中國文化博覽:中華民俗之驚蟄

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms . Jīngzhé (pīnyīn) is the 3rd solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 345°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around March 5 and ends around March 20.

農曆中將一年分爲24個節氣，驚蟄是第三個，通常指太陽位於黃經345度時的那一天，也即差不多在陽曆3月5日到3月20日之間。

The word 驚蟄 has the meaning of awakening of hibernated insects. 驚 is startling, and 蟄 is hibernated (insects). The traditional Chinese farming culture said that during Jingzhe, thunderstorms will wake up the hibernated insects, which also means the weather is getting warm.

“驚蟄”意爲“驚醒冬眠的昆蟲”。驚蟄期間，雷雨增多，因此冬眠的蟲類會被驚起，這也意味着天氣會越來越暖。

It's also referred to as Longtaitou Festival or Dragon-Head-Raising Festival. In the tradition of Chinese culture, the dragon is believed to be the king of all insects and at same time, it is also believed to be in charge of bringing rains, and both of these are important factors in ancient agricultural society.

驚蟄又被稱作“龍擡頭”，因爲龍一擡頭，就會下雨嘛。在農業社會，人們相當看重一年的降雨。

Today, Longtaitou Festival is celebrated in various ways, most of which are still identical to those practiced in the ancient times, including eating Chinese pancakes and noodles. Perfume bags filled with the powder of ground fragrant herbs are made to be carried by women and children for good fortune, though they are no longer used as insect repellent as in ancient times.

今天驚蟄日的慶祝方式多種多樣，但是人們仍然保存着像吃春餅和麪條這樣的傳統。婦女和小孩會佩戴香囊，以求好運，雖然今天的香囊已經不再像過去那樣，主要是起驅蟲的作用。