Festival customs on March 3 rd

Houshan, susong county, Anqing City, Anhui Province

There is a legend that Miss Chen Xingyuan went to He Fan on March 3rd and ate wormwood cakes on March 3rd to pray for the safety of Miss Xing Yuan.

Haoziba in Shucheng and Tongcheng, Anhui Province

Crown daisy rice cake

(1) Ingredients: wormwood, rice flour, bacon, garlic, etc.

(2) Methods:

1. Rub fresh mugwort into a ball by hand, and then beat the juice of mugwort into a paste with a wooden stick;

2. Cut the bacon into small cubes and fry it in the pot first. After the bacon is oily, put the rice flour, chopped Artemisia argyi and garlic into the pot and mix well. Add some cold water and simmer for a while.

3. Make the noodles into the shape of Baba, and the thickness should be even. When it's done, put it in the pot and cover it with a small fire. It will take about 15 minutes.

Artemisia arenaria is crisp and delicious, which is unique to Shucheng and Huoshan. It is said that eating Artemisia annua on the third day of the third lunar month can "kill the soul".

Legend: "Ghost Festival" and Artemisia Baba

Legend has it that in ancient times, the boundary between the dead and the underworld was not as strict as it is now. The souls of the dead can play among the dead, and the souls of the living can also visit the underworld, which is as convenient as visiting relatives.

Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, the boundary between life and death of Yin and Yang is more relaxed. On the night of the third day of March, the streets of the underworld are full of lanterns and colorful decorations, and the streets are crowded with gorgeous ghosts. Dragon lanterns, lion dances, stilts and flower boats can be seen everywhere, and their excitement is comparable to the Spring Festival on earth. Therefore, on this night, people's souls can't stand the temptation of the underworld and go to Guishi to play. Some of them wander the streets, watching lights and plays. Some drink and listen to music in restaurants and teahouses; Some people take this opportunity to visit their ancestors who have never met.

The crow at dawn, the ghost market closed, and most of the wandering souls returned to their bodies contentedly. A few wandering souls are happy and forget to return, so they stay in the underworld. The next day, there were cries among the dead. We ask monks and Taoists to chant Buddhist scriptures and draw symbols to summon souls for those relatives who have no souls. The crying of relatives and the scriptures of monks and Taoists can bring back some wandering souls who are not playful, and some who are playful will gradually disappear after seven days of physical decay.

Therefore, the third day of the third lunar month has become a day of terror and anxiety on earth, which is called "Ghost Festival". No matter how scared people are, the "Ghost Festival" on March 3 every year still comes as usual. On the eve of "Ghost Festival", people flocked to temples to burn incense and kowtow, praying for the blessing of gods and bodhisattvas. The fragrance of the world rushes to the lotus seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Guanyin pinched her fingers and figured out why people burn incense. One night, she had a dream for an old woman: "I am Guanyin Bodhisattva in Nanhai, and I know that there is trouble in the world, and I have come to save you. I will give you a Cao Xian, use it to make Baba, and keep it safely on March 3. " Grandma really had a piece of green grass in her hand when she woke up. When she looked carefully, it looked like Artemisia annua growing in the ground. She told the villagers about the dream of Guanyin Bodhisattva giving grass, and everyone was very happy. They went to the fields to pick Artemisia annua and grind noodles to make Baba.

Strange to say, people who ate wormwood Baba on March 3 all passed the "Ghost Festival" safely. The news soon spread all over the country. On the eve of March 3rd every year, girls and women flock to Shan Ye to pick Artemisia annua for Baba. Until now, people in Shucheng and Huoshan still have the custom of eating wormwood Baba on March 3.

Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse

On the third day of the third lunar month, people in China have the custom of eating local dishes and boiling eggs. Shepherd's purse Shepherd's purse, also known as ground vegetables and wild vegetables, is a kind of wild vegetables growing in the corner of the field. Although it is a wild vegetable, it is delicious and nutritious. The folk proverb says, "On March 3rd, shepherd's purse is a panacea." "On March 3rd, shepherd's purse boiled eggs." Spring is the season to eat shepherd's purse. Eating shepherd's purse in spring is also a long-standing traditional custom in China. The Book of Songs has a chant of "sweet as water"; Xin Qiji also has a poem that "peaches and plums are full of worries, and spring is at the head of the stream".

