The Longtaitou Festival, also known as the Eryue'er Festival, is a traditional festival Chinese which is held on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar. Its name means "Dragon raising its head" because the dragon was considered the deity responsible for rain, an important factor in ancient agriculture. The festival is sometimes simply called "2 Months 2" (Er Yue Er) for short.
Longtaitou Festival, the second day of the second month
The festival is celebrated during the time of Jingzhe, one of the 24 solar terms. The expression Jing Zhe has the meaning of the awakening of hibernators (implying insects). Jing is surprising and Zhe is hibernating (insects). This is the period when hibernating insects have started to wake up in early spring, which is often accompanied by the arrival of the first rains, a sign that the weather is getting warmer.
The Longtaitou festival is an important worship ritual to wish for a good harvest in the coming months. In addition to paying homage to the Dragon King, Tu Di Gong is also revered. Another ancient practice to celebrate the Longtaitou festival was to get rid of harmful insects in homes by fumigation by burning various herbs with known insect repellent effects.
Today, the Longtaitou festival is celebrated in various ways, most of which are still the same as those practiced in ancient times, including eating pancakes Chinese and dragon beard noodles. It is an auspicious day for people to get their hair cut, after a month without cutting their hair in January for the Lunar New Year. Women and children carry perfume bags filled with ground fragrant herb powder for good fortune, although they are no longer used as insect repellent as in ancient times.
Another ancient celebration still practiced today is that the Longtaitou festival is the first day of the Taihao Temple Fair which lasts until the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The fair is a celebration of the ancestral deities Fuxi and Nüwa, and the Longtaitou Festival marks the beginning of this celebration.
There were ancient traditions practiced during the festival that are no longer part of modern celebrations, including:
- Women should not practice sewing because the needles could pierce the dragon's eyes.
- Plant ashes were spread around the house, then inside the house, and finally around the earthen pitcher, to symbolize the dragon's invitation to provide enough rain for good harvests.
- In Guang zhong province, it is considered the birth of the earth god, people use firecrackers to pray for good weather and good grain.
- Due to dragon worship, some people eat food with the word "dragon" to bring good luck and good weather all year round.
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Today, the Chinese celebrate Longtaitou or Eryue'er. This day means Dragon raising his head. The dragon is in charge of the rain and marks the return of agricultural activities. The culinary tradition is Chinese pancakes and dragon beard noodles. #mythology #myth #legend #calendar #longtaitor #china
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