According to the folk legend, the 2nd day of the second lunar month is the very day for the dragon king who is in charge of clouds and rains to raise his head. After that day, there will be more and more rain, so that day is also called Spring Dragon Day. Most Chinese northern farmers believe that with the help of that day, all stores, big and small, will be full of grain. Every year when this day comes, those Chinese northern people will carry the lanterns, in the morning to fetch water from the wells and the rivers. They will light the candles, burn incense¹ and play tribute² to the dragon king. In the old times people called this "welcome the fields dragon." On that day, all the families will eat noodles or fried³ glutinous⁴ rice blocks, and pop corn to enjoy happiness.

根据民间传说，农历二月初二是长官云雨的龙王抬头之日。过了龙抬头这天，雨水充沛，所以这天被称为春龙界。中国北方的农民深信龙抬头后雨水充足这事，到时粮仓无论大小都会装满粮食。每当春龙节到来，中国北方都会舞龙，大部分地区在这天早晨家家户户打着灯笼到井边或河边挑水。回到家里便点灯、烧香、上供，理发（有习俗正月理发死舅舅）。旧时，人们把这种仪式叫做“引田龙”。这一天，家家户户还要吃面条、炸油糕、爆玉米花（比作为“挑龙头”、“吃龙胆”、“金豆开花，龙王升天，兴云布雨，五谷丰登”），以示吉庆。

A popular fairy tale in the north of China can tell the origin of the day. When Wu Zetian, the empress, in the Tang Dynasty came into power, the Heaven God was so angry that he ordered the dragon kings to stop raining for 3 years. Soon after this, the dragon king who was in charge of the heaven river heard the bitter cries from the folk, saw many people starve to death. He was afraid that there would be no life in no time. Then he went against the Heaven God's order and gave the folk a heavy rain. Because of this, the dragon king was thrown into the folk world by the Heaven God and pressed under a large mountain.

北方庆春龙节还因为另外一个传说。相传唐朝，武则天登位做了皇帝，玉帝大怒，命令龙王三年之内不能降雨。但龙王日日听闻百姓哭泣，见无数百姓音饥饿而死，他担心很快地球上就没有生命了。于是他违背玉帝旨意，给老百姓降了一场大雨。玉帝得知后，将司掌天河的玉龙打下天宫，压在一座大山下面。（山下还立了一块碑，上面写道：龙王降雨犯天规，当受人间千秋罪。要想重登灵霄阁，除非金豆开花时。）

Then the folk hurried to look for gold beans everywhere in order to save him from the pressure. On the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month the next year, when people were drying the corn seeds in the sun, they thought of the corn seeds as gold beans because when they were roasted, they would pop in blossom⁵ like gold beans. So all the families began to pop corn and burn incense and put gold beans on desks. When the dragon king raised his head, he knew the folk were trying to save him, so he shouted to the God, "Gold beans are in blossom, so let me out." After the Heaven God saw all gold beans in blossom in all families, he had to give his order to ask the dragon king to return to the heaven palace and go on with his job of making clouds and rains for the folk. Since then, it has been the folk custom to eat pop corn on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month. In fact, after the 2nd lunar month, since there will be more and more rain which marks the end of little-rain winter. This is a clear characteristic of the monsoon⁶ climate in North China.

人们为了拯救龙王，到处寻找开花的金豆。到了第二年二月初二这一天，人们正在翻晒金黄的玉米种子，猛然想起，这玉米就象金豆，炒开了花，不就是金豆开花吗？于是家家户户爆玉米花，并在院里设案焚香，供上“开花的金豆”，专让龙王和玉帝看见。龙王知道这是百姓在救它，就大声向玉帝喊到：“金豆开花了，放我出去！”玉帝一看人间家家户户院里金豆花开放，只好传谕，诏龙王回到天庭，继续给人间兴云布雨。从此以后，民间形成了习惯，每到二月二这一天，人们就爆玉米花，也有炒豆的。