Why does "February 2 call the dragon to look up"

February 2nd is a traditional festival of Han nationality. Popular in most parts of the country, Miao, Zhuang, Manchu, Dong, Li, She, Buyi, Hezhe, Ewenki and other ethnic minorities also celebrate this festival. There are many customs and activities in this festival, which are also called Flower Festival, Youth Walking Festival, Lai Picking Festival, Spring Dragon Festival, Qinglong Festival and Dragon Head-up Day. Because it is on the second day of the second lunar month, it is called. This custom was recorded in the Tang Dynasty. Bai Juyi's poem "February 2" said: "On February 2, the new rain is dark, and the grass-toothed vegetables are born for a while. The light shirt is ok, Ma Qing is young, and the cross is full of words. " At that time and later, people asked each other about their heritage with knives and rulers, welcomed wealth with 100 grains, melon seeds and fruits, and had activities such as picking vegetables, hiking and welcoming wealth. Yuan Fei wrote in "The Past Life in China": "On February 2nd, Youth Day, people in Renjun County visited and enjoyed the scattered suburbs. ..... ",and wang hao," a wide group of people? Pu Songling quoted Mo Han Ji: "February 2nd is the Flower Lang Festival in Luo Yang, which is also a vegetable picking festival for ordinary people to play. "After the Ming Dynasty, on February 2nd, there were many customs about dragons looking up, such as scattering ashes to recruit dragons, helping dragons, smoking insects to avoid scorpions, shaving faucets and avoiding acupuncture longan, so it was called Dragon Looking Up Day. Qing Xianfeng's "Wuding County Records": ... February 2 is the Spring Dragon Festival, and kitchen ashes are used to surround the house like dragons and snakes, which is called lucky dragons, making money into treasures. "In addition, there are activities to save the customs, such as rushing to work, trial farming, frying scorpion beans, wearing grass, offering sacrifices to the dragon king, respecting the land, respecting food, marrying a woman to live in the spring, and writing by the boy. Buyi people will hold a three-day festival on February 2, mainly to worship the land god. On the day of the festival, every family kills chickens to worship their ancestors and eats two-color (black and white) glutinous rice to pray for the peace of the whole village.

There are many activities about dragons on this day, so it is called Dragon Head-Up Day. The custom of holding the dragon head on February 2nd was first seen in Dong Liu and Yu Yizheng in Ming Dynasty. Volume 2 Chuntian: "On February 2, the dragon looked up, put the leftover cakes from the New Year's Day sacrifice, smoked the bed kang, and said that the insects were smoked, which meant that the dragon was attracted and the insects could not get out." The Qing dynasty still followed its customs. Fu Cha Dunchong's Chronicle of Yanjing: "On February 2nd, the ancient Chinese Peace Festival was also celebrated. Let people look up. During the eclipse, those who eat cakes are called Longlin cakes, and those who eat noodles are called Longxu Noodles. Don't sew in the boudoir, lest you hurt the dragon's eyes. " The dragon is a saint in the ancient culture of China, an auspicious thing, and the master of wind and rain. As the saying goes, "the dragon doesn't look up, it doesn't rain", and the dragon looks up to make rain, and heaven and earth make love clouds to make rain, which is the condition for all things to have children. In addition, in ancient times, it was believed that the dragon was the essence of scale insects, and all kinds of insects were long. When the dragon came out, all kinds of insects hid. At the beginning of February, it is the time when spring returns to the earth and farming begins, and it is also the time when hundreds of insects are stinging and ready to move. Therefore, there are folk actions to help the dragon head, recruit the dragon head and shave the dragon head, and there are customs to eat dragon skin, dragon beard, dragon son and dragon forest cake, as well as taboos such as stopping needles and avoiding grinding.

The origin of "the dragon rises on February 2"

The folk proverb says, "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up." Around the second day of the second lunar month is one of the sixty-four solar terms. It is said that on this day, the dragon that passed through the winter eye was awakened by the rumbling spring thunder and stood up. Therefore, the ancients called the second day of the second lunar month the Spring Festival, also known as the Dragon Head Festival or the Qinglong Festival. Therefore, on this day, people go to the river to worship the dragon god. "China Folk Customs, Shouchunsui" says: "On the second day of February, incense is burned to worship the dragon god."

