The custom of inserting mugwort during the Dragon Boat Festival in Suqian
On the fifth day of May in the lunar calendar, the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is one of the "three major festivals" in my country's folk tradition. According to legend, more than two thousand years ago, the poet Qu Yuan of the Chu State sank himself in the Miluo River on this day. In order to commemorate him, later generations made this day a holiday. On this day, people all over the country will spontaneously hold activities such as eating rice dumplings, rowing dragon boats, and inserting wormwood to commemorate them. This has become a practice for thousands of years.
In ancient times, on the Dragon Boat Festival, the poet Yashi held poems and drinking gatherings. Chanting poems is to commemorate Qu Yuan, and drinking realgar wine is to disinfect and also to help Yaxing. Qing? Gu Tieqing said in "Qing Jialu": "Researching realgar powder and wine to drink is called realgar wine." When gatherings, they usually bring a bowl, chant poems, drink, and beat the bowl.
According to folklore, May 5th is a vicious festival. After Qu Yuan died, in the eyes of the ancients, May was a "bad moon" with all kinds of diseases and epidemics. Therefore, on the Dragon Boat Festival, the ancients, regardless of men, women, young and old, rich or poor, must find ways to avoid disasters and evil spirits. Some people also go out with relatives and friends, go out for travel, some carry food on their shoulders, carry wine bowls, and eat alone in the open air. The widowed drink is called the Xiyou to avoid disaster.
In terms of folk customs in Suqian, on the Dragon Boat Festival, wormwood and calamus should be planted in front of the house in the morning, and the "five poisons" decorated with paper should be hung in front of the main house: snakes, scorpions, tigers, centipedes and toads. . A portrait of Zhong Kui was hung beside the bed in the house to drive away evil spirits and protect safety. Children should wear tiger shoes, tie colorful wool on their wrists and ankles, and paint the belly button and anus with realgar. Family members must go to the wild to collect herbs, or "baicaotou" such as mugwort leaves and calamus, for bathing in hot water. It is said that using herbs or "baicaotou" for bathing during the Dragon Boat Festival will prevent toxic sores within one year and prevent insect bites. Disease, protect skin health. Every family eats zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is indispensable. Zongzi is wrapped in green reed leaves. People in Suqian are also very particular about eating zongzi. Zongzi is mainly made of glutinous rice, but the filling is mostly accompanied by peanut kernels, red dates, ham, diced meat, bean paste and other materials. After cooking, it tastes delicious and delicious, and some People also eat boiled garlic, because garlic is also a disinfectant.
Before the liberation, on the Dragon Boat Festival, a dragon boat show or competition was held in the Suqian Jinghang Canal. People in Suqian city love to put realgar, rice dumplings, brown sugar, cucumbers, radishes, and salted eggs in the sun "at noon." In the afternoon, men, women, old and children will come in groups to watch the dragon boat on the banks of the Jinghang Canal at Dongguankou. The dragon boat team is huge, with dozens of them, decorated with colorful decorations, which is very spectacular. Some boats slanted a long pole behind, and acrobats performed various thrilling and graceful movements on it, which drew the audience's cheers. The custom of dragon boating in Suqian continued until the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
After a long period of evolution, the content of activities related to the Dragon Boat Festival has now far exceeded its original cultural connotation. Especially since the reform and opening up, this activity has been expanded to business negotiations, investment promotion or various cultures, sports, and folk customs. The exhibition of amorous activities, the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival, is used to carry out various folk activities and build a platform for economic development.