In the Qing Dynasty, Ye's "Hankou Zhi Zhu Ci" said: "Three or three orders are more important than the kitchen, and the taste is new. Rice meals and eggs are ready, full and fragrant. " The rice meal in this word refers to shepherd's purse, which is not only nutritious, but also can treat many diseases. It is not only a delicious food, but also a panacea. "shepherd's purse, alias shepherd's purse, grass protection, chicken heart vegetables, its roots, flowers, seeds can be used as medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, shepherd's purse has a wide range of medicinal value and is known as "licorice in vegetables".

Chinese medicine believes that shepherd's purse is sweet in taste and cool in nature, and belongs to liver, spleen and kidney meridians, which has the effects of harmonizing spleen, promoting diuresis, stopping bleeding and improving eyesight. There are many ways to eat shepherd's purse, which can be mixed, fried, stewed, stuffed or made into soup. All of them are attractive in color and delicious in taste, and they are delicious vegetables with the same origin of medicine and food. Boiled eggs with shepherd's purse is the most common way to eat in Hunan. On the third day of March, shepherd's purse will have long stems and flowers, and women will pick them and put them in their hair.

Because the homonym of shepherd's purse is "amassing wealth", according to folklore, on the third day of March, at the time of ancestor worship, people will use the gods and wealth of their ancestors to wash fresh shepherd's purse, tie it into small bundles, add eggs, red dates, balloons and two or three slices of ginger to cook a big pot, and the whole family will eat a bowl and have a good time. It is said that it can remove rheumatism, clear fire, relieve pain in waist and legs, and prevent spring plague.

There is a custom of eating ground vegetables and boiled eggs. On that day, there were activities such as cup-shedding, egg-shedding, jujube-shedding, begging for food and wearing willow rings, exploring spring, outing, eating polished rice and singing. On the third day of March, in addition to offering sacrifices, Han people gradually developed into folk activities such as playing by the river, meeting men and women and enjoying flowers. Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "on the third day of the Third-month in the freshening weather, Chang 'an has many beauties by the water". In the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu also wrote: "The West Lake Tomb-Sweeping Day is beautiful and full of prosperity. Who is fighting for the way? Green willows and bamboos push the cart. Tourists must go at dusk and wake up drunk. " All these show that the custom of March 3 was still popular in the Tang and Song Dynasties. At the same time, this festival is also a day for men and women to go out for an outing. In China, it is also called Valentine's Day and Daughter's Day.

In Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province, March 3rd is the "March Festival", and "gathering rat grass and rice flour is the first thing to worship" (Gan Qing Tommy Tam's Ode to Taiwan Province Province). Some people will choose Shangsi Festival, the third day of March, to sweep the grave, which means both climbing high and looking far, and removing the ominous.

There is a "March Meeting" in Zhongxian County and other places in Chongqing, and a grand event is held to commemorate the anti-enemy general Ba Man Zi. On that day, the crowd carried the statue of Ba Man Zi and marched around the city, followed by the social fire team, playing dragon lanterns and dancing lions. Everyone decorated lanterns and set off firecrackers, which was very lively.

In Hong Ying Town, yingde city, where overseas Chinese live intensively, women will collect leaves of various plants such as wormwood, ramie and roadside grass on March 3rd, and make jiaozi out of rice flour, which is said to cure all diseases. "March 3rd" is one of the major festivals of Zhuang nationality and the main manifestation of traditional Yue culture, which is collectively called "March 3rd" song meeting. At present, six "March 3rd" song concerts and Wuming Luoyue Cultural Tourism Festival have been held in Wuming County, Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Beside Ge Wei, vendors gather and folk trade is active. The people nearby provided accommodation for those who came to arrest Ge Wei, and they were warmly received whether they knew him or not. A large-scale song concert was attended by dozens of young men and women in Fiona Fang, with a sea of people and songs, which was really lively. Qiao Ye has always been a big song fair in Tianyang County. People go to song parties to compete and enjoy songs; Young men and women sing, and if they hit it off with each other, they give each other tokens as tokens of their love. In addition, there are interesting activities such as throwing hydrangeas and touching eggs.

