What does it mean to cut hair when the dragon raises its head? What are the festival customs when the dragon raises its head?

Dragon Head Raising Day is a traditional folk festival, also known as Zhonghe Festival and Dragon Head Festival. People in many regions will get their hair cut on this day, especially children. Getting a haircut on this day has a certain meaning. In addition to getting a haircut, there are also various customs and habits on Dragon Head Raising Day in various regions across the country. Let's learn more about it together.

What does it mean to cut hair when the dragon raises its head?

Because it is not customary to have your hair cut in the first month of the lunar year, and in many areas there is a saying that "having a haircut in the first month of the lunar year will kill your uncle", and children under the age of 12 should be careful to leave a tuft of "uncle hair" at the back of their necks when getting their hair cut. Therefore, people have to wait until the second day of the second month of the lunar year to have their "dragon head" cut. Having a haircut on this day not only means that the dragon is raising its head, but also means getting rid of "troublesome hair", which means that there will be no worries or sorrows in the whole year.

It is said that the Dragon King, who controls the clouds and rain, is awakened by thunder or devout people on this day, and the rain gradually increases, and all things come back to life. People call it the Spring Dragon Raising its Head. People do not get their hair cut in the first month of the year, but wait for this day to line up for a haircut, taking the auspicious meaning of "Dragon Raising its Head" and hoping to be proud and have good luck throughout the year. Children in particular will be successful in their studies and have good health.

However, in some places, you have the opportunity to get your hair cut on the day of the Dragon Raising its Head. The reason for this is that you cannot use knives or needles on this day. But it is not surprising that customs vary from place to place.

What are the festival customs of Dragon Raising its Head?

Customs vary from place to place. Festival customs in different regions are different. Here are some festival customs.

Ash storage

On the morning of February 2, every family gets up early. When it is just light, they use shovels and baskets to collect some ashes and build an ashes bin in the yard. A ladder is built outside the ashes bin, which means that the granary is very high and a ladder is needed to get up. The ladder should be built outside, not inside. If it is built inside, it means that the grain is loaded from the house to the outside. After the ashes bin is built, put some grains in the middle. See what the chickens eat. Which one the chickens eat means that the harvest this year is average. Which one is left over means that there will be a good harvest because they can't eat it all or have eaten enough.

Dragon Dance Lantern

Most villages have dragon lantern props, and the young and capable men in the village dance the dragon lanterns and make the community fire lively, hoping for a good harvest and a prosperous life for the whole village.

Smoked insects eat fried beans

On the second day of the second lunar month, hibernating animals will wake up one after another, and plants will begin to sprout and grow. In order to avoid being attacked by insects throughout the year, people have developed the custom of fumigating insects and eating fried beans on this day. In order to repel pests, people usually fry soybeans on this day, which is called fried insect eyes, or fried scorpion beans.

On this day, some people go to vegetable gardens and fields to burn weeds and dead leaves, intending to kill pests with fireworks.

Eat holy insects

In some areas, the breakfast on February 2nd is to eat the holy insects offered as sacrifices during the Spring Festival and the leftover steamed buns. Each family member will share a piece of the holy insect, because this day is an auspicious day, and eating the holy insect will make the family energetic and have good luck for the whole year.

Praying to the Land God Temple

In some villages with land temples, people would come to the temple in groups to burn paper and pray, asking the God of Land to show his divine power to drive away evil. While burning paper, they would pray: "The God of Land's surname is Han. He is stationed at the entrance of the village to strictly guard the gate. He will chase away any sloppy animals he encounters. He protects the safety of people and animals."

Lighting the beams

In the days of the older generation, the roofs of houses in rural areas had no ceilings. After getting up, they would use lanterns to shine on the roof beams, chanting something in their mouths, "On the second day of the second month, shine on the roof beams, and the scorpions will have nowhere to hide in the pine trees."

February 2, Dragon Raising its Head, Taboo

It is taboo to rub grass, which is disrespectful to the dragon. It is said that rubbing grass will peel off the dragon's skin. If the dragon's skin is peeled off, it cannot go up to the sky, so there will be less rain this year. This is actually a traditional custom of the festival passed down by the older generation.

It is taboo to burn fire in the wild, which means burning fire in the wild. It means that if the fire is burned, the dragon's skin will be injured and cannot fly to the sky.

In some places, housewives are not allowed to do needlework on this day. This is because the dragon will raise its head to look at the world on this day, and they are afraid that the needle will accidentally prick the dragon's eyes when doing needlework. In some places, people do not go to the well to fetch water on the second day of the second lunar month, for fear of touching the faucet. Therefore, they fill the water tank with water in advance the day before. They do not push the millstone, but use stones to prop up the millstone, for fear of pressing the faucet.

For example, stonecutters were not allowed to work on this day, and they were not allowed to blast rocks, for fear of stripping the dragon's scales and injuring its body. In the old days, there were also sayings such as "don't press or push the millstone" for fear of hurting the dragon.

Related News

In fact, Chinese festivals are not only philosophical, but also interesting. Starting from the first month of the lunar calendar, the first month of the lunar calendar, the second month of the lunar calendar, the third month of the lunar calendar, the Dragon Boat Festival on the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the ninth day of the ninth month, the first day of the lunar calendar, and the Laba Festival, there is a festival almost every month. The second day of the second month is the Waking of Insects, when all things come back to life. Hibernating snakes also come out of their holes. Snakes are also called little dragons in the Chinese zodiac. The Dragon Raising its Head is a festive day, and farmers will start another year of hard work.

From the perspective of the solar terms, February 2nd is basically around the Waking of Insects, when arthropods wake up and all of these animals have the characteristics of dragons. From the perspective of astronomical phenomena, this is the time when the Jiao of the Seven Stars in the East appears. The East is also known as the "Blue Dragon", and Jiao is the head of the dragon.