White Dew Flowers

People in Wenzhou City of Zhejiang Province have a tradition of celebrating the White Dew as a festival. In the Cangnan and Pingyang regions, people gather ten herbal medicines on the day of White Dew. The names of these herbal medicines all contain the word “white,” which is the same as White Dew. People believe that stewing these herbal medicines with black bone chicken can nourish the human body and cure arthritis.

White Dew is also a time for people living in the Taihu Lake region to offer sacrifices to the Great Yu, who was a hero of regulating rivers and watercourses. Every year on the 8th of the first lunar month, on Tomb-sweeping Day, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month and on the day of the White Dew, people hold pilgrim association activities. The scale of the pilgrim on Tomb-sweeping day and the day of White Dew is the largest of all, lasting a whole week.

In addition to offering sacrifices to the Great Yu, there are many other activities, such as offering sacrifices to Kobold, the deity of flowers and a prominent door-god. A play named Righteousness above Family Loyalty is performed every year during this period, representing the prayer for and pursuit of good life.