Allusions to the rise of Erlong in early February

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 women have to eat bread and flour, but also women can't operate 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. 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.

[Edit this paragraph] Food custom 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 it is also an auspicious symbol of turning the corner and making rapid progress. 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.

Eating mustard rice on the second day of the second lunar month is a popular custom in Wenzhou. It is said that eating mustard rice will not cause scabies. In the old society, ordinary people lived in poverty and had a weak sense of health. In addition, there are many patients with skin diseases (such as scabies), who are easily infected. Mustard contains a lot of chlorophyll and vitamin C. Regular consumption of vegetables rich in chlorophyll and vitamin C can improve autoimmune ability and enhance resistance, which is good for human skin. Therefore, there is a saying that eating mustard rice does not cause scabies.

It is said that this custom has an interesting legend. One day, Emperor Qianlong visited the people incognito and went to a farmer's home in southern Zhejiang. He found that Zhang Man, who had read many poetry books when he was young, could not go to Beijing to catch the exam because of his poor family, so he had to study hard at home. Zhang was hospitable and invited Emperor Qianlong to have a light meal. Just as he was preparing to cook, Zhang found that there was not enough rice in the rice jar and there was nothing to eat. Zhang had a brainwave, and the plan came to mind. Tell his wife to prepare the fire first, go out from the back door and peel a handful of green and tender mustard in the garden, add some seasoning and cook a pot of white mustard rice. Emperor Qianlong was used to eating delicacies. By noon, he was already hungry. When he smelled the delicious mustard rice, his appetite increased greatly, and he ate it with relish and was full of praise. He even asked how to cook this green rice with white inside. Zhang's wife replied, "This is called mustard rice, and it won't cause scabies after eating it."

On this day, it happens to be the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, and the custom of eating mustard rice on the second day of February has been handed down since then.