Dragon Raising its Head

Dragon Head-raising Day (February 2nd), also known as the "Spring Ploughing Festival," "Agricultural Festival," and "Spring Dragon Festival," is a traditional Han Chinese folk festival. It falls on the second day of the second lunar month each year, commonly known as the Qinglong Festival. Legend has it that this is the day the dragon raises its head. It is a traditional festival in both urban and rural China. Celebrating the "Dragon Head Festival" is a way to show respect to the dragon and pray for rain, hoping for divine blessings and a good harvest.

In the central Shanxi region, every household slaps a dustpan. A nursery rhyme goes, "On February 2nd, slap the dustpan, and fleas and ticks won't dare get on the kang." Drawing a line of lime around toilets and doors is considered a plague-repellent ritual. In the Lüliang region, every household sweeps their house. In northern Shanxi, people celebrate "pasting the wolf's mouth," using sesame candy or millet dough to stick around the mouth of Erlang Shen's Sky-Howling Dog. The Qinglong Festival, known as "Flower Tide" in some parts of southern Shanxi, involves bringing wine and food to the suburbs, gathering in a circle to sing, dance, and revel in the feast. This is also known as "Spring Outing" or "Outing." In southeastern Shanxi, it's customary to make pancakes from sorghum flour and offer them as a way to comfort women. Children in central Shanxi Province traditionally fly kites. Some counties emphasize the use of ash pits on this day to worship the God of Land. Northern Shanxi enjoys eating noodles and vermicelli, known as "picking the dragon's tail." They also eat "wolf mouth cakes" and pears to dispel heat and expel foul qi. Lüliang Prefecture favors pancakes, known as "exposing the dragon's skin." Southern Shanxi insists on eating fried dough twists and fried dough sticks, known as "gnawing dragon bones." Northwestern Shanxi celebrates the Qinglong Festival with lively social activities and yangko dances, and the building of blazing bonfires, a scene reminiscent of the Lantern Festival elsewhere. During the Qinglong Festival, folk in northern Shanxi celebrate the feast of jujubes in front of the Kitchen God. Families cut the jujube into several pieces, giving each member a portion, with the top three-pointed pieces reserved for the head of the household.


Origin of the Dragon Raising its Head

On the second day of the second lunar month, there's a Chinese proverb: "February 2nd, the Dragon Raises its Head." This signifies the arrival of spring, the resurrection of all things, the awakening of dormant dragons, and the beginning of a year's agricultural activities. In northern my country, February 2nd is also known as the Dragon Raising its Head Day, or the Spring Dragon Festival. In southern China, it's called the Outing Festival, and in ancient times, the Picking Vegetables Festival. The Chinese have practiced the custom of celebrating the second day of the second lunar month since the Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, the origin of this saying is related to ancient astronomical understanding of celestial motion and agricultural solar terms.

Chinese folk believe that the dragon is a symbol of good fortune, in charge of clouds and rain, and the second day of the second lunar month is the day when the dragon ascends to heaven. According to solar terms, the beginning of the second lunar month falls between the Rain Water, the Waking of Insects, and the Spring Equinox, marking the beginning of the rainy season in many parts of my country. This is a natural phenomenon, but the ancients attributed it to the dragon. Furthermore, the dragon holds a high status in the Chinese psyche, not only as a symbol of good fortune but also as the master of gentle winds and rain. Hence, the saying "On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head."

In reality, the so-called "dragon raises its head" refers to the awakening of insects after hibernation. There's a folk saying, "On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head, and scorpions and centipedes emerge."

The saying "February 2nd, the Dragon Raises its Head" has an ancient astronomical explanation, but it's often overlooked. Ancient China used the Twenty-Eight Mansions to indicate the positions of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky and to determine the seasons. Seven of the Twenty-Eight Mansions—Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji—form a complete dragon-shaped constellation, with Jiao resembling a dragon's horn. Every February, after the spring breeze, the "Dragon Horn Stars" (i.e., Jiao and Jiao) appear on the eastern horizon at dusk. At this time, the entire body of the Azure Dragon is still submerged below the horizon, with Jiao just beginning to emerge, hence the saying "Dragon Raises its Head."


As the "Dragon Raises its Head" in the sky, spring slowly arrives on earth. During this time, the earth returns to green, and spring plowing begins from south to north. Therefore, February 2nd is also known as the "Spring Ploughing Festival," "Agricultural Festival," and "Spring Dragon Festival," a traditional Han Chinese folk festival.


"Shaving the Dragon's Head on the Second Day of the Second Month"

As the saying goes, "If the dragon doesn't raise its head, it won't rain." The dragon is a symbol of good fortune and the master of gentle breezes and rain. On the second day of the second lunar month, people pray for the dragon to raise its head, bringing clouds and rain and nourishing all things. This is known as "shaving the dragon's head on the second day of the second lunar month." It's widely believed in China that shaving on this day brings good fortune and prosperity, hence the saying, "Shaving the dragon's head on the second day of the second lunar month brings a healthy and energetic year." Every barbershop is packed with customers on this day, and business is booming.


