What festival is the sixth day of the sixth lunar month?

The sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar is a washing and sun-drying festival, also called the sun-drying autumn festival, which is one of the traditional festivals in China. On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, China folklore tells that the Dragon King of the East China Sea goes out to dry the scales every year, and people also wash and dry clothes on this day for good luck, so this day is also called "Washing and Drying Festival". Liu Xi of the Han Dynasty said, "Summer heat, cooking it, is as hot as cooking it." Enter a few volts, centered on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month.

China's festival folk customs include bathing, drying things, washing elephants, drying scriptures, enjoying lotus and watching ancient shows. Because the weather is sultry at this time, coupled with the rainy season and humid climate, everything is easy to rot. So on this day, from the palace to the people, from the town to the farmhouse, there are many customs of bathing and drying things. At that time, there were no bathing facilities in ordinary people's homes, but people also paid great attention to cleanliness. In every festival or solar term, people are used to bathing and purifying themselves. Buddhists especially burn incense to worship Buddha in a clean body to show their piety.

Ethnicity

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the sixth day of the sixth lunar month was still the legal "elephant washing day". At that time, in order to show his majesty, the emperor put on a huge guard of honor composed of chariots, horses, drums and umbrellas. Elephants are indispensable members in every grand celebration. At that time, Siam, Shan State, Annan, North Korea and Java all brought precious gifts to congratulate North Korea, among which Siam, Shan State and Annan brought elephants every year.

On a hot day, elephants bathe and play in the Jishuitan near the capital, attracting people to watch. In order to tame and manage elephants, the emperor also set up an elephant hall, an elephant performance hall and an elephant training hall, and recruited elephant slaves and elephant trainers from Myanmar. Usually raised by elephant slaves and trained by elephant trainers. During the Qianlong period, there were more than 30 elephants at most and as many as 100 elephant trainers. Xiangfu was located at the root of the city wall on the west side of Xuanwu Gate at that time. It is said that the former site is the Xinhua News Agency compound in Xuanwu Gate, and it still has the reputation of "Elephant Street" and "Elephant Hutong".