The Year of the Dragon 2024 is approaching, and this year is also known as the "Year of the Dragon" in China, which can be interpreted to mean that 2024 is exactly 60 years away from the previous year of the Dragon, which is 1964, and it is named as such. 60 years a Jiazi, 60 years a reincarnation. The dragon is the most special creature in the Chinese zodiac, and it often represents: strength and change in the impression of Chinese. At the same time of continuous development and progress of society, science and technology have changed the lives of our modern people, and no one can imagine that after 1964, people's lives "food, clothing, housing and transportation" can be done with only a mobile phone.
But no matter how society progresses and develops, how science and technology affect our lives, there are always some fundamentals that are eternal, it is like the "Tao" mentioned in the classic Chinese philosophical masterpiece: "Tao Te Ching": there are things mixed, born congenitally, lonely, independent and unchanging, and can be the mother of the world! The prosperity and decline of a nation are actually closely related to its own traditional culture and customs. This is like the one mentioned above: Taoist thought, 2024 is approaching, I have summarized the following traditional cultures and customs related to dragons, please appreciate:
1: Dragon dance lantern.
The dragon lantern dance is one of the cultural activities of the traditional Chinese festival "Lantern Festival", which will be held in various places on the day of the Lantern Festival: Lantern Festival, guess the lantern riddles, and the dragon lantern dance activities will begin. This folk cultural activity, which has been inherited for nearly a thousand years, actually represents people's yearning and blessings for a better life in the New Year.
2: Dragon boat racing.
Dragon boat racing is a traditional custom of the Dragon Boat Festival, one of the four traditional Chinese festivals, on which people will decorate the dragon's head and scales, as well as various decorations, on the wooden boat. From afar, it looks as if a living "dragon" appeared in the "middle of the lake". In addition, the selected sturdy men rowed the oars quickly, row in row, and competed for speed, and the scene was extremely spectacular! People commemorate the great patriotic poet "Qu Yuan" through such activities.
3: Shave the faucet.
The traditional custom of shaving the dragon's head is also known as "the second day of February, the dragon raises its head". It means that on the second day of the second lunar month, you have to go for a haircut, and people think that going to get a haircut on this day can bring good luck to yourself in the New Year, so that you can be in the Year of the Dragon: Dragon and Horse Spirit, Dragon and Tiger Leap, Dragon and Phoenix are auspicious! And before that, if you cut your hair and shave your head, you will have: If you don't shave your head in the first month, you will die if you shave your uncle! In fact, this saying that the first month of the first month shaved the head of the dead uncle, the first originated in the Qing Dynasty rule, in order to maintain social stability issued a shaving order, and the literati of the previous dynasty at that time were too nostalgic for the past, so there was: the first month does not shave the head, shave the head and think of the old, but in later generations, gradually changed the old to "dead uncle".
4: Dragon's beard noodles.
In addition, in addition to the custom of shaving the dragon's head on the second day of the second lunar month, there is also a saying among the folk: dragon beard noodles and dragon scale cakes. People believe that eating dragon beard noodles on this day can bring a beautiful implication of good health to the elderly in the family, and can express the blessings of the younger generation to the elders, health and longevity. Dragon scale cake is a type of gluten cake, usually eaten with cabbage dipping sauce, and it is believed that eating it on the second day of February will bring good luck to themselves and their families.
5: Eat zongzi.
When the Dragon Boat Festival is held in the dragon boat race, the ordinary people of the first competition will also carry some "zongzi", and people will throw the wrapped zongzi into the lake, and this practice is actually to commemorate the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan, to avoid its corpse being eaten by fish and shrimp in the lake, and over time it has been handed down from ancient times to the present, forming such a traditional custom.
6: Fishermen worship the Dragon King.
In some coastal cities, before going out to sea to fish, or during the local "Fisherman's Day", local fishermen will spontaneously organize activities to worship the Dragon King, people will prepare beef and mutton, fruits, cakes, and set off firecrackers. Through such a ceremony, pray for the dragon king's grandfather to protect the fishermen who go out to sea to fish, and return with a full load.
As a Chinese, the dragon is a mascot representing the Chinese, representing the dragon soaring and tiger leaping, the dragon flying and phoenix dance, and the dragon and horse spirit, and the culture and beautiful meaning it contains have been deeply integrated into the genes of the Chinese. And for future generations, we should inherit and carry forward these excellent and brilliant traditional cultures and customs, and strive for the prosperity and rejuvenation of the nation.