二月二龍抬頭

二月二，漢族民間傳統節日。流行于全國各民族地區。此節風俗活動較多，又有花朝節、踏青節、挑萊節、春龍節、青龍節、龍抬頭日之稱。因時間在農歷二月初二日，故稱。當時及其后民間以刀尺、百谷、瓜果種籽、迎富貴果子等相問遺，并有挑菜、踏青、迎富等活動。元費著《歲華紀麗譜》：明以后，二月二又有關于龍抬頭的諸多習俗，諸如撒灰引龍、扶龍、熏蟲避蝎、剃龍頭、忌針刺龍眼等節俗，故稱龍抬頭日。

Dragon heads-raising day falls on the second day of the second lunar month， which is a traditional festival. In “imperial capital accounts about seasons”， pan rongbi in qing dynasty wrote the following： the second day is the dragon heads-raising day. On the day， farmers and villagers made an ash path into the houses and kitchens， then wind around the water vats from the outside. This is called leading the dragons back to houses. People in the capital city fry broomcorn millet flour， cakes made of wheat flour and dates， husked wheat rice， and other things as their food. They call this “fumigating insects”.

Dragons are auspicious omen， for which chinese people have an admiration that bordered on worship. Dragons dominate wind and rain. So in ancient days， every time when there was a drought， people would make a straw dragon with sorghum stalks about one zhang （3.33 meters）. Then in front of the straw dragon， four men carried the dragon kings memorial tablet on a tablet tray and in front of it， people perform acrobatics， singing and dancing， as walking on stilts， doing yangge dance， gongs， drums and flags leading the way. Everywhere contingent of parade passed， every family offered sacrifices， burned incenses and candles to worship the dragon king. When the straw dragon passed by， people would carry buckets and sprinkle water over the straw dragon and the dragon dancers. They believe that the dragon king would feel grateful and then make plentiful rain for the mankind.