Tianjin, June 12 (Xinhua) -- "Which traditional festival with the most aliases in China is this?" "On what day is the earliest and latest Dragon Boat Festival?" "Which 'five poisons' does the Dragon Boat Festival's 'five poisons' refer to?" "Which festival in our country was first selected as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage?" ...... The annual Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, when you eat rice dumplings, insert pu ai, and perfume sachets, have you ever thought about these problems?
Luo Shuwei, a historian and researcher at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, introduced that the fifth day of the fifth month of the fifth lunar calendar every year is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, which is one of the ancient festivals of the Chinese nation and has a history of more than 2,000 years.
According to research, the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Yue people in the middle reaches of the ancient Yangtze River with dragons as a totem, and every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, they held a grand "totem festival" to show their "dragon" identity. Later, according to their own historical and cultural characteristics, various places in the north and south made different interpretations of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, such as commemorating The Zitui, commemorating Wu Zixu, commemorating Cao E, originating from the "summer solstice", etc., and the most widely circulated is to commemorate Qu Yuan, and make Qu Yuan one of the few historical figures in China to commemorate with festivals.
Among the traditional festivals in China, the Dragon Boat Festival has nearly 30 aliases, which can be called the most famous festival aliases, such as Duanyang Festival, Chongwu Festival, May Festival, Noon Festival, Yulan Festival, Calamus Festival, Daughter's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Day Festival, Tianzhong Festival, Dila Festival, Hidden Noon Festival, Dangwu Flood Festival, Xie Zong Festival, Zongzi Festival, Qu Yuan Day, Poets' Festival, etc.
"Hundreds of miles of different winds, thousands of miles of different customs." There are many aliases for the Dragon Boat Festival, which shows the diversity and complexity of the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, zongzi was originally a seasonal food, and it was not designated as a Dragon Boat Food until the Jin Dynasty; dragon boat racing is not limited to the central and southern regions, and Tianjin in the Qing Dynasty has the custom of Dragon Boat Race. Luo Shuwei said.
Since the Dragon Boat Festival originates from the lunar calendar, its date in the solar calendar is not fixed. Corresponding to the solar calendar, the earliest is May 27 (such as 2085), and the latest is June 26 (such as 1906). Therefore, it is normal for any day from May 27 to June 26 in the solar calendar every year to be the Dragon Boat Festival. Luo Shuwei said.
Since the Warring States period, the northern folk have said that the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the "evil month" and the fifth day of the first month is the "evil day", believing that "the Dragon Boat Festival arrives, and the five poisons wake up". What are the "Five Poisons"? Refers to snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos and toads.
"In order to avoid the 'five poisons', on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, people should insert Pu Ai, Perfume sachets, and Lan Tang bathing, the purpose is to do a good job in personal hygiene and environmental hygiene, to avoid pests and injuries, so the Dragon Boat Festival is also regarded as China's earliest 'health and epidemic prevention festival' and 'medical and health care festival'." Luo Shuwei said.
In order to arouse the public to rethink the cultural forms and values created by the ancestors, and promote the scientific and standardized rescue and protection of cultural heritage, China has been actively promoting some traditional festivals to declare the world intangible cultural heritage.
"The Dragon Boat Festival occupies an indispensable position in traditional Chinese cultural festivals and has a deep influence in the world. In 2009, UNESCO officially approved the Dragon Boat Festival to be included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming the first festival in China to be selected as a world intangible cultural heritage, so the Dragon Boat Festival has very important historical and practical significance. Luo Shuwei said.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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