Introduction: Do you know what day is the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar? This day is called "February 2nd Day of the Dragon's Head", also known as the Dragon Head Festival. How did this festival come about? What are the traditional customs and taboos? Next, let’s learn about it together! The first month of the lunar calendar is about to begin with various festivals. Let us count the important traditional festivals and customs of this month. A good year starts with spring. Brief introduction to the Dragon Raising its Head on February 2 The second day of the second month in the lunar calendar is commonly known as the Dragon Raising its Head. The Qinglong Festival is also known as the Spring Dragon Festival, the Spring Ploughing Festival, the gathering of all gods, and the birthday of the land god. China has had a saying since the Tang Dynasty that "On the second day of the second month, luck is on the rise and the spirit is high." There are also ceremonies such as releasing dragon lanterns, releasing animals, and praying for good fortune on the second day of the second month. The Chinese people believe that the dragon is a symbol of good luck and the master of wind and rain, and the second day of the second month in the lunar calendar is the day when the dragon wants to ascend to heaven. In terms of solar terms, the beginning of February in the lunar calendar is between "Rain Water", "Qingzhe" and "Spring Equinox". Many parts of my country have begun to enter the rainy season, and people will hold ceremonies to worship dragons and pray for rain, and release animals in order to pray for a good harvest in the year. In the north, there is a widely circulated folk proverb: "On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head; the big warehouses are full, and the small warehouses flow." In the south it is called the Outing Festival, and in ancient times it was called the Picking Vegetables Festival. Whenever the Spring Dragon Festival comes, in most parts of northern my country, every household carries lanterns to the river to fetch water, release animals, and light blessing lanterns in the morning. Go to a Taoist temple or light lamps, burn incense, recite scriptures and chant mantras in front of the shrine at home, and do charity and good deeds throughout the day. On this day, every household eats noodles, fried cakes, popcorn, and sugar-fried beans, which are likened to "picking the dragon's head", "eating dragon gall", "golden beans blooming, the Dragon King ascending to the sky, creating clouds and rain, and a good harvest" to show auspiciousness. In many places, before getting up, people first recite "On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head. We should be grateful to the dragon for its blessings and to the Tao for protecting all living beings" in front of the temple. According to historical records in Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi", "Dragon is the king among all scales. It can be dark or bright, small or big, long or short. It ascends to the sky at the spring equinox and dives into the abyss at the autumnal equinox." This is probably the earliest record of the custom of the "Spring Dragon Festival." The Dragon Raising its Head is a reflection of the festivals in ancient Chinese farming culture. It is said that the origin of this sentence is related to ancient astronomy's understanding of the movement of stars and agricultural solar terms. The second day of the second month in the lunar calendar actually indicates the arrival of spring, the revival of all things, the beginning of the activities of the hibernating dragon, and the beginning of a year's farming activities. In the north of my country, February 2 is also called the Dragon Raising its Head Day, also known as the Spring Dragon Festival. In the south it is called the Outing Festival, and in ancient times it was called the Picking Vegetables Festival. According to historical records, the Chinese have had the custom of "February 2" since the Tang Dynasty.
The beautiful legend of the Dragon Raising its Head on February 2 In fact, there is a beautiful legend about the "Dragon Raising its Head" on the second day of the second lunar month. It is said that when Wu Zetian usurped the throne, the Emperor of Heaven was furious and ordered that no rain should fall on earth for three years as a punishment. However, the Jade Dragon of Water Control could not bear to see the people suffer from the disaster and starve, so he secretly sent down a heavy rain. When the Jade Emperor learned about this, he cast the Jade Dragon down from heaven and pressed him under a mountain. There is also a monument at the foot of the mountain, on which it is written: "The Dragon King violated the rules of heaven by bringing rain, and should be punished by the mortal world for thousands of years. If he wants to return to the Lingxiao Pavilion, the only way is when the golden beans bloom." In order to save the Jade Dragon, people searched everywhere for the blooming golden beans. On the second day of February of the following year, people were turning over and drying the golden corn seeds when they suddenly remembered that the corn was like golden beans. If they were fried and blossomed, wouldn't that be the golden beans blossoming? So every household popped popcorn, set up an altar in the yard, burned incense, and offered "flowering golden beans". The Jade Dragon knew that it was the people who were saving it, so it raised its head and shouted to the Jade Emperor: "The golden beans are blooming, let me out!" The Jade Emperor had no choice but to let the Jade Dragon return to heaven and continue to create clouds and rain for the world - it is said that this is the origin of the folk custom of eating scorpion beans on the second day of the second lunar month. The traditional custom of the Dragon Raising its Head on February 2 In fact, there are more than that. Our country has customs such as shaving heads, offering sacrifices, worshiping the God of Wenchang, eating noodles, frying oil cakes, making popcorn, and eating pig heads. There are certain dietary requirements on this day. Because people believe in the "power of dragon", most of the food on this day is named after dragon. There is also the name of eating noodles "Fulongxu", eating rice "Eating Longzi", eating wontons "Eating Longyan", and so on. In fact, these customs embody people’s good wishes to pray for the dragon’s blessing, good weather, and a good harvest. There are many other customs on this day. A long time ago, before getting up, people would recite "On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head. If the dragon doesn't raise its head, I will." After getting up, they would hold a lantern and shine it on the beams, reciting as they do so: "On the second day of the second month, shine it on the beams, and scorpions and centipedes will have nowhere to hide." In some places, women do not use needles and thread for fear of hurting the dragon's eyes; in some places, they stop washing clothes for fear of hurting the dragon's skin, and so on. The Chinese have always regarded the dragon as their totem. On this day, they use various forms and rituals to pray for the dragon's blessing and to fulfill their good wishes. From a scientific point of view, the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar is around the time of "Qingzhe", when the earth begins to thaw, the weather gradually warms up, and farmers bid farewell to their slack season and begin to work in the fields. Therefore, in ancient times, "February 2" was also called "the second day of the second month". Therefore, the Spring Dragon Festival, which is popular among the Chinese people, was also called the "Spring Farming Festival" in ancient times. It is said that if the sun has not woken up on this day, the rumbling thunder will come to call it.
Summary: The above article gives us a detailed introduction to the February 2nd Festival from three aspects: the introduction, legends and customs of the festival. You can learn more about it. I also wish you all good luck and prosperity in the new year 2017!
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