What's Dragon Boat Festival In China?

Subject index:

How much do you know about Dragon Boat Festival?

Why is the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated?

What's the moral of  Dragon Boat Day?

How many kinds of Zongzi ?

How to make Zong Zi ?

What's Dragon Boats Racing ?

Poems for the Dragon Boat Festival

How much do you know about Dragon Boat Festival?

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival,the 5th day of the 5th lunar month has had a history of more than 2000 years, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, the festival has been marked by eating zong zi (glutinous rice（糯米）wrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats.

It is on May 30th this year. People will have a three-day holiday during May 28~30.Today, along with eating zongzi, thousands of races are held around China and the world. It is suggested you visit China during that time and you will have a chance to enjoy this unique festival.The train tickets and air tickets might be a little bit hard to come by. You need to book them at least two weeks ahead. Also book the hotel in advance just in case.

In recent years, the Dragon Boat Festival has moved beyond China to become an international holiday celebrated by people who may know little about the holiday’s origins.

Flower baths and massages were also popular health remedies during the festival.

Defined by Chinese lunar calendar, the date of Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month according to lunar calendar, so the Gregorian date varies every year, and hereunder is the holiday schedule from 2016 to 2021.

Why is the Dragon Boat Festival celebrated?

With a history over 2,000 years, it used to be a hygiene day when people would use herbs to dispel diseases and viruses. However, the most popular origin is closely related to the great poet Qu Yuan in the Warring States Period (475 – 221BC). To engrave his death on the fifth day on the fifth lunar month, people celebrate the festival in various ways. Great people like Wu Zixu and Cao E also died on the same day, so in certain areas, people also commemorate them during the festival.

Qu Yuan

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces where there are many rivers and lakes. Thisregatta（赛舟会）commemorates the death of Qu Yuan , an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during theWarring States Period(475-221BC)（战国时期）. He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that brought peace and prosperity to the state. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, he was disgraced and dismissed from office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to even recover his body. Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually conquered by the State of Qin.

What's the moral of  Dragon Boat Day?

In ancient times, people considered this day to be the most evil and disruptive of the year, a time often marked by oppressive humid weather and storms as the seasons changed. Various physical and spiritual methods were adopted in the hope of keeping people healthy.In southern and eastern China, they would hang wormwood leaves on their doors to ward off evil spirits. Eating eggs boiled with the leaves was also believed to help.

To keep them healthy in body and mind, children wore bracelets woven from colored threads, each representing the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. For similar effects, xionghuang jiu, rice wine mixed with a tiny bit of realgar, was a common drink during the Dragon Boat Festival. Parents would dab a little on the cheeks, noses and ears of their children.

Dragon Boat Festival opening on May 30th,2017.The people who are from all over the country,Qu Yuan progeny and local guests that  hold a series of activities like recite poetry, dragon boat racing and sacrificial practices, to remember the poet Qu Yuan in Qu Yuan's hometown.

(Thanks for ..........CN)

What's the traditions & customs on Dragon Boat Festival?

1. Eating Zong Zi

Most Chinese festivals are observed by eating a particular food as a custom, and the Dragon Boat Festival is no exception. Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves, is the special food eaten on the day. It has various fillings. In north China, people favor the jujubes as the filling, while the south sweetened bean paste, fresh meat, or egg yolk. Nowadays, Zongzi already becomes a common food, which can be easily found in supermarkets. However, some families still retain the tradition to make Zongzi on the festival day.

2.Dragon Boats Racing

Dragon boats are thus named because the fore and stern of the boat is in a shape of traditional Chinese dragon. A team of people works the oars in a bid to reach the destination before other teams. One team member sits at the front of the boat beating a drum in order to maintain morale and ensure that the rowers keep in time with one another. Legend holds that the race originates from the idea of the people who rowed their boats to save Qu Yuan after he drowned himself. Now it has turned to be a sport event not only held in China, but also observed in Japan, Vietnam, and Britain.

Actually, not all dragon boat races only occur on the 30th May, 2017. Several places in China held this race every year. Most of them start from the mid of April and last until the Dragon Boat Festival. There are preliminary contest, intermediary contest and final match during this period.

3. Wearing  Colors Bracelet

People think the colors braided thread bracelet could bring lucky , and evilness-exorcising and fortune-impetrating.

4.Hanging Sachets

Children would hang sachet with different style the legend has the meaning of evil explosion explosion (the ancients think that the monster body because of their appearance), is actually used for internal head decoration decoration. Sweet, cinnabar, realgar, fragrant silk cloth, fragrance overflowing, and then to the colored silk thread rope buckle, a variety of different shapes, forming a series, variety, small cute.

Colors Boho ethnic pendant                                                          Ethnical  Pom pom hang decoration

Click these design on Duosen Fashion.

5.Drawing realgar wine

6.Hanging up icons of Zhong Kui

7.Hanging mugwort and calamus on the door

You have branches on your door, too! Why do people do that around the time of Dragon Boat Festival?

Artemisia argyi high in front of dance, sickness, driving away evil gas, anti-Wudu, happily the Dragon Boat Festival.

8.DIY tiger-head shoes and wear bellyband

China Baoji folk handicraft, Embroidered infantile shoes, tiger head shaped, rayon vamp, cotton innersole & lining, green.

There are children wearing tiger-head hat, wearing a tiger-head shoes for evil, there are people sleeping on tiger-head to make themselves stronger.

