How do people in the south celebrate the Dragon Raising its Head on February 2? What are the customs?
Introduction: Our country is one of the ancient civilizations with a profound historical heritage. Therefore, it has also given birth to many folk cultural festivals with unique folk cultural characteristics of our traditional country, and the Dragon Raising its Head on February 2 is such a festival. So how do people in the southern region celebrate the Dragon Raising its Head on the Second Day of the Second Month? What are the customs? Now, let’s follow the editor to learn about it. The first month of the lunar calendar is an important month. Let us pay attention to the traditional festivals and solar terms in the first month and have a good start of the month.How do people in the southern region celebrate the Dragon Raising its Head on the Second Day of the Second Month? What are the customs?The land god was called "She" or "She Shen" in ancient times. According to legend, he is the god who manages the land. Because "the earth carries all things" and "wealth gathers on the earth", humans have developed a worship of the land. After entering the agricultural society, people began to associate belief in the land with the harvest of crops. The land god is widely worshipped in southern my country, also known as the "soil god" or the "God of Fortune and Righteousness". The Hakka people call him "Tudi Bogong". The customs of the "February 2" community day are rich in content. The main activities are offering sacrifices to the land and gathering together for drinking, which is a way of honoring and entertaining gods and entertaining people.Offer sacrifices to the land god, praise the gods, and pray for blessings. The main activity of the community day is to offer sacrifices to the land god in order to pray for good weather and a good harvest, which is recorded in many documents. The "Da Zhu" of Zhouli states: "The Grand Master is suitable for offering sacrifices to the gods of the community. He builds a military community similar to the God of Heaven. When a national general has affairs in the four directions and the army returns to offer sacrifices to the community, he will pray in front." The "suitable for offering sacrifices to the community" here refers to offering sacrifices to the gods of the community in order to pray for blessings. In the She ethnic minority area of Zhejiang Province, people prepare offerings to worship the God of Land and other gods on the second day of the second lunar month every year to bless the villagers with safety. Therefore, there is a local saying: "On the second day of the second month, kill chickens to pray to the land god." (Qiao Jitong et al.: "Dictionary of Chinese Seasonal and Festivals") Similar records can be found in the "Xiu'ren County Annals" of Guangxi in the 10th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty and the "Lingyun County Annals" of Guangxi in the Republic of China. The Hakka people in Guidong area call "February 2" the Land Festival, and land temples are built on the edge of the villages where the Hakka people live. On the second day of the second lunar month every year, they prepare three cooked sacrificial animals, bring incense, candles, paper money, etc. to the land temple near the village to offer sacrifices. The scene is solemn, and they pray for the protection of the land god so that they can live and work in peace and contentment (Wang Jiantong: "A Review of Hakka Studies in Guangxi" Volume 1). The sacrificial meat was distributed, people gathered to feast, and music was played for entertainment. As a custom of people gathering together to celebrate festivals, community sacrifices have been passed down since the Spring and Autumn Period. We can find descriptions of this scene in many historical materials and local chronicles. For example, in the "Spiritual Training of Huainanzi" by Liu An of the Western Han Dynasty, it is recorded: "Nowadays, in the communities of the poor and rustics, people knock on basins and clap bottles, sing in harmony and consider themselves happy." In the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" by Liang Zonghuan of the Southern Dynasty, it is recorded: "On the community day, the neighbors gather together, offer sacrifices and wine, build houses under trees, first offer sacrifices to the gods, and then feast on the meat." In the "Wujun Suihua Ji" by Yuan Jinglan of the Qing Dynasty, it is recorded: "February 2 is the birthday of the earth god. Every temple in the city has a special shrine, and sacrifices and music are offered as thanks." The "Guangzhou Fuzhi" quoted the "Panyu Zhi" as saying: "On the land god meeting on February 2, all government offices, big and small, and streets and alleys would summon opera troupes to play music to entertain the gods." The grand occasion of the sacrifices to the communities in the past and the joyful scenes of people gathering together to feast can be seen in these records. Drink community wine (wine to cure deafness). It is said that Sheri wine can cure deafness, so people call Sheri wine "deaf-curing wine". Lu You, a Song Dynasty poet, wrote in his poem "Community Day": "I have forgotten the taboos since I was young. I am happy with my slight deafness and do not need medical treatment." He also made a note: "In ancient times, it was said that community wine could cure deafness." The "Tongzhou Zhili Prefecture Chronicle" of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty recorded: "On the fifth day after the spring equinox, the villagers worship the earth god, set up wine and drink together, saying: 'Wine can cure deafness.'" In addition, there are also records of this custom in Guangxi. The Laibin County Annals of the Republic of China recorded: "In ancient times, people drank wine that could cure deafness on the community day, because they did so to prevent the village women from spoiling them." The Liujiang County Annals of the Republic of China also recorded the custom of drinking wine that could cure deafness on the "community day" in Spring and Autumn. Eat community rice and glutinous rice cake. The origin of community dinner is very early, and it was recorded in "Autumn Community" by Meng Yuanlao in the Song Dynasty. Zhou Chu of the Jin Dynasty also recorded in "Fengtu Ji": "On this day, people in Jingchu use pork and mutton to mix their rice, put it in gourds and invite people to celebrate, in order to strengthen the friendship of old friends." The custom of eating glutinous rice cakes is mostly in Guangdong and Guangxi. The Hakka people in Hezhou, Guangxi make glutinous rice cakes on the Land Festival and add pear leaves to them. Legend has it that eating them will stop them from being afraid of the roar of thunder. Receiving company. That is, the girl's parents would pick up her newly married daughter on the community day. As early as the Song Dynasty, women generally did not participate in community sacrificial activities on community days, but there emerged a custom of women "returning home" on that day. This custom was recorded in the "Guiping County Chronicles" and "Complete County Chronicles" of Guangxi during the Republic of China. Community drama. The performing arts competitions held on the community day are to thank the gods and pray for blessings, and they perform "community operas", also known as "land operas". In the Song Dynasty, Lu You's "Jishan Xing" said: "The streets are empty to watch the dragon boat race, and the community halls are empty to watch the opera." In rural areas, the Spring and Autumn community operas are usually performed on temple platforms or temporary outdoor stages. "The Customs of China, Jiangsu" states: "The second day of the second month is the birthday of the God of Land. Paper-making shops cut paper into robes and paint them with powder, and people buy them as offerings. In the streets and alleys, people worship the local land god and hang lanterns in front of the god... A straw stage is set up next to the county office temple to perform land opera." Mr. Lu Xun's article "Community Opera" vividly depicts the community opera performances in Shaoxing countryside in the late Qing Dynasty. Taboo. It is forbidden to use needlework or do any labor in the boudoir. In the Tang Dynasty, it was customary for women to stop sewing on the community day, and there was a poem that said: "Today is the community day, stop sewing and get up to walk under the red cherry tree." Yuan Jinglan's "Wujun Suihua Jili" in the Qing Dynasty quoted Zhai Hu's "Jujia Yiji" and also said: "On the community day, men and women are required to stop working for a day, otherwise they will become deaf. People with swaddling sons all get up early, fearing that the community god will bring bad luck." Summary: Through the above article, we have learned about some customs and habits about the Dragon Raising its Head in the southern region. I hope you will like the above content. I wish you all good luck and smooth sailing in the new year! After reading this article, there are more exciting contents in the special topic of the first month of the lunar calendar. Let’s take a look! |
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