On the third day of the third lunar month, every Zhuang family living in western Guangxi cooks red, yellow, black, purple and white rice with light green maple leaves and red bluegrass. People hang branches of maple leaves on lintels and around houses, set up tents at the end of villages, and put colored rice and other tributes under the tents. Men, women and children sing around the tent and catch up with the concert, and so do the old people.

There are several historical stories about the origin of March 3 of the Zhuang nationality:

The Myth Story of Zhuang Nationality-Digging Graves Specially

According to legend, in ancient times, there was an old woman who had no children and later saved an injured snake. The little snake refused to leave after being injured, so the old woman said to the little snake that people are different from animals. We have no tail. If you want to be with me, you must abandon your tail. Later, the old woman cut a small piece of the snake's tail, and the snake's tail became shorter, so people called the snake "Tecai", which means male in Zhuang language and short tail in Zhuang language, so people called the old woman "Maocai", which is the mother of Zhuang language. From then on, Michaelis raised him as his son. Now there is a related custom of Zhuang nationality, that is, pulling a few hairs from the tail of a newly bought chicken and duckling, which means to get rid of the wildness of an animal like this old woman and become a member of the human family. In fact, this custom and legend reflects the ancient memory of ancient humans domesticating animals from the wild to their homes. Tailless also reflects the evolution of human beings from primitive people to civilized people.

Later, the old woman died of old age. After the neighbors put the old woman in the grave, they said to the little snake, dig, dig She has always regarded you as her own. When she leaves, see how you can be filial to her. Little snake seemed to understand people's words and blinked. Suddenly, there was a strong wind, and a gust of wind swept the old woman's coffin and little snake to the highest peak of Daming Mountain. At that time, it was around March 3, and then on March 3 every year, there would be extreme weather, heavy rain or hail in Daming Mountain area, and local people thought it was specially dug to visit his mother.

To celebrate the great quality of digging filial piety, people dug a temple for the old woman. In order to show respect, people call it "Dapo Temple" or "Laopo Temple" in Zhuang language, and "Dragon Mother Temple" in Chinese. The local Zhuang people also began to worship snakes, and stayed away from them, avoiding killing and eating them. With the cultural spread and influence of Luoyue nationality, the ancestor of Zhuang nationality, the shape of snake was later integrated into the shape of totem dragon in China, so Tedig later became the incarnation of dragon and was upgraded to the original dragon, so Tedig was also called tail-digging dragon. Daming Mountain has become a natural giant sacred grave and a belief in the hearts of Zhuang people in ancient times. I believe that when people die, the soul will fly back to Daming Mountain. Therefore, Daming Mountain is also considered as the tomb of ancestors and has become a sacred mountain in the myths and legends of Zhuang and Dong languages. Therefore, the Zhuang people in Daming Mountain area are the real "descendants of dragons". Therefore, Mi Fei Dig was honored as the Dragon Mother, and all the temples dedicated to it were facing Daming Mountain.

Then it is the traditional time for Zhuang people to sweep graves on March 3. On the first day of March, people will pick maple branches and put them in the cracks of doors and windows. On the third day of March, they will make colorful glutinous rice to worship their ancestors and the Dragon Mother Temple.

The Historical Story of Zhuang Nationality —— Singing and Choosing a Mate

One of them is the story of "singing folk songs to choose a husband". It is said that in the past, the daughter of an old Zhuang singer was very beautiful and was good at singing folk songs. The old man hopes to choose a young man with outstanding singing skills as his husband. Young singers from all over the world came here one after another, and Seg proposed. Since then, regular SEG meetings have been formed.