9.Eating eggs

There are a traditional activities include a game of making an egg stand at noon (this "game" implies that if someone succeeds in making the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon, that person will receive luck for the next year), and writing spells. 

10.Drawig the pattern of Five Poisons

There is a saying"The Dragon Boat Festival, the weather is hot. WuDu awake, no peace."  The five poisons are scorpions, snakes, centipedes, geckos and toads.

Shop the sale of the oven fresh " cake", that is, worm pattern in five of the cake for decoration.

11.Washs feeds or have a shower by moxa leaf water

A child washes feet for an old man using moxa leaf water.

Mothers bath their children using moxa leaf water during an event at Guizhou township.

Girls washs the hair by moxa leaf water as effective in preventing disease or evil,whole promoting health and well-being.

How many kinds of Zongzi ?

1. Traditional flavors

(1) Red bean paste zongzi

(2) Pork meat (pork belly) zongzi 

2.Innovative and creative flavors

Icy dumplings: Bite-sized

(1) Blueberry Yogurt  Flavor

The sweet, tangy refreshing taste of yoghut combines with large blueberries for a burst of summer tastes.

(2) Coconut Pandan Flavor

Inspored by Singapore's gorgeous cake,this coconut jelly cake has an irresistible and refreshing taste.

Pandan is very common in Singapore.

(3) Teavana Peach Flavor

Inspired by your teavana iced shaken peach green tea, the juicy white peach combines with the fragrance of green tea for a sweet,fresh treat.

(4) Starbucks Cold Brew Flavor

Inspired by our Starbucks Cold Brew coffee ,these dumplongs with their rich,mellow coffee flavor are perfect for summer afternoons.

Cold Brew available in Starbucks stores nationwide from Aprol 18.

How to make Zong Zi ?

During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans,lotus seeds（莲子）,chestnuts（栗子）, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.

The traditional rice dumpling usually has red bean paste, jujube or salted pork as the filling. Some are made without filling, leaving the sticky rice ball to be flavored with sugar or soy sauce.New flavors have also sprung up to cater to modern, young and increasingly sophiscated palates. Rice dumplings filled with abalone, shark's fin and foie gras are now available.Whatever they are filled with, zongzi will be snapped up by hungry dragon boat racers.

Zongzi is available all year round at street stalls, supermarkets and restaurants, with prices ranging from 2 yuan to as much as 30 yuan ($5, 4 euros) depending on the filling.

A woman buys bamboo leaves used to make zongzi, a traditional food eaten around Dragon Boat Festival, from a street peddler.Many people make their own zongzi instead of buying them from stores."We dusted our home, wore festive accessories and rowed the dragon boat. Now we eat zongzi and go on family".

What's Dragon Boats Racing ?

Like canoeing, dragon boat racing requires not only strength, but also skill and team spirit, and with usually 30 people needed to propel a boat, whole communities will gather to cheer on their team. All levels of races are held in villages, towns and cities during the festival.

The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu's body. A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length, with a beam of about 5.5 feet, accommodating two paddlers seated side by side.

There's a joke circulating the Web: Marx left us tons of inscrutable texts to rack our brains, and Qu Yuan gave us three days off. Luckily, it is Chinese who take care of their compatriots.

A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at thestern（船尾）. A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers,gong（铜锣）beaters andcymbal（铙钹）players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers. There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers, toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu. All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike. The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations, and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.

The Dragon Boat Festival takes on different meanings and rituals when celebrated in Japan and South Korea, and it came as somewhat of a surprise to China, when South Korea successfully registered its version of the festival as an intangible cultural property with UNESCO in 2005.

However, this at least prompted China to reflect on how it had been preserving the Duanwu traditions, and in 2008 the festival was listed as a national holiday.

Poems for the Dragon Boat Festival

端 午
（唐）文 秀

节分端午自谁言，万古传闻为屈原；
堪笑楚江空渺渺，不能洗得直臣冤。 

七律.端午 
（唐）殷尧藩

少年佳节倍多情，老去谁知感慨生；
不效艾符趋习俗，但祈蒲酒话升平。
鬓丝日日添白头，榴锦年年照眼明；
千载贤愚同瞬息，几人湮没几垂名。

竞 渡 歌（节录）
（唐）张建封

五月五日天晴明，杨花绕江啼晓鹰；
使君未出郡斋外，江上早闻齐和声；
使君出时皆有准，马前已被红旗引；
两岸罗衣扑鼻香，银钗照日如霜刃；
鼓声三下红旗开，两龙跃出浮水来；
棹影斡波飞万剑，鼓声劈浪鸣千雷；
鼓声渐急标将近，两龙望标目如瞬；
坡上人呼霹雳惊，竿头彩挂虹霓晕；
前船抢水已得标，后船失势空挥挠。

节 令门.端 阳
（清）李静山

樱桃桑椹与菖蒲，更买雄黄酒一壶。
门外高悬黄纸帖，却疑账主怕灵符。

七 律.端午
老 舍

端午偏逢风雨狂，村童仍着旧衣裳；
相邀情重携蓑笠，敢为泥深恋草堂；
有客同心当骨肉，无钱买酒卖文章；
当年此会鱼三尺，不似今朝豆味香。

Refer:

News.cn:  《屈原故里举办端午文化节》

Bigear: Dragon Boat Festival

Travelchinaguide: Dragon Boat Festival

China Daily : Day of the dumpling,Dragon Boat Festival celebrations heat up,Qu Yuan's hometown prepares for Duanwu Festival

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