“三月三”这个节日，不但在汉族地区流行，也还在许多少数民族地区盛传不衰。有人认为它就是古代上的上巳节。古时以夏历三月的第一个巳日为“上巳”。有人说起于周公曲水之宴，有人说起于周时的水滨祓禊，总之，这是一个十分古老的节日。古人在这一天，要到水边去举行祭祀仪式，用香熏草药沐浴，以祓除污渍与秽气。再是在野外或水边招魂续魄，既是召唤亲人的亡魂，也是召唤自己的魂魄苏醒。不难看出，这里充满着古老的巫术。不过在这样一种巫术仪式结束之后，却总是会展开青年男女春游和谈情说爱的生动场景，让人流连忘返。这种场景，在《诗经》中就有过形象的描述。

The Double-Third Festival is popular for both the Han people and many other ethnic groups. As for its orgin，one story says that the Double-Third Festival was exactly the ancient Shangsi Festival，which was on the first si day of the third month in the Chinese lunar calendar in ancient times. Some said that it came from the Dinner Party at the Qushui River of the Zhou Dynasty（1046BC-221BC）.Others said that it came down from the custom of a ceremony to get rid of the evils by bathing in the river. Whatever it was， it was an old festival，on which people would hold a sacrificing ceremony on the riverside to honor their ancerstors，and then take a bath in the river with berbs to get rid of  the filth from their bodies. Or people would have evocation to call back the spirits，the spirits of their deceased relatives， or to make their own spirits of their deceased relatives，or to make their own spirits come to themselves，which was，of course，full of ancient sorcery. However，what followed this ceremony is really attractive-young men and women would go for a spring outing and romance，and its wonderful scene was vividly described in Shi Jing（The Book of Songs）.

上巳节的活动内容，历代都有变化。汉代又增加了临水宴宾和求子。魏晋以后，上巳改为三月三。东晋书法家王羲之的《兰亭集序》，记载了当时的文人墨，客在绍兴兰亭修禊，吟诗饮酒，曲水流觞的风流雅事，这是许多人都熟知的掌故。唐代，每逢此节，皇帝要在曲江大宴群臣，民间男女也喜欢到水边饮宴游玩，长安一带还有斗百草游戏。明清以后，祓禊逐渐淡出，衍变为春游，民间有流杯、流卵、流枣、乞子、戴柳圈、探春、踏、吃青粳饭、举行歌会等活动内容，生活气息十分浓郁。又由于上巳的时间与清明相近，后来便与清明节合而唯为一。今天的许多青年人则已经只知道清明节而不知道上巳节了。

The activities of the Shangsi Festival have varied with times. The entertainment feast and praying for descendants along the riverside wee added in the Han Dynasty（206BC-220AD）.It was after the Wei and Jin dynasties （220AD-420AD）that the Shangsi Festival developed into the Double-Third Festival. The calligrapher Wang Xizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty（317AD-420AD）recorded in his Preface to the Collectionof Lanting Poems about how those men of pen took a bath to get rid of filth and how they chanted poems while drinking from the drifting cups along the winding river. These well-known stories have become literary river. These well-known stories have become literary anecdotes in history. Whenever this festival came in the Tang Dynasty（618AD-907AD），the emperpor would feast all his followers beside the river while the people，both men and women，would enjoy drinking，going sight-seeing or cricket-fighting as practiced in the area of the City of Chang’an，along the river. After the Ming and Qing dunasties（1368AD-1911AD），the practice of taking a bath to get rid of filth gradually developed into a spring outing which was featured with lively activities like drifting cups，drifting eggs，drifting dates，throwing-stone，wearing willow-wreath，exploring for spring，hiking，having glutinous rice and antiphonal. As the shangsi Festival is very close in time to the Clear-and-Bright result，many young people today only know something about the Clear-and-Bright Festival but have no idea about the Shangsi Festival.

而在一部分地区，又有三月节或三月会的习惯，究其时间，也总是在三月三。

In some regions there has been a custom of observing the third Lunar Month Festival or the Third Lunar Month Fair，which is always held on the third day of the third lunar month.

在四川忠县一带，则流传着一则感人肺腑的传说。战国时，巴蔓子是川东巴国将领，当时邻国入侵，求楚国相助，楚国出兵获胜后，要挟巴国要送给楚国三座城池。为了保护城池，巴蔓子割颈自刎。楚国大为震撼，不得不退了兵。当地百姓十分感激巴蔓子，为他立了个庙，叫做土主庙。三月三是他自刎的日子，每年这一天，人们都要抬着巴幔蔓子的神像绕城游行，隆重纪念他。家家张灯结彩，燃放爆竹，人们都用这样一种方式来纪念这位了不起的英雄。

A moving legend was often told around the area of Zhongxian County，Sichuan Province. It was about a famous Ba general，Bamanzi，in Eastern Sichuan. At the time of the invasion by a neighboring state，the Ba State had to ask for military help from the Chu State. But after they won the battle，the Chu State asked the Ba State to give it three cities in return. To preserve these cities，Bamanzi killed himself by cutting his neck with a sword. Shocked by his death，the Chu State withdrew its army. The local people built a temple named Tuzhu Temple to show their gratitude and respect for bamanzi. As he died on the third day of the third lunar month，people would hang up lanterns，set off firecrackers and carry Bamanzi’s portrait in a parade around the city in honor of this great hero on this day of the year.

三月三,同时又是我国南方许多少数民族的传统节日,流行在壮、侗、布依、水、仫佬、毛南、苗、瑶、畲等民族中间。

In South China，the Double-Third Festival is also a traditional festival among many ethnic minorities like Zhuang，Dong，Bouyei，Shui，Oroqen，Maonan，Yao and She.

壮族，一般在这天赶歌圩，搭歌棚，举办歌会，让青年男女对歌、碰蛋、抛绣球，谈情说爱。传说壮族历史上有位歌仙刘三姐，又称刘三妹。她擅长歌唱，三位秀才来对歌，都败在她手下。后来她骑着鲤鱼上了天，在广西一带留下不少佳话。后人纪念她，把三月三叫做“歌仙节”。

On the third day of the third lunar month every year，the Zhuang ethnic group will gather in the open to set up a singing tent and take part in a singing party，where young men and women sing in antiphonal style，bump eggs，throw embroidered balls，and ecpress their love toeach other. There was once a Zhuang girl called Liu Sanjie （Third Sister Liu），who was very good at singing and even defeated three young men with her witty singing，according to the legend. She later went up to Heaven on the back of a carp and became the Singing Goddess. To honor her，people gave another name to the third day of the third lunar month，“the Singing goddess Day”.

侗族，多在这天抢花炮、斗牛、斗鸟、对歌、踩堂，又称“花炮节”。

The Dong ethnic group calls the Double-Third Festival“Firework-Scrambling festival”，when people compete for firework-scrambling（a round，iron ring，5 cm in diameter with red cloth or silk twined around it），go for bull-fighting or bird fighting，sing in antiphonal style and have caitang dances.

布依族，在这天杀猪祭社神、山神，吃黄色糯米饭，各个村寨之间，好几天不相往来。

On the day of the Double-Third Festival，the Bouyei ethnic group would busy themselves with celebrating the worship of the mountain and community gods with pigs and steaming glutinous rice，too busy to visit the neighboring villages for several days.

瑶、黎、水、畲等各个民族也都有他们自己独特的节俗，我们无法一一细说，不过从中传达出来的节日情怀，却是相通的。

Other ethnic groups like the Miao，Yao and She，usually hold various activities rich in ethnic flavor，which cannot be mentioned one by one，but their featival atmosphere is the same.