Introduction: Second, there is the custom of worshiping the Dragon God, and there are also many legends about worshiping the Dragon God. I believe many friends are curious about why we need to sacrifice to the Dragon God on February 2. Let me introduce to you the legend of worshiping the Dragon God on February 2.
The legend of worshiping the Dragon God on February 2
In many places in ancient my country, every time the dragon raises its head, people go to the banks of rivers to worship the Dragon God. Why do we sacrifice dragons on February 2nd? This is closely related to agricultural production.
February 2nd is around the time of the Waking of Insects. It is also the season for spring plowing and spring sowing. Whether the weather is good or not is directly related to the harvest of the year. In the genealogy of ancient gods, dragons are gods in charge of rainfall. In order to ask the Dragon God to send clouds and rain, on February 2, people would place offerings in front of the Dragon God and hold a grand worship ceremony. In addition to singing operas to entertain the dragon, in some places they also danced and wore dragons. End, open pen (in the old days, children were allowed to start writing on this day, taking the auspicious sign of the dragon raising its head, and wishing the children to be able to read and write when they grow up), etc., in order to achieve "February 2, the dragon will raise its head, the big warehouse will be full, and the small warehouse will flow".
There are many legends about worshiping the Dragon God on February 2nd. Below I will introduce to you two of the more widely circulated legends.
Legend 1
There is also a folk legend about worshiping the Dragon God on February 2nd. A long time ago, there was a severe drought in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province, and there was no rain for consecutive years. There is a small mountain village on Ma'eyuan east of Lishan Mountain in Lintong. There is a young man named Shuisheng in the village. When he saw a drought, he tried to find water everywhere.
One day, he heard an old man say something like this in Yuantou Village a hundred miles away: "The Jade Emperor has long known about the drought in Guanzhong. He once ordered the grandson of the Dragon King of the East China Sea to broadcast it Rain. But when the little dragon arrived in Guanzhong, it rushed into the Long River and forgot about the rain." Shuisheng asked, "How to subdue it?" The old man said, "We must get a dragon tree." After a lot of hardships, Shui Sheng finally found the Dragon Subduing Wood and subdued the little dragon.
I saw the little dragon raising its head and soaring into the sky. Suddenly, dark clouds rolled, thunder roared, and heavy rain began to fall. In order to commemorate this day when "the dragon raises its head", people designate the second day of February of the lunar calendar as the "Spring Dragon Festival".
Legend 2
According to legend, when Wu Zetian became emperor, the Jade Emperor ordered not to rain on earth for three years. But the Jade Dragon in charge of the Tianhe River could not bear the suffering and starvation of the people, so he secretly sent a heavy rain. When the Jade Emperor learned about it, he knocked the Jade Dragon in charge of the Tianhe River down from the Heavenly Palace and pressed it under a mountain. There is also a monument erected at the foot of the mountain, which reads: The Dragon King's rainfall violates the laws of heaven, and he shall be punished for the rest of his life. If you want to return to Lingxiao Pavilion, you will have to wait until the golden beans bloom. In order to save the Dragon King, people looked for blooming golden beans everywhere.
On the second day of February of the following year, people were drying the golden corn seeds, and suddenly remembered that the corn was like golden beans. When they were fried and bloomed, weren't they just golden beans blooming? So every household popped popcorn, set up a table in the courtyard to burn incense, and offered "flowering golden beans" for the Dragon King and the Jade Emperor to see.
The Dragon King knew that the people were trying to save it, so he shouted to the Jade Emperor: "The golden beans are blooming, please let me out!" When the Jade Emperor saw the golden beans blooming in every courtyard in the world, he had to pass on the message. , ordered the Dragon King to return to heaven and continue to bring clouds and rain to the world. Since then, people have formed a habit. Every February 2nd, people pop corns and some fry beans.
Customs on February 2nd: shaving dragon heads and eating dragon food
On February 2nd of the lunar calendar, people pray that the dragon will raise its head to make clouds make rain and nourish all things. The saying "leading". Chinese people generally believe that shaving your head on this day will bring you good luck and good fortune. Therefore, a folk proverb says, "Shaving your dragon's head on February 2 will bring you good spirits throughout the year." Every February 2nd, every barber shop is full of customers and business is booming.
The second day of the second lunar month is the day when the blue dragon begins to emerge in the twenty-eight constellations. According to the celestial phenomenon, it is designated as "the dragon raises its head". Due to people's worship of dragons, people eat food with the word "dragon" on this day to soak up the "dragon energy". Among them, in addition to calling fried cakes "gentian", spring pancakes "dragon scales" and noodles "dragon whiskers", they also call rice "dragon seeds", wontons and rice "dragon ears" and so on.
The second day of the second lunar month coincides with the time before and after the Waking of Insects. At this time, hibernating animals such as snakes and earthworms begin to move. Snakes are also commonly known as "little dragons" and earthworms are commonly known as "earth dragons". Snakes and earthworms begin to show their heads. It's called "the dragon raises its head".
At the same time as snakes and earthworms, some pests also began to move. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a custom of eating "smoke bugs" on the second day of February. People spread pancakes, make bacon, stir-fry vegetables, smoke pests with oil and eat them to protect crops and pray for health.