As we all know, the dragon is a totem that the Chinese nation has believed in since ancient times. Therefore, we proudly declare that the descendants of the Chinese people are descendants of the dragon. For thousands of years, people have regarded dragons as mysterious mascots. February 2nd is the day when dragons raise their heads, so it naturally becomes an important folk festival, and many customs are related to dragons. In fact, the saying "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up" is related to ancient astronomy. In ancient China, twenty-eight nights were used to indicate the positions of the sun, moon and stars in the sky and to judge the seasons. In the twenty-eight lodgings, the horn, sound, fork, room, heart, tail and dustpan form a complete dragon constellation, and the horn is like the horn of the dragon. After the spring breeze in February, the dragon horn star appeared from the eastern horizon at dusk, so it was called "the dragon looked up".

The Spring Festival on February 2nd has a long history. Leave many customs behind. In "Miscellaneous Notes of Ten Thousand Departments" written by Shen Bang in Ming Dynasty, it said: "February attracts dragons and smokes hundreds of insects. ..... The villagers use grey cloth to enter the kitchen from the outside and turn around the water tank, which is called "bringing the dragon back". Spread pancakes with noodles. Smoked bed kang to prevent insects. " "The History of the Forbidden City in Ming Dynasty" said: "The second day of the second day ... everyone uses millet flour jujube cakes, fried them, or spread them into pancakes with fine noodles, which is called smoked insects." Guo Chong of Fu Cha of A Qing Dynasty also said in The First Year of Yan: "On February 2nd, ... people today called on the dragon to look up. During the eclipse, the person who eats bread is called Long Lin, and the person who eats noodles is called Longxu Noodles. Don't sew in the boudoir, lest you hurt the dragon's eyes. " One of them is that this custom has been passed down to this day. In the mid-1980s, northern Henan still maintained the custom of eating millet. On the morning of February 2, every household will fry millet rice cakes, which the masses call rice cakes. Another ballad goes like this: "On February 2nd, fry rice cakes, slowly, and don't burn the old man's beard." Eat "old dragon cloth eggs" at noon. That is, corn molts, commonly known as corn and noodles.

In fact, people pay attention to the various forms of "Dragon Rise" commemoration, and the fundamental reason is related to agricultural production. As this folk song says: "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up, the big warehouse was full, and the small warehouse flowed." Because February is the season for planting crops. In the era of underdeveloped science, people have placed a strong desire to pray for the dragon's blessing, good weather and abundant crops through various commemorative activities. There is also a jingle among the people: "On February 2, the dragon looked up and the emperor plowed the fields and drove the cattle; Queen Gong Zheng came to deliver the meal, and the current minister threw away the seeds. Xia Geng leads the world in spring ploughing, and the grain harvest is peaceful and autumn. "The imperial court Lao Tzu led the Manchu minister to participate in spring ploughing production, which shows the importance of spring ploughing in cooperation with farming season. In the north, February 2 is also called Dragon Head-Up Day, also known as Spring Festival. It was called the picnic festival in the south and the vegetable picking festival in ancient times. China people have had the custom of "February 2nd" since the Tang Dynasty. According to records, the origin of this sentence is related to the understanding of star movement in ancient astronomy and agricultural solar terms.

Why does it take "February 2" to raise the dragon's head? Because February of the lunar calendar has entered the mid-spring season, at this time, the sun is in full swing, the earth is recovering, and plants are sprouting. It is very necessary for farmers to plow and sow in spring, so it is necessary to keep the soil moist and water-retaining. If it rains at this time, it is really precious, so there is a saying that "spring rain is as expensive as oil". In terms of solar terms, early February is between "rain", "fright" and "vernal equinox". This is a time when it needs to rain, and it may rain. How people hope to achieve the purpose of rainfall by praying for dragons.

Why does the dragon "look up"? Because before and after the shock pad in early February, all kinds of animals that had been dormant for a winter recovered their vitality, so it's time to do something. The dragon looks up, indicating that the dragon is also moving and has to perform the duty of rainfall. However, this statement is the usual explanation of "the dragon rises on February 2", which is easy to understand. However, "the dragon looks up" has an ancient astronomical explanation and is often ignored.

