[交流] 【Activity】The dragon boat festival

The dragon boat festival

Introduction to the Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival - also called Double Fifth Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals.The Dragon Boat Festival has been celebrated for thousands of years to commemorate Qu Yuan, a great patriotic poet who lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 B.C. to 221B.C.). He drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province in 278 B.C. on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, hoping his death would encourage the king to revitalize the kingdom. The tradition arose that on the day of his death dragon boat races would be held and people should eat "zongzi" (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves).


Dragon Boat Races

Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by people's attempts to rescue Qu Yuan from the Miluo River. This tradition has been handed down for centuries.


Zongzi

A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat Festival, Zongzi which mainly consist of glutinous rice with other ingredients such as meat, peanuts, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of the fishermen who scattered rice into the water of the Miluo River to appease the river dragons so they would not devour Qu Yuan.


Aicao (Wormwood)

Apart from the legend of Qu Yuan, the Dragon Boat Festival of the fifth lunar month is significant in many places. Many Chinese people consider this time of year to be an especially dangerous time when illness is common, thus extra efforts must be made to protect their family. Families hang "Aicao" (wormwood) on their doors for protection. The drinking of or rubbing with "realgar wine" is also thought to remove poisons from the body.