Why do you want to hang wormwood, sachets and colored threads on the Dragon Boat Festival?
1. There are reasons for hanging wormwood, calamus (Pujian), pomegranate and garlic at the entrance of Dragon Boat Festival. Usually mugwort leaves, banyan trees and calamus are tied into a bundle with red paper and then inserted or hung on the door. Because Acorus calamus is the first of the five auspicious symbols in the sky, it symbolizes the ominous sword, because the growing season and shape are regarded as "the breath of a hundred yin", and the leaves are sword-shaped and can be inserted at the door to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, the alchemist called it "water sword", and later the custom extended to "general sword", which can cut off all evil. In the Qing Dynasty, Gu Tieqing recorded in Jia Qinglu that "chopping Pu as a sword, chopping Peng as a whip, and hanging peach stalks and garlic on the bed are all used to exorcise ghosts". However, in the local chronicles of the Jin Dynasty, there is "mourning for the tiger, or cutting the ribbon for the tiger, with mourning attached to the leaves, and the wife fighting to cut it." In the future, it will be calamus, or human form, or Xiao Jian shape, called Pujian, to drive away evil spirits and ghosts. " Wormwood represents a hundred blessings and is a kind of herbal medicine that can cure diseases. Inserting it at the door can make you healthy. In ancient China, it has always been a medicinal plant. Moxibustion in acupuncture uses wormwood as the main component and burns it at acupoints to treat diseases. The legend that wormwood can exorcise evil spirits has been circulating for a long time, mainly because it has the function of medicine. For example, Zonggu's Chronicle of Jingchu records that "when chickens are not crowing, those who pick wormwood look like people, take it and collect it with moxibustion, which is very effective." On this day, Ai Cai became a human figure, hung on the door, and could cast poison gas. "Most people also have the custom of planting wormwood before and after the house for good luck. People in Taiwan Province Province also put up "afternoon couplets" on the Dragon Boat Festival, which have the same function as amulets. There is a saying in some afternoon couplets: "Holding a strange love will attract a hundred blessings, and hanging a sword to close the door will kill a thousand evils". The folk significance of banyan branches can make the body strong. " It is braver to insert banyan trees and braver to insert mugwort leaves. " There is also the local custom of hanging pomegranate, garlic or Shandan, and garlic is used to eliminate disasters and treat pests and poisons; Shandan can cure madness, pomegranate can avoid Huang Chao. Pomegranate flower is the flower of this season, and it also has the function of treating diseases. Pomegranate peel is a common Chinese medicine. There is also a story about the relationship between pomegranate flower and Huang Chao. During the rebellion in Huang Chao, Huang Chao once approached a village and happened to see a woman with a big child on her back and a child in her hand. Huang Chao was curious and asked why. Women don't know Huang Chao, just say that because Huang Chao came and killed her uncle's family, this is the only remaining lifeline, so if she can't attend to both, she will sacrifice her own flesh and blood to save her uncle's flesh and blood. Huang Chao was greatly moved and told the woman that as long as pomegranate flowers were hung on the door, the disaster in Huang Chao could be avoided. 2. Wearing sachets is also called sachets and sachets; Wallets, etc It is made of colored silk thread and rags, and is filled with spices (made from Chinese herbal medicines, such as Radix Angelicae Dahuricae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Herba Hedyotidis Diffusae, Rhizoma Sparganii, Rhizoma Kaempferiae, Gan Song and Rhizoma Kaempferiae). It is worn on the chest and smells fragrant. Chen Shiliang's Chronicle of Years Old quoted Miscellaneous Notes of Years Old as saying, "The Dragon Boat Festival is red and white, like a bag, with colored lines running through it and shaped like a flower." Another kind of "mussel powder bell": "On the fifth day, mussel powder is placed in silk and decorated with cotton, if there are several beads. Let the child take it to absorb sweat. "The things in these carry-on bags have changed several times, from sweat-absorbing mussel powder, amulets to ward off evil spirits, copper coins and realgar powder to sachets filled with spices, and their production has become increasingly exquisite, becoming a unique folk art of the Dragon Boat Festival. Wearing sachets is very particular. In order to prevent diseases and keep fit, the elderly generally like to wear plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, peaches, apples, lotus flowers, dolls riding fish, dolls holding cocks, double lotus flowers and other shapes, symbolizing birds and flowers, all the best, loving each other and family harmony. Children like birds and animals, such as tigers and leopards; Monkeys, cockfights, etc. Young people are most particular about wearing sachets. If they are lovers in love, affectionate girls will carefully make one or two sachets with their own characteristics a long time ago in order to meet their lovers before the festival. The young man wore a sachet from his sweetheart, which naturally aroused the discussion of men and women around him and praised the ingenuity of the young man's object. 3. Flower rope is not only multicolored silk, but also commonly known as multicolored silk. As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was recorded in Ying Shao's "Romance of Customs" that tying it to his arm could avoid soldiers and ghosts and prevent diseases and plagues. In the Book of Continued Han Dynasty and the Book of Later Han Dynasty, Zhu Suo and five-color seals were used as door decorations on the day of 3 pm, which was considered as a means to resist evil spirits. The five colors of the five-color silk represent the five elements. In the Han Dynasty, they believed in the theory of five elements of yin and yang, and the five colors represented five directions, which had the mysterious function of exorcising evil spirits and welcoming good luck. Blue is wood, representing the East, red is fire, representing the South, yellow is earth, representing the Central Committee, white is gold, representing the West, and black is water, representing the North. Animals are symbols, with Qinglong in the east, Suzaku in the south, White Tiger in the west, Xuanwu (tortoise and snake) in the north and Huanglong in the middle, all of which are spiritual objects. The symbolic significance of five-color silk to ward off evil spirits and plagues is far more obvious than the actual function, because there is no specific explanation why these colors can eliminate disasters and diseases. It can be seen that this is a magical thing with magic and symbolic significance in folk beliefs, which is obviously different from the medical functions used by mugwort, calamus and realgar in festivals, purely for the needs of folk beliefs and good luck. On the other hand, however, the five-color silk of the festival fully shows the significance of congratulations. Children tie their necks, hands, feet and wrists with colored silk, commonly known as long-life rope, long-life rope, century-old rope and health rope. Women of northern nationalities in Liao Dynasty tied colorful silk on their arms at noon, commonly known as acacia knot. Women in Liao Dynasty tied colorful silk threads into human hair and tied them into a bun, also known as longevity thread. Emperor Liao and Jin wore five-color silk, also called longevity silk. Jiangnan folded the water chestnut square with paper and silk, then wrapped it with colorful silk, and gave each other gifts on holidays. Women wear this holiday ornament called Fangfang on their chests to show their achievements in women's work. These customs have little to do with avoiding soldiers and ghosts and eliminating diseases and plagues, but more to celebrate birthdays from the front. This is the positive theme of the Dragon Boat Festival to congratulate and pray for longevity while driving away evil spirits and avoiding epidemics.