The ancients thought that the earth was motionless and the sun was moving. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period or even earlier, people regarded the annual orbit of the sun between stars as a circle, which is the so-called ecliptic. Then divide the circle into 28 equal parts with some stars to form 28 intervals, which are called 28 places. "Accommodation" means living. If you observe the movement of the moon, you basically stay for one night every day, 28 nights in turn, about one month, so it is called "lodging". Divide these 28 huts in four directions: southeast, northwest and northwest, and there will be 7 huts in each direction. For these 28 nights, they are all named. The seven hotels in the East are called Jiao, Kang, Bian, Fang, Xin, Wei and Ji, which are combined into one group and called the Oriental Black Dragon. Among them, the horn is the symbol of the dragon's head, the kang is the dragon's neck, the night is the dragon's chest, the room is the dragon's stomach, the heart is the dragon's heart, and the tail and jump are the dragon's tail. In winter, these seven nights in the Black Dragon are hidden under the horizon and can't be seen after dusk. In early February, when dusk came, hornbills appeared from the eastern horizon. At this point, the whole body of the black dragon is still hidden below the horizon, and only a corner is exposed, so the black dragon looks up. Explaining the word "dragon", Shuo Wen Jie Zi said: "Dragon is the length of scale worm. It can be quiet and clear, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky and the autumnal equinox dives deeply. " They all refer to the subtle changes of black dragon's seven nights, but there are not really beasts and dragons changing. "Ascending to the sky at the vernal equinox" means that at the vernal equinox, corner beams begin to appear in the sky, and the oriental black dragon appears, that is, the dragon looks up.

The Development of Long Teng in February

In ancient China, the worship of dragons continued, and dragons were more and more clearly regarded as animal gods in charge of rain. Therefore, in the fifth year of Zuo Zhuan, Huan Gong said that "the dragon is now", which means that the dragon will appear after being electrocuted and stung, and a sacrifice to pray for rain will be held at this time. Shan Hai Jing, a geographical myth work during the Warring States Period, also said that Ying Long lived in the south, "so it was rainy in the south", while Candle dragon "didn't eat or sleep, and the wind and rain were a disaster", which often attracted wind and rain. Because imaginary dragons can fly in clouds and fog, superstitious dragons can bring good luck to people, and when they arrive on earth, they can become emperors, so the emperor is called the real dragon emperor.

The earliest record of holding a rain-seeking activity directly with the help of the image of a dragon can be found in Dong Zhongshu's Spring and Autumn Stories in the Western Han Dynasty. The book mentions dancing dragons for rain. The stone reliefs of the Han Dynasty are also engraved with the dance scene of "playing with dragons". These can be regarded as the origin of playing dragon lanterns in later generations.

People in the Tang Dynasty have regarded the second day of February as a special day, saying that it is a day to welcome wealth, and eating "fruit to welcome wealth" on this day means eating some snacks. The court of the Song Dynasty also had special activities on this day. When the Song people carefully recorded the Southern Song Dynasty in Old Wulin, there was a "picking vegetables" royal banquet in the palace on the second day of February. At the banquet, fresh vegetables such as lettuce are planted in some small hooves (measuring instruments with small mouths and big bottoms), and the names are written on silk and placed under the hooves for everyone to guess. According to the result of the guess, there are rewards and punishments. This activity is both an early adopter and an entertainment, so at that time, "the palace is also more effective." However, these "February 2" activities in the Tang and Song Dynasties have nothing to do with "Dragon Rising".

February 2 of the Yuan Dynasty was clearly "the dragon looked up". Analysis of Tianjin Record mentioned that "February 2nd is the day when the dragon rises" when describing the customs of metropolis in Yuan Dynasty. On this day, people eat noodles, which is called "Longxu Noodles". There are pancakes called "Longlin"; If it includes jiaozi, it is called "dragon tooth". In short, it should be named after the dragon body.

Folk custom of "Dragon Boat Festival on February 2"

After the Yuan Dynasty, there were more records about various folk activities of "Dragon Rising on February 2". People also call this day the Dragon Head Festival, Spring Dragon Festival or Qinglong Festival. The Chronicle of Yanjing Years Old in the late Qing Dynasty said: "February 2nd ..... Today people call for the dragon to look up. During the eclipse, those who eat cakes are called Longlin cakes, and those who eat noodles are called Longxu Noodles. Don't sew in the boudoir, lest you hurt the dragon's eyes. " At this time, not only should we eat cakes and noodles, but women can't do needlework for fear of hurting the dragon's eyes. "Liaozhong County Records" recorded the local folk custom of February 2 in the Republic of China, saying: "February 2, commonly known as the dragon looks up. In the morning, knocking on the beam with a pole means knocking on the tap, which means that the dragon stabbed to the ground and covered the shock stage. Farmers eat cakes and steamed bread made of coarse rice flour for breakfast. Therefore, women shave their children every day, covering up the meaning of the dragon's head. " This is a folk custom in Liaoning. Knock on the beam with a long pole in the morning to wake up the dragon. At the same time, I also make some pasta to eat.

