What are the customs in Grain Rain? What are the customs in Grain Rain?

Grain Rain is the sixth solar term among the 24 solar terms and the last solar term in spring. Every year from April 19 to April 2 1 day, when the sun reaches 30, it is Grain Rain, which comes from the old saying "Rain makes a hundred valleys". At the same time, it is also the best time for sowing, transplanting and ordering beans. According to meteorologists, Grain Rain is the last solar term in spring, and the arrival of Grain Rain solar term means that the cold wave weather is basically over and the temperature rises faster, which is very beneficial to the growth of cereal crops.

1, tea drinking custom

According to the custom of picking tea in southern Grain Rain, it is said that drinking tea on this day in Grain Rain will clear fire and ward off evil spirits and improve eyesight. Therefore, no matter what the weather is in Grain Rain, people will go to Chashan to pick some new tea to drink.

Grain Rain tea, that is, tea before rain, is spring tea picked in Grain Rain season, also called spring catechu. The moderate temperature and abundant rainfall in spring, coupled with the recuperation of tea trees in winter for half a year, make the buds and leaves of spring shoots plump, green in color, soft in leaves, rich in vitamins and amino acids, and make spring tea taste fresh and fragrant. Grain Rain tea has a bud and a leaf or a bud and two leaves. Tea leaves with buds are soaked in water like ancient guns with labels, called flag guns; A bud and two tender leaves are like sparrow's tongue, called sparrow's tongue; With Qingming tea, it is a good product in a year. Generally, the price of tea before rain is relatively economical, the shape in water is good, and the taste is not inferior to that of tea before Ming Dynasty. Most people who drink tea usually prefer Grain Rain tea.

The Chinese Tea Society and other relevant departments proposed that the annual lunar calendar "Grain Rain" should be regarded as the "National Tea Day" to hold various tea-related activities. Tea farmers said that the real Grain Rain tea is dry tea made of new tea picked in Grain Rain that day, and it is real Grain Rain tea, and it should be picked in the morning. People also say that real Grain Rain tea can bring back the dead. Many people have heard of it, but it's just a legend. Think about the weight of this real grain rain tea in people's hearts. Tea farmers who pick and prepare on that day are all reserved for themselves to drink or entertain guests. When they make tea for you, they will tell the guests quite ostentatiously that this is the tea made by Grain Rain that day. The implication is that only distinguished guests will serve you.

Grain Rain is forbidden to enter the sea.

April 20th every year is the Fisherman's Day in Rongcheng City, Shandong Province. This festival originated from Grain Rain Festival. Fishermen in the northern coastal areas of China have celebrated Grain Rain Festival for more than 2,000 years, and it was renamed Fisherman's Day in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty (182 1). On this day in Grain Rain, fishermen in Shandong coastal areas prayed for the blessing of Poseidon, smooth sailing and a bumper harvest of fish and shrimp. Therefore, today, wealthy fishermen in Rongcheng held a grand "sea sacrifice" activity in the Grain Rain, toasted Poseidon, and then set sail for fishing.

3. Forbidden Scorpion Curse

In the old days, a Japanese Grain Rain painting, Zhang Tianshi, was posted on the door in Linfen, Shanxi, named "Forbidden Scorpion". Shaanxi Fengxiang Scorpion Curse is woodcut, which shows that there is a great demand. It was printed with the words: "In Grain Rain, in mid-March, scorpions showed off their bravado. God chicken bites, poisonous insects turn into water ... "In the center of the picture, the rooster holds the insect with a big scorpion under his paw. This painting is printed with a spell. The saying that the rooster cures the scorpion has been circulating among the people for a long time. Back to the fifty-fifth ghost story novel of Journey to the West, the Monkey King Pig Bajie is no match for Scorpion Essence, and Guanyin knows that he can't get close to him. So we had to ask the Monkey King to invite Pleiadian officials, and it succeeded. Pleiadian officials were originally a rooster with two crowns. It is described in the book that the Pleiadian star official showed his prototype-the rooster, and the rooster called out to the scorpion essence, and the scorpion essence immediately showed its prototype, which was a scorpion the size of a pipa. The cock crowed again, and the scorpion died delicate on the hillside. Scorpions are also forbidden in Shandong folk customs. Xiajin county annals in the sixth year of Qing Qianlong: "Grain Rain, cinnabar forbids scorpions." The folk custom of "banning scorpions" reflects people's feelings of expelling pests and longing for harvest and peace.

Take Grain Rain as an example.

There was a custom of "going to Grain Rain" in ancient times. On this day, young women in Grain Rain visited relatives in the village, and some people came back after walking in the wild. The implication is to integrate with nature and keep fit.

