It is the third of the 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar, and it is around March 5 every year. The festival marks the official beginning of spring, meaning that hibernating plants and animals will begin to wake up, and the earth will gradually rejuvenate. The meaning of the stinging festival is "the stinging insect wakes up", and this time is the time when the spring thunder begins to roar and all things grow.
The festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese festivals, especially in rural areas, where there are still rich traditional customs. People will hold a series of celebrations such as sacrificial ceremonies, dragon and lion dances, Kong Ming lanterns, hanging couplets, and stepping on stilts and playing Yangge. And the most interesting thing is the folk traditional custom of "biting the horse's leg". Legend has it that a bite on a horse's leg can bless peace and auspiciousness, so the locals will go out with their families on the day of the sting, vying to bite the horse's leg.
Regarding the food and drinks of the Surprise Festival, people usually eat dumplings, spring rolls, glutinous rice balls and other foods that symbolize reunion and surplus every year. In some places, fresh ingredients such as spring bamboo shoots and spring tea are picked to make delicious food in anticipation of the beauty of spring.
In folklore, the festival is rich in mythology. Legend has it that the day of the sting was the havoc of the snake spirit, which caused the people in the world to suffer from it, and it was not until Nezha was born that he successfully quelled the sabotage of the snake spirit. Therefore, in some places, snake fighting celebrations are held to show resistance to snake spirits.
Many areas will hold some special celebrations during the festival, such as dragon and lion dances, fire performances, lantern festivals, etc., attracting countless tourists to watch. And the most interesting thing on the day of the stinging festival is "spring awakening". In some areas, people will play pranks in the fields, such as putting grimaces or making scary gestures in front of the door, in order to "wake up" spring.
With the development of society, the festival has some new evolution and significance in contemporary times. It has gradually changed from a traditional festival celebration to a festival that symbolizes the arrival of spring, the hope of new life, and the reunion of family affection. Nowadays, people pay more attention to the cultural connotation and traditional significance of the festival, and some places also hold cultural activities and folk performances to let more people understand, pay attention to and inherit this traditional festival.