The Key Holiday () is a keyholiday originated from China, and is celebrated in multiple East Asian countries, including China and Korea.

China

The Double Third Festival () or Shangsi Festival () is a Chinese festival celebrated on the third day of the third month of the Chinese calendar. It is said that the origin of this festival comes from the Dinner Party at the Qushui River during the Zhou Dynasty (about 1100-221 BC). Others say its origins come from the ceremonial custom of getting rid of evils by bathing in the river. On this day, people would hold a sacrificing ceremony on a riverside to honor their ancestors, and then take a bath in the river with herbs to cleanse their bodies of filth. Following that, young men and women would then go for a spring outing in which many of these scenes were described in Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). The Shangsi Festival activities have changed with through the different dynasties. The entertainment feast and praying for descendants along the riverside were added in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was after the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420 AD) that the festival developed into the Double-Third (Shangsi) Festival that is fixed on the third day of the third lunar month. In modern times, to observe this festival, people would go for an outing by the water, have picnics, and pluck

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s. It is also a day for invoking cleansing rituals to prevent disease and get rid of bad luck. The day is also traditionally considered to be a possible birthday of the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

. The ancient traditions of Shangsi are mostly celebrated by several communities spread out among the provinces today, such as the ancient village of

Xinye Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city of ...

which holds elaborate ancestor worship ceremonies on this day. The great calligrapher

Wang Xizhi Wang Xizhi (; ; 303 AD361 AD) was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, general and writer during the Jin dynasty. He was best known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. Wang is sometimes regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher in Chines ...

mentions this festival in his famous work '' Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems'', written in regard to the

Orchid Pavilion Gathering The Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 353 CE, also known as the Lanting Gathering, was a cultural and poetic event during the Jin dynasty (266–420) of the Six Dynasties era, in China. This event itself has a certain inherent and poetic interest in reg ...

during the

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms ...

era.

Japan

In Japan the Double Third festival is celebrated as ''

Hinamatsuri , also called Doll's Day or Girls' Day, is a religious (Shinto) holiday in Japan, celebrated on 3March of each year. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"Hina Matsuri"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 313. Platforms covered with a red carpet–mater ...

Korea

''Samjinnal'' is one of ''sesi pungsok'' (세시풍속) or Korean traditional customs by season, which falls on the third day of the third month in the Chinese calendar. It was called ''samjil'' (삼질) in old

Korean language Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...

and referred to as ''sangsa'', ''wonsa'' (원사, 元巳), ''sungsam'' (중삼, 重三), ''sangje'' (상제, 上除) or ''dapcheongjeol'' (답청절, 踏靑節) in

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

. Samjinnal implies the overlapping of Sam (three). According to Choi Namseon, samjil was derived from the consonants of Samil, and Sangsa is defined as the first snake day of the 3rd lunar month.http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/festivals/festivals.cfm?Subject=Samjinnal

Customs

During Samjinnal, people pick out azalea flowers and knead it with glutinous rice dough to make

Hwajeon ''Hwajeon'' (), or flower cake is a small Korean pan-fried rice cake. It is made out of glutinous rice flour, honey and edible petals from seasonal flowers, such as rhododendron. It is eaten during the festivals of '' Samjinnal'' and Buddha's ...

, a Korean traditional rice cake. Mung bean powder is used to make mung bean noodles, and is also occasionally used with the azalea flowers. By dyeing the mung bean powder with red water, a seasonal dish called ''Sumyeon'' can be prepared. Other than this, white bubble rice cakes made with red bean paste called ''Santteok'', ''Goritteok'' made from glutinous rice, pine endodermis and mugwort, and ''Ssuktteok'' made from glutinous rice and mugwort leaves are eaten this day.

Nori (Folk games)

*Pulssaum (풀싸움) *Pulgaksi noleum (풀각시놀음) *Fortunetelling * Hwajeon nori (화전놀이, 花煎--) - It literally means "flower pancake play".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *{{cite web, url=http://www.miz.co.kr/momboard/GCA_004/75 , script-title=ko:봄을 즐기는 ‘삼월 삼짇날’ , publisher=miz.co.kr, access-date=2008-06-28 , language=Korean Festivals in China Festivals in Hong Kong Festivals in Japan Festivals in Korea Festivals in Taiwan March observances April observances Observances set by the Chinese calendar Observances set by the Korean calendar Public holidays in China Public holidays in Hong Kong Public holidays in Taiwan