The Historical Story of Zhuang Nationality —— Liu Sanjie

The other is widely circulated in Zhuangxiang to commemorate Sanjie Liu. It's because the song fairy Liu Sanjie used the song as a sword to resist the landlord and fight for the interests of the people. When she was chopping wood on the mountain, she was cut off by the landlord and fell off the cliff. She survived, was rescued by the A Niu family, and began to use folk songs against the landlords. People from all over the country went there to sing, and at the same time, she and A Niu sang under the rattan tree, forming a story.

The Historical Story of Zhuang Nationality —— Wei Dagui

Another legend is that a long time ago, there was a man named Wei in Zhuangxiang. He was a minister under a local tyrant. Da Gui is young, but he is knowledgeable and talented. Moreover, he is very concerned about the sufferings of the Zhuang people. He took the salary given to him by the emperor and distributed it to the people when he returned to his hometown. He has nothing he can call his own. The local tyrant hated Wei, because he had told Zhuang people not to eat the imperial grain, so he tried every means to frame Wei. One plan was to ask Wei to complete an attic as required, but he did. One plan didn't succeed, and two plans were born. When Da Gui was in Tomb-Sweeping Day, he wanted a pig's head as heavy as the mountain behind the house to worship his ancestors, and Da Gui got his wish. The local tyrant came up with a poisonous plan and asked Da Gui to get 490 male eggs in 20 days, because "men don't have children, how can roosters lay eggs?" The emperor was furious and ordered the arrest of Da Gui. When the Zhuang people heard the news, they immediately sent them to Guangxi and hid in the maple forest on the mountain. Imperial soldiers searched the mountain and surrounded them. They saw glutinous rice left in the forest, but no one was there. The emperor ordered the release of Yamakaji, which happened to be March 3rd. After the imperial soldiers left, the villagers went up the mountain and found Da Gui's body in a hole in a maple tree. Everyone buried him with tears in their eyes. Men, women and children burst into tears at the grave. Tears spilled on the grave, and suddenly a small green maple tree and a clump of green, red and blue grass grew on the grave. In memory of Da Gui, the villagers built a temple next to the tomb and named it "Da Gui Hall". Because Da Gui liked drinking and eating glutinous rice before his death, he defeated the emperor by drinking and eating glutinous rice, and was later killed because he could not get the male eggs. Therefore, on this day in early March, every family in Xiangxiang came to Da Gui's grave with rice wine, glutinous rice and boiled eggs to pay homage. While people were mourning, the sky suddenly thundered and a colorful snake rushed out of the temple. The snake nodded to the villagers and went straight to the palace to kill the emperor. Since then, in order to commemorate Da Gui, Zhuang people in western Guangxi have set up greenhouses in their villages every year until the third day of March. Because it is said that the dead who died outside can't enter the house, people have to put colorful glutinous rice and other sacrifices under the tent to offer sacrifices to the dead in Da Gui, and praise and thank Da Gui for his strong music around the tent. It has been passed down from generation to generation, forming the custom of catching up with the March 3 rd Song Festival. Festivals are also called "Fireworks Festival", including fireworks, bullfighting, Touma, singing duets and stepping on the hall.

According to Dong Jia's legend, in ancient times, Dong Jia's original territory always took flowering of tung trees as the transplanting festival. But one year, the tung trees didn't bloom, so they missed the farming season and had to flee to Beijing. In order to draw lessons from the past, people play lusheng and sing songs, visit relatives and friends, and remind each other that the Dong people are busy with farming, which is also called the "Fireworks Festival" than holding fireworks, bullfighting, Touma, singing duets, stepping on churches and other activities on festivals.

Dong people celebrate five days on the third day of March. On the first day of the third lunar month, every household began to prepare.

On the second day of junior high school, the girls invited each other to catch fish and shrimp by the river, and the boys prepared to have a picnic on the slope.

