奇速英语

The traditional Chinese Longtaitou Festival, or Dragon-Head-Raising Festival, falls on the second day of the second lunar(农历的) month every year. It is regarded as the start of spring and farming. This year(2023) it falls on February 21.

Ancient people believed that after this day, there is more rain because the rain-bringing Dragon King has awakened from his winter sleep. The festival celebrates ancient agrarian(农业的) Chinese culture. Although some traditional ways to celebrate it disappeared, others are still practiced by people.

The most famous tradition is getting a haircut. Some people believe that going to the barber(理发店) on this day gets rid of bad luck. They also believe getting a haircut during the first lunar month brings bad luck. According to another saying, cutting your hair in the first month will cause your uncle to die. Although today few people pay attention to it, it was once tradition to line up outside barber shops on the day of Longtaitou, because people hadn’t got haircuts for some time.

During the festival, people eat tofu balls in East China’s Fujian province. They often make tofu and vegetable balls to pray(祈祷) for family and business. But in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu province, people usually eat chengyao cakes during the festival. The cakes are made with sticky rice.