In addition to eating pasta, there are activities to fetch water from home. The Qing Dynasty's "Wan Shu Miscellaneous People" said: "On February 2, everyone called the dragon to look up, and the villagers used gray twisted cloth to enter the kitchen from the outside and circled the water tank, which was called bringing the dragon back." This activity is in the early morning of the festival. People scatter plant ash and chaff all the way from the river and the well to the water tank at home, just to have good weather. If you don't trust, only when it rains, you must bring water into your home and let the rain fall on your own fields, so that you can get what you want. This is a reflection of the economic consciousness of small farmers. In some places, there are activities of playing dragon lanterns, which also means begging for rain. It is a custom in many places to pay attention to shaving your head on this day.

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the activities of "smoking insects" and "frying beans" have been added on February 2nd. The Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" said: "On February 2, the dragon looked up ... smoked the bed kang and smoked the insects, so as to attract the dragon, the insects could not get out." In the Qing Dynasty Kangxi's Daxing County Records, it was recorded that "on February 2 nd, all families were vegetarian cakes, which were fried and eaten, which was called smoked insects."

Why do you want to smoke insects? At the beginning of February in the lunar calendar, the weather is getting warmer and the insects are beginning to stir. Some insects are harmful to human health. Therefore, on this day, more and more people use fried food and pancakes to smoke and kill insects. This is a concept that emphasizes hygiene. In the north, such as Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi and other places, there is also the custom of eating fried beans to repel insects. People soak soybeans in salt water for a period of time, then take them out and stir-fry them in a pot. Soon, soybeans jumped in the pot to warn insects and drive them away. As for some articles mentioning that there are some folk customs in Beijing, such as "picking up aunts on February 2", I don't need to go into details here.

The Dietary Custom of "Dragon Raises its Head on February 2nd"

Ordinary people eat noodles, spring cakes, popcorn, pork head and so on. On this day. Different regions have different foods, but most of them are related to dragons. Generally, the name of food is added with the title of "dragon". For example, eating jiaozi is called eating "dragon ears"; Eating spring cakes is called eating "Longlin"; Eating noodles is called eating "dragon beard meat"; Eating rice is called eating "dragon son"; Eating wonton is called eating "longan"

Eating spring cakes is called "eating Longlin". A spring pancake bigger than the palm of your hand is like a piece of Long Lin. Spring cakes are hard and contain many dishes. Such as sauce meat, elbow, smoked chicken, sauce duck, etc. Cut them into filaments with a knife and stir-fry them with some home-cooked dishes, such as fried shredded pork with leek, fried shredded pork with spinach, mung bean sprout vinegar, vegetarian fried vermicelli and scrambled eggs. , and rolled into spring cakes, dipped in shredded onion and sesame oil noodle sauce, really delicious and refreshing. When eating spring cakes, the family sits around, puts the baked spring cakes into the steamer and takes them while eating. Hot and happy.

There is a legend about eating popcorn on the second day of February. According to legend, when Wu Zetian was emperor, the Jade Emperor ordered that it should not rain on the ground for three years. However, Yulong, who is in charge of Tianhe, couldn't bear the people to suffer from disaster and starvation, and a heavy rain came secretly. When the Jade Emperor learned about it, he buried the Jade Dragon in charge of Tianhe under a mountain. There is a monument at the foot of the mountain, which reads: "The rain of the Dragon King violates heaven and should be punished by the world for generations. If you want to climb the peak tower again, unless the golden beans bloom. " In order to save the Dragon King, people searched everywhere for golden beans in full bloom. On the second day of February of the following year, when people were turning golden corn seeds, it suddenly occurred to them that this kind of corn was like golden beans, and it blossomed as soon as it was fried. Isn't it golden beans? So every household popped popcorn, put on record and burned incense in the yard, offering "flowering golden beans" to the Dragon King and the Jade Emperor. Knowing that the people were saving it, the Dragon King shouted to the Jade Emperor, "Golden beans are blooming, let me out!" As soon as the Jade Emperor saw the golden beans in the yard of every household in the world blooming, he would send a message to recall the Dragon King to heaven and continue to send clouds and rain to the world. Since then, people have formed a custom. On the second day of February, people pop popcorn and fry soybeans.

