In Yanghe, there is a festival called: "Winter in May"!

May

Month

Winter

Ankang

Yanghe wine sells well in China, and the fragrance spreads across China and the Yangtze River. The Dragon Boat Festival in Hehe is also unique. Local people also call "Dragon Boat Festival" "May Winter".

Dragon Boat Festival

Regarding the origin of "May Winter", one theory is that "May Winter" is a homophony of "May End", because the local dialects "duan" and "dong" "The pronunciation is similar, so "May End" becomes "May Winter". Another theory is that the locals have a saying that "winter is greater than the year" and call the Dragon Boat Festival "Winter in May", which means that this is a very important festival and people attach great importance to it.

The end of May (winter) is one of the four major festivals throughout the year. Duan means "beginning" and "beginning", and the fifth day of the lunar month can be called the Duanwu. May is the beginning of the whole hot weather. The ancients believed that May is a poisonous month and the fifth day is an evil day. At this time, it is close to the summer solstice. The weather becomes hot and humid, bacteria grow, five poisonous snakes and insects become active, and diseases and evil spirits become rampant. These will bring disaster to people, especially weak children, so on this day in May, we should pray for blessings and avoid disasters, especially to avoid poison and evil spirits for children.

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Early this morning, some families will plant mugwort, calamus, etc. under the eaves to ward off evil spirits, ghosts, and plagues.

Zongzi are eaten for breakfast. Zongzi are usually made in advance, with fresh reed leaves on the outside, glutinous rice on the inside, and delicious fillings such as bacon, egg yolk, candied dates, and bean paste. Once cooked in the pot, the mouth-watering fragrance of rice dumplings wafts out from every household.

On this day, adults will also use colorful threads to weave a small net for their children, fill it with cooked eggs, and hang it around their necks. According to folklore, "Eating eggs gives rise to the heart". Because the egg is shaped like a heart, it is generally believed that eating eggs can protect the heart and spirit from loss. On the one hand, eating eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival is for good luck and to pray that you will not get sick for a year. On the other hand, it is to improve your life.

Dragon Boat Festival

Regarding the folk custom of eating eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival, there is a legend among the people: According to legend, a long time ago, there was a god of plague in the sky. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, he would sneak into the people to spread the disease and harm people. Most of the patients are children, ranging from fever and anorexia to bedridden in severe cases. Mothers felt very distressed about this and went to the Nuwa Empress Temple to burn incense and kowtow, asking her to eliminate disasters and bring blessings and protect future generations.

After Nuwa learned about this, she went to the God of Plague and said: "From now on, you will never allow you to harm any of my direct children." The God of Plague knew that Nuwa had boundless power and did not dare to go against her, so he asked : "I wonder how many direct children my queen has in the lower world?" Nuwa said with a smile: "I have many children. Let's do this. On the Dragon Boat Festival every year, I order my direct children to hang an egg bag in front of their clothes. Anyone who hangs a Children with egg bags are not allowed to act recklessly.

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During the Dragon Boat Festival this year, the Plague God descended to the realm again and saw a small net bag hanging on the chest of the children with hard-boiled eggs in it. The Plague God thought they were all Nuwa’s children, so he did not Dare to harm others. In this way, the custom of eating eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival gradually spread.

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After lunch, the children will take a moxa bath, that is, use moxa leaves. Use water boiled with grass, calamus and other wild herbs to bathe the child. After washing, the child will feel refreshed and protected from insects, disinfection and evil spirits. After the bath, the child should wear a tiger bellyband and place it on the child's neck, wrists and hands. The ankles are tied with colorful silk threads, commonly known as "flower velvet buttons".

According to "Customs and Customs" written by Yingshao of the Eastern Han Dynasty: "On May 5th, colorful silk threads are tied around the arms, which is a long-term blessing." According to this, this custom has been inherited from the Han Dynasty for more than 2,000 years. In ancient times, it was also called the five-color thread of longevity. It started as an ancient custom in my country. It was first used during the Dragon Boat Festival. Folks used red, green, yellow, white, and so on. Black five-color silk threads are twisted into colorful strings and tied on the child's arms, neck and other parts, called longevity threads.

It is said that these five colors represent gold, fire, water, earth and wood respectively; At the same time, it also symbolizes the east, west, south, north, and center, which contain the magical power of the five directions, which can expel evil spirits, cure diseases, strengthen the body, and make people healthy and long. Some people also give their children sachets to promote longevity. Locks are used to drive away evil spirits and pray for blessings.

Dragon Boat Festival

On June 6th, the velvet should be cut off and thrown on the roof. ? It is said that when magpies see the wool on the roof, they will take it away and fly into the sky. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, they will use the wool to build a rainbow bridge on the Milky Way for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet. On this day, according to custom, the elders have to buy new clothes for the younger children. This festival in my hometown almost always revolves around children, so it is also called "Doll Festival".

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Yanghe people also have the custom of "walking the Dragon Boat Festival" during the Dragon Boat Festival. On the afternoon of the Dragon Boat Festival, the children, who had taken a bath and put on new clothes, began to go out for a Dragon Boat Festival walk. Some children go out for a walk on their own with their friends, while others will pester adults to go out with them. If the Dragon Boat Festival catches up with the busy farming season that year, it is called "busy Dragon Boat Festival", and if it catches up with the busy farming season, it is called "leisure Dragon Boat Festival". During the "busy Dragon Boat Festival" adults have no time to accompany their children, but during the "free Dragon Boat Festival" adults take their children for a Dragon Boat Festival walk.

The Dragon Boat Festival is an ancient traditional festival in China. It records China’s excellent traditional culture and has been included in the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

The "May Winter" in my hometown of Yanghe is a traditional festival, and it is also a long-lasting nostalgia that makes people savor and miss it.

Contribution丨Min Qiangrong? Haixia

Review丨Yuan Haiyuan

Editor丨Haixia