Early in the morning of the third day, the girls dressed up, put on exquisite bamboo baskets, picked onions and garlic from the vegetable garden, and washed them with water by the spring. They lined up in a long line, standing on the path by the water, shyly waving baskets, quietly looking at the hillside, waiting for their lovers to ask for it. At this time, the hillside was already full of people, including the girl's family, watching which young man took the basket. A group of young people in neat blue double-breasted jackets walked one by one along the path by the water's edge amid people's well-meaning laughter. At this time, boys ask the right person for a basket in public, and they will greet the winner with a compliment. Boys can quietly make an agreement with girls to return the basket. Young people who can't find the basket will be laughed at by onlookers, then sing to each other on the hillside next to the village and continue to search for bosom friends with their songs until dawn. At noon that day, people gathered in the center of the village to sing and dance crazily.

There will be a big masquerade ball on March 4th. On the afternoon of the fifth day, a farewell ceremony will be held for the guests from neighboring villages who come to watch. During the festival, pigs are sacrificed to the country and mountain gods and eat yellow glutinous rice. The villages did not communicate with each other for three or four days. Yao people regard March 3rd as "Ganba Festival", which is a collective fishing and hunting festival. They distribute the caught wild fish door to door, enjoy the joy of harvest, and then gather in the square to sing and dance to celebrate the festival.

March 3rd is a common traditional festival of Buyi people, commonly known as "March 3rd". Different living areas have different sources of festivals and activities. The Buyi people in Xincheng Township, Wudang District, Guiyang City are also called "March 3" and "Silkworm Festival", commonly known as "Silkworm Club". Legend has it that there was a plowman in ancient times who found that many silkworms died after spring sowing every year. After repeated observation, he believes that the ground silkworm is a "heavenly horse" put by the gods on earth. In order to prevent the saplings from being damaged by pests, he used many methods to offer sacrifices, but all to no avail. Later, when he was sowing in spring, he fried corn flowers and fed them to the ground silkworm, and as a result, he saved the seedlings. The news soon spread to Buyi families far and near.

Since then, in order to protect crops and strive for a bumper harvest, Buyi people in this area use fried popcorn as offerings on the third day of March every year, and go to the nearby hillside in groups of three to five to offer sacrifices to "God and Ground Silkworm", praying for God's blessing to prevent Ground Silkworm from biting the seedlings in the field and let the crops harvest. After the sacrifice, people walked along the ridge and sang folk songs, scattering corn flowers in the fields.

In the area of Bawang River in the north, due to the low temperature, the maple leaves are too small to be colored at this time, and March 13 is regarded as the "Maple Leaf Festival". On this day, people go to Shan Ye for a spring outing. The children picked tender maple leaves and threw them into balls, while the women picked some tender maple leaves and put them in buns. In addition, every household dyes glutinous rice into colorful colors and cooks it. Young people go to the hillside to blow konoha leaves and sing folk songs. If you meet a satisfied opponent, you will be invited to Buyi Village in the evening and sing all night. When he left, the host used banana leaves to wrap glutinous rice and chicken leg meat for the singer as a holiday gift. Buyi people in Wangmo County, Guizhou Province say that the third day of March is a "cold day", and eating dog meat can drive away the cold. It is a custom for dogs to treat guests on this day.

Some Buyi people in Anlong County, Guizhou Province said that March 3rd was the birthday of the shadow "Mountain God".

In order to prevent the locusts released by the mountain gods from harming crops and ensure a bumper harvest in agriculture, people use the custom of sweeping the village to worship the mountain gods. On the third day of March, people set up roosters, knives and other offerings in front of shrines in villages and mountains, killed a dog, and sprinkled blood on paper flags, paper horses and stones at the entrance and exit of the stockade. Then the "old devil" and other personnel carried paper flags covered with dog blood, and paper horses went to every household to sweep the monsters. A bench should be set at each gate, and a "water bowl" filled with clear water and a bowl filled with gravel and stone particles should be placed on the bench. The "old monster" recited the "magic sutra" at the gate, struck several "agricultural hexagrams", and then scattered gravel stones into the house, spilling the water in the water bowl everywhere, overturning the bench in front of the door and fastening the water bowl, in order to sweep away the monster. Finally, put a paper flag with dog blood, put a paper horse and go to his house to sweep it. After all the residents in the village finished the sacrificial sweeping, "Lao Devil Gong" went to the altar to suppress the monsters swept away in front of the gods, and then the men in the village ate a meal on the altar, which was called "eating with the gods".

