What does "June 6th, dragon drying clothes" mean?

Han has a fever in dog days. After the summer solstice, it coincides with the solar terms in summer and summer, and the temperature rises, sometimes as high as 40℃, which has exceeded the body temperature of people and animals. Liu Xi of the Han Dynasty said, "Summer heat, cooking it, is as hot as cooking it." Entering several days, centering on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, there are many folk customs in old Beijing: bathing, drying things, washing elephants, drying scrolls, enjoying lotus flowers, watching valley plays and so on. On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, people call it "washing and drying festival". Because the weather is sultry at this time, coupled with the rainy season and humid climate, everything is prone to mildew and damage. 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. During the Yuan, 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. 1200 years ago, after Kublai Khan established the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty, Siam, Shan State, Annan, North Korea and Java all brought precious gifts to congratulate him, among which Siam, Shan State and Annan brought elephants every year. On a hot summer day, elephants bathe and play in the Jishuitan near the Yuan Metropolis, attracting people to stop and 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 now Xuanwumen Xinhua News Agency compound, and it still has the reputation of "Elephant Street" and "Elephant Hutong". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the elephant washing ceremony was held on the sixth day of June. In the Qing Dynasty, Yang Jingting recorded in Dumen Zayong: "Six-street cars ring like thunder and arrive at Xuanwumen at noon. Wash the elephant with a drum, and the Yu He Bridge was muddy from the beginning. " On this day, the elephant slaves and elephant tamers in the elephant hall beat gongs and drums with flags, led the elephants out of Xuanwu Gate and let them bathe in the moat at the foot of the south wall. On this day, a tent will be set up near the elephant washing place, and a supervisor will be responsible for supervising the elephant washing. On that day, there will be many tea stalls and food stalls temporarily, just like catching up with the temple fair. Cars, people and spectators are like ants. In order to watch the elephant washing activities, wealthy families will take good seats in nearby restaurants and teahouses in advance and feast their eyes. For people at that time, elephants were a rarity. When watching elephants, the sound of elephants splashing in the water, the viewer's surprise and admiration, and the shouts of vendors and vendors are all connected with laughter. Every year on June 6th, if it happens to be sunny, all the horses in the palace will be displayed and exposed to the sun, as well as the imperial history, palace archives, memoirs, imperial treasures and so on. It will also be put in the yard for ventilation and drying. At that time, this day was also called "Hanging Scripture Festival", and temples and Taoist temples all over the country held "Hanging Scripture Meetings" on this day to take out all the stored scriptures and dry them to prevent them from getting wet and being bitten by insects and rats. For example, the Baiyunguan Buddhist Scripture Building in old Beijing has more than 5,000 volumes of Buddhist Scriptures. Every year from June/KLOC-0 to June 7, Baiyun Temple will hold a preaching meeting. At that time, Taoist priests will dress neatly, burn incense and hold candles, and take out all the "Taoist scriptures" in the Buddhist scriptures building for ventilation. The famous Guo Shan Temple in Guang 'anmen will also hold a "sutra hanging ceremony" as a fast on June 6th. Monks will worship Buddha and recite scriptures, and then the temple will be open for one day. At that time, after washing elephants, people would flock to Guo Shan Temple to watch the broadcast of the scriptures, so a temporary market was formed in front of the temple, which was very lively. Folk sedan chair shops, clothing evaluation shops, leather goods shops, second-hand bookstores, calligraphy and painting shops, pharmacies and various shops all need to dry all kinds of goods. People in cities and rural areas should dry clothes and bedding. There is a saying in the folk proverb: "On June 6th, people dry their clothes", "On June 6th, everyone basks in red and green", and "red and green" refers to all kinds of colorful clothes. During the Qing Dynasty, all residents in Beijing rummaged through their chests on the sixth day of June, and took out their clothes, shoes, hats and bedding to dry. Therefore, some places call it "washing clothes festival" or "sunbathing".