There is also a saying that pig's head meat is eaten on February 2. Since ancient times, pigs, cows and sheep have been used to worship the gods, and later it was simplified to the head of the three animals, and the pig head is one of them. According to a story recorded in Qiu Chi's Notes in the Song Dynasty, Wang Zhongling was very hungry after pacifying Bashu, so he broke into a temple in a small village, but he met a drunken monk. Wang Zhongling was furious and wanted to cut it, but he didn't know that the monk was afraid. Wang Zhongling was very surprised and asked him for food. Soon the monk presented a plate of "steamed pig's head" and wrote a poem for it: "The monk said that when steaming, the banana leaves were wrapped and watered with apricot paddles when cooked. Red, fresh and elegant, called Jin panting, ripe and soft, really like jade. If there is no comparison between hairy roots, felt roots will eat vines. " Wang Zhongling ate steamed pig's head, and was very happy to hear the funny and unique "pig's head poem", so he named the monk "Master of Purple Clothes". It seems that the pig's head is really delicious and an auspicious symbol of turning the corner. Now there is a famous dish called "roast pork face", which can be served after twelve steps, such as selecting ingredients, cleaning, spraying, soaking, making sauce and cooking for more than ten hours. There are three kinds of "roast pig face", one is the original taste; The second is to dip in the sauce; The third is to roll pancakes to eat. Every way of eating has a different taste. "Roasted pig's face" is fat but not greasy, the meat and bones are separated, and it tastes delicious, which brings beauty and brain-strengthening effects to modern people. Eating modern "pork noodles" on February 2 nd and recalling the history of ancient catering is really a perfect experience of blending contemporary and history.

As an ancient folk festival, the rise of the Dragon on February 2 has basically faded out of the modern life of China people. However, we should also realize some cultural connotations of "the dragon rises on February 2", such as the worship of dragons by the ancients and the materialistic explanation of "the dragon rises" in ancient astronomy, which still has research value.

The second day of the second lunar month is one of the traditional festivals in Huai 'an, which is called "Dragon Head Up", also known as "Dragon Head Festival". On February 2nd, the dragon looked up and everyone shaved his head. In the old days, there was a saying in Huai 'an that "people who have money but no money shave their heads for the New Year". It's more than a month before the Spring Festival, so it's time for a haircut. On February 2nd, the dragon looked up, which was an auspicious day. After a long time, the custom of shaving on February 2 was formed. "On February 2nd, the dragon looked up and every child shaved his head". For good luck, the word "dragon" was added in the middle of the haircut, which was called "shaving tap" to distinguish it from other haircuts. Some girls also chose this day to get their ears pierced. In addition, parents choose this day to send their children to school.

On February 2nd, every family picks up their daughters. In the old society, in the first month, the bride didn't come back, the daughter-in-law didn't go out, and there was no room in the first month. At the same time, there is a superstition that "a married daughter can't look at her parents' lights in the first month, and her parents' lights kill her father-in-law", so a married daughter in the first month is not allowed to go back to her parents' house. For more than a month, the girl missed her mother, and her mother missed her, so February 2 was not only the first month, but also an auspicious day, so everyone took their daughters back to their parents' home.

On February 2 nd, according to the beam, scorpions have nowhere to hide. On this day, the candles left over from the Lunar New Year sacrifice are lit to illuminate the beams and walls to drive out pests. In addition, on this day, the children knocked the ladle dry with chopsticks and said, "On February 2, knocking on the ladle fork made nine mice blind." Knock on the small glass with chopsticks and say, "On February 2nd, knock on the small glass, and ten nests of mice are empty" to drive away the mice and kill them. Write a list of "On February 2nd, insects and ants went straight to the ground" with white paper, in which "insects and ants went straight to the ground" should be reversed and then pasted on the table or bed leg to avoid insects and ants.

"On February 2nd, the dragon looks up, the big hoard is full, and the small hoard flows". It is another folk custom to draw grain depots or granaries with blue gray, or to draw circles of different sizes in front of the door with blue gray, symbolizing that the big circle meets the small circle and prays for a bumper harvest.

On February 2, some people ate rice crust on New Year's Eve, and women were forbidden to use needlework. It is said that when dragons look up, they will get their eyes stitched.

February 2, according to legend, is the birthday of the land father-in-law, which is called "land birthday". In order to "warm the life" of the land god, some places have the custom of holding a "land meeting": every family raised funds to celebrate the birthday of the land god, went to the land temple to burn incense and set off firecrackers, which gradually faded after the founding of the People's Republic of China.