5. Grain Rain eats Toona sinensis

Toona sinensis is eaten in northern Grain Rain, and it is the season for Toona sinensis to go on the market around Grain Rain. At this time, Toona sinensis is mellow and refreshing, with high nutritional value. It is said that Toona sinensis is tender as silk before the rain. Toona sinensis has the functions of improving immunity, invigorating stomach, regulating qi, relieving diarrhea, moistening skin, resisting bacteria, diminishing inflammation and killing insects.

6. Dedicated to Wen Zu Cang Xie

Grain Rain's custom of offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, Wen Zu, and Grain Rain's offering sacrifices to Cang Xie, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province, is a folk tradition that has spread for thousands of years since the Han Dynasty. Qingming to Huangdi, Grain Rain to Cang Xie. Cangjie Temple will be held in Grain Rain Festival. According to legend, Cang Xie created characters and made great contributions to the world. The Yellow Emperor was moved by it and took "Grain Rain" as his reward for creating characters. Since then, there has been a "Grain Rain Festival". Since then, every year on Grain Rain Festival, nearby villagers will organize temple fairs to commemorate Cang Xie.

7. Take a bath to avoid disaster

The river in Grain Rain is also very precious. In the northwest of China, people used to call the Grain Rain River "Peach Blossom Water". It is said that bathing with it can avoid disasters. Grain Rain Festival is celebrated with "Peach Blossom Water" bathing, hunting and dancing.

8. Prohibition of killing five poisons

After Grain Rain, the temperature rose, and pests and diseases entered a high breeding period. In order to reduce the harm of pests and diseases to crops and people, farmers put up grain rain stickers and prayed to drive away evil spirits. This custom is very popular in Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Grain Rain stickers, a kind of New Year pictures, are engraved with images of God's chicken catching scorpions, heavenly master removing five poisons or magical spells, and some of them are also equipped with "The old man in King's Landing is like a law, and snakes and scorpions will never be born in mid-March in Grain Rain" and "The old man came down to earth in mid-March in Grain Rain with seven swords in his hand and scorpion essence alone", which pinned people's psychology of killing pests and expecting a bumper harvest and peace.

9. Appreciate peony flowers

Grain Rain is also an important time for peony flowers to bloom, so peony flowers are also called Grain Rain flowers and rich flowers. "Three generations of Grain Rain visited peony", and the rainy season has passed for thousands of years. Where there are flowers, there are literati and poets visiting, and at night, people hang curtains and lights to enjoy the flowers, which is called the "Flower Festival". Jia Qinglu, an ancient land in the Qing Dynasty, said: "The temple was built together with the merchants, and the Grain Rain Flower Bureau was brand-new. If you don't believe that there is no national color when you meet, the brocade shed only protects Yulouchun. " Today, there are more peony flowers in Heze, Shandong, Luoyang, Henan and Pengzhou, Sichuan than in Grain Rain, for people to play and get together.

10, Miao Mountaineering Festival

During the period of Grain Rain, the Miao people in Kaili area in southeastern Guizhou will hold a "Mountaineering Festival". Mountaineering Festival, called "Jibo" in Miao language, is an annual unique gathering for mate selection and love among young Miao men and women. Whenever the mountaineering season comes, young men and women take the opportunity of meeting in the market, or at the request of the man or the invitation of the woman, decide to hold mountaineering activities somewhere in the woman's stockade one day. On the Mountain Climbing Festival, thousands of people gathered on the hillside. On the hillside, groups of young men and women are singing, playing sheng and drumming. They use this as a medium to find friends and companions and pursue bosom friends, which is full of festive atmosphere. The girls of the host prepared rich fish and glutinous rice, took them up the mountain, entertained young students and sang songs to each other. Among them, young men and women look for each other and form a husband and wife in the future to form a happy family. Some old mothers will also show up to help their daughters find partners. When the sun goes down, the girls invite young students to the stockade to continue their love affair and hold a banquet for them again. If they hit it off, they will exchange tokens and get engaged. In the evening, if there are relatives and friends in the women's stockade, they live in their home. If there are no relatives and friends, the girl and mother invite them home for the night respectively. The younger generation got up and went home at dawn. The girls handed the glutinous rice to the right person, walked with them halfway, and then said goodbye. This unique climbing festival reproduces the ancient matriarchal social life style. Because it was women, not men, who took the initiative to enter into marriage at that time, this custom is the residual trace of marriage in matriarchal society. Now, many recreational and sports activities have been added to the Miao Mountaineering Festival, such as bullfighting, bird shooting, duet, basketball and running.