Ward Town in this county called "March 3rd" the "Chinese fir catching festival", also known as the "Chinese fir song festival", which lasted for three days and attracted tens of thousands of people. March 3rd of Buyi people in Badahe River, Luoping, Yunnan, is a festival for young men and women to exchange songs. On this day, men, women and children came to the river to listen to young people singing folk songs and watch children rowing bamboo rafts and shooting water guns. Some people also make flowers and glutinous rice for children and distribute them to the edge and village; Others put eggs and all kinds of food in small cloth pockets for teenagers to play and participate in competitions. Young Buyi men and women in Luoping niujie will hold a grand tour, singing and making friends in these three days.

Dozens of young people from all ethnic groups in Fiona Fang will also come to the mountainside of Maba to participate in and watch this traditional song exchange activity. Singers can show their talents on such occasions. With the talent of improvising poetry and singing, they can sing with their opponents for three days and nights or even longer. Many young men and women have established love relationships through these activities.

Buyi people in Wangmo County, Guizhou Province pay special attention to "March 3rd". In recent years, a grand Buyi cultural activity has been held at this time every year, attracting friends from all over the country to visit. March 3rd, called "Fu Nian Fu", is a festival to wish "Mountain Orchid" (dry valley in mountainous area) and harvest hunting, and it is also a day for young men and women to communicate freely. People call it love day. There is a beautiful legend about its origin.

The "March 3rd" of the Li nationality is a traditional festival of the Li people. People call it love plot, just like Hainan Miao Festival. Legend has it that in ancient times, brother and sister hid in pumpkins and survived. In order to get married, they decided to find someone else separately and make an appointment to meet on the third day of the third lunar month next year. As a result, both of them failed in recent years. Seeing that no one else could be found, my sister reluctantly tattooed her face with a bamboo stick and dyed it with plants to prevent her brother from recognizing herself, so as to get married and continue the competition. This is also the legend of the origin of the "March 3" festival and tattoos of the Li nationality. Today, in Dongfang Town, Dongfang City, every year on the third day of the third lunar month, young men and women from all over the country get together to participate in the "March 3" grand event, singing and dancing, and talking about love. March 3rd of Tujia nationality is the Valentine's Day of Tujia nationality. On the third day of March, Tujia brothers and sisters got together and engaged by stepping on their feet through folk songs.

Other ethnic groups, such as Shui, Miao, Mulao and Maonan, have their own traditional festivals and customs on March 3rd.

"March 3, stepping on the beach" is a folk custom in Shipu Town, Xiangshan. There are several theories about its origin. One of them is related to productive labor: around the third day of March in the local lunar calendar, the ground temperature and water temperature began to rise, and shallow sea spicy snails scrambled to climb the beach to breed. Local people go to the seaside to pick up snails in this season, resulting in the labor scene of "stepping on the beach on March 3".

Nowadays, although the beachhead resources are gradually exhausted, the local old people still can't bear to take their younger generation to the seaside on this day to relive the scene of collecting snails in the past. The labor scene of "March 3, stepping on the beach" has gradually formed a brand-new folk cultural activity.

Today's "March 3, Walking on the Beach" has formed a local feature with folk cultural activities as the main body, sports, fishing competitions and inviting foreign song and dance and acrobatic programs as the foil. Among them, there are a variety of cultural performances, besides lanterns, dragon lanterns and colorful pavilion parades, as well as Yue Opera performances adapted from folk stories such as "The Bride of the Hot Snail Girl" and entertainment activities such as "Hot Snail Girl Throwing Colored Balls" to attract the brides in the audience. These activities have the characteristics of folklore, mass, participation and entertainment. The traditional festival egg party of tu nationality. The festival time is March 3rd, March 8th and March18th of the lunar calendar every year, which varies from place to place. At that time, a sacrifice will be held in the temple, and the master will be invited to recite scriptures and dance to reward God, so as to eliminate disasters and protect crops and people and animals. People attending the meeting also brought many boiled eggs with them, one for themselves and the other for playing with each other.