Every March 3, Guangxi will have a holiday, and the annual "singing mountain songs" activity is always in full swing, attracting the envy of people in other regions.
But in fact, according to historical records, March 3 of the Zhuang nationality is the inheritance of the Han "Shangsi Festival".
Shangsi Festival, commonly known as "March 3", is a traditional festival of the Han nationality, it has a long history, forming a relatively complete set of cultural customs, do you know?
1. The "Shangsi Festival" in history
According to the available literature, the word "Shangsi" first appeared in the early Han Dynasty. The so-called "Shangsi" is the day of the first half of March, after the Wei and Jin dynasties, it is fixed as the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar.
Regarding the origin of the "Shangsi Festival", there are different opinions, some believe that March 3 is the birthday of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, some people claim that it is for the purpose of warding off evil spirits, and some people propose that it is due to fertility worship.
Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that in ancient times, Kamimi was already a popular folk festival, and on this day, people consciously celebrated it.
However, after the Southern Song Dynasty, the "Shangsi Festival" suddenly "disappeared" from the Han literature, but it was preserved among the ethnic minorities in the south.
Why this change?
First of all, the "Shangsi Festival" was also called the "Daughter's Festival" in ancient times, and the "Tsumi Festival" was mostly performed at this time. On this day, girls go out of the house in groups to play in the suburbs.
Secondly, the "Shangsi Festival" is also the ancient Valentine's Day in the mainland, and it is one of the main activities for men and women to meet and express their love for each other.
However, in the Southern Song Dynasty, "science" was admired, etiquette and religion became more and more strict, the oppression of women increased, and free and romantic love was also classified as the opposite of "rules".
As a result, "Kami" declined.
However, in recent years, with the emancipation of ideology and the importance of traditional culture, the "March 3rd" of the Han nationality has slowly returned to the public eye.
So, what are the traditional customs on the "third of March"?
Second, the "Shangsi Festival" customs
First, give each other vanilla.
As one of the theories about the origin of the "Shangsi Festival", the ancients would bathe in orchid soup to ward off evil spirits, because orchid grass is considered to be a spiritual object, not only has a strong aroma, but also has benefits for the body.
And as one of the three traditional Valentine's Days in the mainland, there is also a saying of "peony love", because in ancient Chinese, "medicine" and "covenant" are homophonic, which is the code for lovers to meet.
From a practical point of view, "March 3rd" is the time of spring and brightness, when everything recovers, flowers bloom, and mutual gifts of herbs can also make people more integrated into the spring scene.
Secondly, bathing.
"Purification" is the most important activity of the festival, that is, to bathe by the river and remove dirt.
But nowadays, it is obviously a bit inappropriate to bathe in the river, firstly, for safety reasons, many places do not allow or recommend going into the water, and secondly, the weather is still cold, and it is easy to get sick when bathing in the wild.
Therefore, it is still in line with social development and can bathe at home.
Again, eat festive treats.
"Eating" has always been a vital part of the traditional culture of the mainland, and there are basically all kinds of special foods during the festival, and the Shangsi Festival is no exception.
One is boiled eggs with shepherd's cabbage. There is a folk saying that "on the third day of March in spring, shepherd's cabbage is the elixir", and it is even rumored that March 3rd is the birthday of the camellia flower, and the birthday will be served to the table.
In ancient times, the Shangsi Festival was also a good time for people to propose marriage and children, and eggs were endowed with the meaning of giving birth to life.
The second is artemisia rake. The Shangsi Festival is considered to be the "Ghost Festival" among the people, and the ghosts will come to the world to confuse the people, and the artemisia rake can stick to the souls of people and prevent them from being hooked away by ghosts.
The third is spring cakes. The weather is getting warmer, and there are some places where you can eat fresh shallots, so the shallots in the aisle pancakes, with eggs, garlic, etc., are delicious spring cakes.
In addition, the five-color glutinous rice of the Zhuang nationality and the black rice of the She nationality are also festival delicacies on March 3, and are gradually accepted by the Han people.
Finally, don't have negative energy on a good day.
As mentioned earlier, the Shangsi Festival is considered to be the birthday of the Yellow Emperor, and it is also a day for people to deliberately ward off evil spirits and pray for blessings, so on this day, we must be careful not to talk nonsense and not to spread negative energy.
Especially in some places, grand ceremonies are held, and it is necessary to be cautious in words and deeds.
So what are you doing on the day of the festival?
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia