What day is "March 3rd"? Do you know these customs?

        CCTV News:Today is the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. According to legend, this day is the birthday of Huangdi Xuanyuan, and it is also a traditional festival of the Han nationality and many ethnic minorities. The definition of "March 3" is different in different regions, and the names and customs of festivals are naturally quite different.

        On March 3, I was born in Xuanyuan 

        According to legend, the third day of the third lunar month is the birthday of the Yellow Emperor. Since ancient times, China has had "February 2, the dragon looked up; On March 3, I was born in Xuanyuan.

        The Yellow Emperor was born in the hill of Xuanyuan, so he was called Xuanyuan. Legend has it that he was born a few days ago and could speak. He was quick-witted as a teenager, honest and capable as a youth, and smart and determined as an adult. Huangdi and Yandi are called the ancestors of the Chinese nation.

        In 2008, the State Council identified Xinzheng Huangdi ancestor worship ceremony as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage expansion projects.

        Xinzheng, Henan Province is the place where the Yellow Emperor was born, started his business and built his capital. Today, Ding Younian’s ancestor worship ceremony was held here.

        Every year, the ancestor worship ceremony in Huangdi’s hometown attracts hundreds of thousands of Chinese people at home and abroad to seek their roots and worship their ancestors, which has become an influential and symbolic cultural business card in the Chinese world.

        Origin of the festival 

        The third day of the third month of the lunar calendar, also known as "Shangsi Festival". It has been popular since the Spring and Autumn Period.

        ■"The Analects of Confucius" has a cloud: "Those who are in the late spring, the spring clothes are accomplished, the champions are five or six people, and the boys are six or seven people. They bathe and dance, and they return with singing." It is about the situation at that time.

        In ancient times, the first third day of March was regarded as "Shangsi". The fourth day usually falls on the third day of March. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, Shangsi Festival is designated as the third day of March, which will be followed by future generations. Shangsi was designated as a festival in the Han Dynasty.

        ■ The Records of Etiquette in the History of the Later Han Dynasty records: "It is the fourth day of the month, and the officials and the people are jié, clean on the east running water. It is said that washing and removing, and staying in the dirty place (chèn, sick) is a big one."

        In addition to bathing, it is also called bathing, that is, bathing by the water. The "Shangsi Festival" is in the season exchange, and the yin has not completely faded, so people are prone to illness. Bathing by the water can get rid of illness and disaster, and pray for happiness.

On March 30, at the women’s adult ceremony in Yancheng, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, the officiating ceremony was performed for the participants. (Photo/vision china)

        In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Shangsi Festival was not only a time for babies, but also evolved into a time for royal aristocrats, ministers and scholars to feast by the water, which became another important custom of Shangsi Festival.

        ■"Qu Shui Liu Xiao" is more like a game. The game is that everyone sits at the water’s edge, puts the wine-filled Xiao on the running water, and lets the glass drift downstream and stop in front of anyone. Whoever will drink the wine in the cup and write a poem, or else he will be fined three cups.

        One of the most famous activities in history was that Wang Xizhi and his friends held a Lanting meeting in Huiji, where everyone drank wine and wrote poems and enjoyed the scenery. Wang Xizhi wrote a preface and wrote on the spur of the moment, which achieved a world-famous preface to Lanting Collection, which was praised by later generations as "the best running book in the world".

        After the Tang Dynasty, the custom of "Shangsi Festival" gradually faded out.

        Today’s March 3 rd 

        Today, the third day of March is still a grand and grand festival in some minority areas in southwest China. But in most parts of China, few people know about this festival.

        For example, in Guangxi, the local atmosphere of celebrating March 3 is very strong. This day is the Valentine’s Day of the Zhuang people, and more festival contents derived from this meaning make it the biggest festival of the Zhuang people in a year. Not only the Zhuang people, but also the Dong people in Guizhou, the Li people in Hainan and the Miao people in Xiangxi all take March 3rd as their Valentine’s Day.

        In 2014, the "March 3rd of Zhuang Nationality" was successfully applied for. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, people in Guangxi enjoy two days’ holiday.

        People of all ethnic groups play like this on March 3.  

        the Zhuangs

        Most of the Zhuang people celebrate the third day of March by catching a song fair, setting up a song shed and holding a song party. Young men and women love each other by singing, touching eggs, throwing hydrangeas. According to legend, it is also called "Song Fairy Festival" because it is a festival to commemorate Liu Sanjie, a singer of Zhuang nationality. Zhuang people usually steam five-color glutinous rice on March 3. In addition, Ai Ba, steamed pork with rice flour and black glutinous rice wine are the special foods of "March 3rd" in Guangxi.

        Zhuang people love five-color glutinous rice very much, and regard it as a symbol of good luck and good harvest.

        Li

        Li people call March 3rd Love Day, which is the same as Hainan Miao Festival. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, young Li men and women from all over the country gather together to participate in the "March 3" grand event, singing and dancing, and talking about love.

        She (sh) nationality

        On the third day of March every year, she people gather in the ancestral hall, singing songs from morning till dusk, remembering their ancestors, picking leaves of barnyard grass, soaking their tender leaves in sticky rice, cooking black rice, entertaining guests and praying for exorcism.