship was rowing at a "river pool" on the Jialing River outside the city of Lizhou (now Guangyuan, Sichuan), an important town in northern Shu. There was melodious music and graceful singing and dancing on board. Suddenly, the sky was covered with dark clouds and the river was surging with waves. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and a golden dragon suddenly emerged from the center of the river. After dancing wildly in the sky for a while, the golden dragon swooped down towards the official ship, instantly frightening Yang, the wife of Lizhou governor who was sitting on the ship, into unconsciousness. When the beautiful wife of the governor woke up, the wind had stopped, the waves were calm, and the dark clouds in the sky had disappeared without a trace. Only the bright sunshine was shining warmly on the clear river surface.
The oars were rowing gently, the weather was sunny and the wind was blowing, everything was so peaceful and serene, as if nothing had happened just now. Soon after the governor's wife returned, she became pregnant and later gave birth to a baby girl. Later, the baby girl grew up and after experiencing a period of hardship, became the only female emperor in China's long history. She was Wu Zetian, an outstanding female politician in Chinese feudal society, the "Golden Wheel Holy Emperor" of the Zhou Dynasty who ruled the world in place of the Tang Dynasty.
To commemorate the birth of this outstanding woman, local people in Lizhou during the Tang Dynasty built a temple called "Huangze Temple" on Wulong Mountain beside the "Lizhou River Pool" where Yang gave birth to Wu Meiniang through intercourse with the dragon. The rippling river pool is also known as the "Golden Wheel Conception Site." Every year, a grand celebration is held on Wu Zetian’s birthday, and women from all over the city will dress in gorgeous costumes and gather on both sides of the Jialing River. They moved their boats across the river, singing and dancing, praying for the golden dragon to reappear, for the dragon to conceive again, and for the birth of more female heroes who would make women all over the world proud. This custom has been passed down to this day, and it is the colorful and fascinating "Guangyuan Daughter's Festival".

2. The second theory is that it is a festival for married daughters to return home.

Ming Chen Bang's "Wan Shu Miscellaneous Notes" wrote: "In May is the Daughter's Day. People tie the Dragon Boat Festival ropes, wear moxa leaves, and five poisonous talismans. The Wan custom is to dress up little girls from the first to the fifth day of May, and do their best. Married girls also return home to their parents' homes. Therefore it is called the Daughter's Day." In China, the Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival. Paying New Year's greetings is the main and important activity. The latest time for paying New Year's greetings is the second day of the second lunar month. However, paying New Year's greetings is the job of men, and women do not go out. By the time the New Year's greetings are over, there is no mood for women to move around, and the busy farming season has begun, so there is no time to move around. What to do? So the ancients chose the Dragon Boat Festival. There are many benefits for women to choose to visit their parents-in-law on the Dragon Boat Festival, but there is one thing that the ancients valued most, that is, the double five represents "comparison and harmony" in the Eight Diagrams, which is auspicious and beneficial for travel. Therefore, married women returned to their parents' home to visit their parents, and this is how the Daughter's Day got its name.
In fact, there is another explanation for why the Dragon Boat Festival is called the Daughters' Day, which many people don't know. The ancients believed that in the beginning of Tai Chi, the Tao stood alone, creating the heaven and the earth and transforming into all things. Tai Chi gives birth to two opposites, which are Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang are relative, just like male and female are relative. Therefore, the ancients used dual-polar thinking in the design of many problems and the same was true in the design of festivals. So there are men's festivals and women's festivals in a year. Therefore, there are three Girls' Festivals in China, namely the Dragon Boat Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day and the Double Ninth Festival. The fifth day of May, the seventh day of July and the ninth day of September are all double yang numbers, and the anode is taken as yin, so they were called Girls' Festivals in ancient times. The Qixi Festival comes first, which is the festival for young girls; the Double Ninth Festival comes second, which is the festival for married girls; and the last is the Dragon Boat Festival, which is the festival for older girls and all married girls.
Summary: Through the above article, we know the origin of the saying that the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Daughter's Day. I hope it can provide some reference for everyone. I wish you all a happy Dragon Boat Festival!

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