Dragon Raising its Head Customs

The Dragon Head Festival, dedicated to Huaxu, is steeped in dragon worship. Dragons are believed to control water and rain, determining the success of crops and their harvests, and must be avoided. In the old days, on this morning, people would worship the millstone, which was said to be the incarnation of the Azure Dragon. Some even propped up the roller to symbolize the "dragon raising its head." As the saying goes, "Don't shave your head in the first month of the lunar year; if you do, your uncle will die." Therefore, adults and children often get their hair cut and shaved on this day, signifying their nobility and auspiciousness by shaving the "dragon's head." Women avoided needlework for fear of "blinding the dragon's eyes"; they also avoided grinding flour, rice, or carting for fear of "breaking the dragon's waist or tail."

In fact, the saying "Don't cut your head in the first month of the lunar year, or your uncle will die" is a myth. The "die uncle" in the phrase is actually a mispronunciation of "thinking of the past," which originated in Shenyang. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, many Han Chinese, nostalgic for the Ming Dynasty, refused to cut their hair in the first month of the lunar year to express their nostalgia. However, they did not dare to openly challenge the Qing government, leading to the saying "cutting your hair in the first month of the lunar year will kill your uncle," which has been passed down.

On the second day of the second lunar month, most farmers eat "gujue" (hand-rolled noodles), commonly known as "dingmengun." Why eat "gujue"? Some say that eating "dingmengun" holds the door shut, keeping out evil spirits and ensuring a peaceful year. Others say that after the Spring Festival, everyone is bored and tired from eating and playing, and eating "gujue" can soothe the spirits so that they can return to work and daily life. Some people also eat jiaotuan (stir-fried rice cake) on the second day of the second lunar month, claiming it helps scale and trim the dragon's armor, invigorating it to ascend to heaven and bring rain. A folk song satirizing lazy women goes like this: "After the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, lazy women are so worried they have nowhere to hide. They want to ascend to heaven, but have no shoes; they want to burrow into the ground, but have no plow points; they want to hang themselves, unable to leave behind the fried jiaotuan (stir-fried rice cake) they eat on the second day of the second lunar month." Locals also have the custom of frying beans on this day. A folk song goes, "On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head, and beans pop in every pot. This awakens the Dragon King, who ascends early to bring clouds and rain for a good harvest." Some people also burn incense and kowtow at the nearby Yaowang Temple, praying for safety.

In rural areas, farmers are forbidden from working in the fields on this day, and women are forbidden from spending the day idle with needlework. According to Jixi County tradition, zongzi (rice dumplings) wrapped in a piece of glutinous rice are cooked and offered to the land god. The second day of the second lunar month is also the birthday of flowers, hence the name "Flower Festival." On this day, scholars display flowers, hold Wenchang gatherings, and compete in poetry. Local Customs: In Liaocheng, Shandong, men must have their hair cut on the second day of the second lunar month. Doing so on the Dragon Raising its Head Day is a sign of good luck for the coming year. In Qingdao, people eat chess pieces and fried beans, symbolizing the "blooming of golden beans."

Fried Corn: Legend has it that the annual tradition of frying corn on the second day of the second lunar month commemorates Yilong, who, despite defying celestial laws, sought to alleviate the suffering of the people from drought. Legend has it that because the Jade Dragon, unable to bear the suffering of the people, brought rain, he was imprisoned by the Jade Emperor, who set a rule that he would only be released if golden beans blossomed. Grateful for the Jade Dragon's act of generosity, the people gathered to fry corn. Because the corn resembled blooming golden beans, the guardian, Taibai Jinxing, misinterpreted it and released the Jade Dragon. The tradition of frying corn on the second day of the second lunar month has been preserved.

The Legend of the Dragon Raising its Head

The tradition dates back to the time of Fuxi, who emphasized agriculture and farming. Every second day of the second lunar month, "the Empress brought him food, and the Emperor personally plowed the fields." During the reign of King Wu of Zhou, a grand ceremony was held on the second day of the second lunar month each year, urging all civil and military officials to personally work the fields.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, this day was called "Dragon Raising its Head" because the second day of the second lunar month falls around the "Jingzhe" solar term. Many animals, including snakes, earthworms, and frogs, enter a hibernation state during winter, refusing to eat, drink, or move. This is known as "entering hibernation." Around the second day of the second lunar month, as the weather gradually warms, some insects and animals seem to be awakened from their slumber by the spring sunshine and thunder, hence the name "Jingzhe." The giant dragons of popular legends don't actually exist; they were simply figments of our ancestors' imaginations, based on snakes and earthworms. Around the second day of the second lunar month, spring returns to the earth, and people hope for the dragon to emerge and subdue harmful and poisonous insects, hoping for a good harvest. This is why the saying "February 2, Dragon Raising its Head" is used.

In Beijing, many customs are celebrated on the second day of the second lunar month, such as "On the second day of the second lunar month, shine the light on the beams, and scorpions and centipedes will have nowhere to hide!" People in Beijing practice pest control on this day by lighting candles and shining them on the beams and walls to ward off scorpions, centipedes, and other insects. Upon seeing the light, these insects fall down and are destroyed. On this day, many foods are named after dragons for good luck. For example, dumplings are called "dragon ears," rice is called "dragon seeds," wontons are called "dragon teeth," and steamed buns are made with the dough shaped like dragon scales, called "dragon scale cakes." Women are forbidden from sewing or needlework on this day to avoid injuring the dragon's eyes. Even shaving a child's head is called "shaving the dragon's head."