What is the history of the Dragon Boat Festival? The hanging of calamus and moxa on the front door, the pasting up pictures of Chung Kuei, drinking hsiung huang wine and holding fragrant sachets are said to possess qualities for preventing evil and bringing peace. The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. For more on China-focused articles visit inkstonenews.com (www.inkstonenews.com) or subscribe to our newsletter via inkstonenews.com/newsletter for the latest China-related stories. Dragon boats are long and thin. Some places even make a mixed sweet and savory filling for the zongzi. Divorced from most of its cultural associations with the traditional folk holiday, this sport has recently gained popularity with people around the world, including in the United States. The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival, Duānwǔ Jié, Double Fifth, Tuen Ng Jit) is a traditional holiday that commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). Two prevailing stories are often cited to explain the origin of this age-old holiday. Traditionally, the fifth lunar month was considered to be an unlucky time. The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 or Duānwǔjié in pīnyīn) is an official public holiday in Mainland China.
In 278 BC, Qu Yuan, a poet and a politician, drowned himself in a river to protest the corruption of officials that led to the fall of his state, Chu, which was located in modern-day Hubei, a province in central China. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was in such despair that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River. For more details, see our Privacy Policy. 2023 – Thursday June 22nd. China will have 3 days of holiday from Thursday (June 25) to Saturday (June 27), and we will be back at work on Sunday, June 28.
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Eventually, his dispair in the face of the political situation drove him to commit suicide by drowning himself in Hunan Province’s Miluo River. The boat can have up to 80 rowers to power the boat, depending on the length. Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. There are a number of delicious dishes in Chinese cuisine, some of which are famous all over the world. The story of Qu Yuan’s suicide is often used to explain the dragon boat racing tradition. According to this explanation, the custom is thought to have originated in southern China’s Guangdong Province along the Pearl River Delta. Married Daughters Hidding in Their Parents’ Home. More. The most common length for a race, however, is 500 meters (1,640 feet). The perfume pouches are said to protect them from evil. It is a special kind of dumpling usually made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. Some other food items throughout the different regions include: A fried round cake made of wheat and rice flour, more commonly found in the Fujian Province. The holiday celebrates the patriot poet Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Miluo River during the Warring States period more than 2,000 years ago. The Dragon Boat Festival is a celebration where many eat rice dumplings (zongzi), drink realgar wine (xionghuangjiu), and race dragon boats. Simple Facts to Understand Dragon Boat Festival It's a traditional festival full of traditions and superstitions, maybe originating from dragon worship; an event on the sporting calendar; and a day of remembrance/worship for Qu Yuan, Wu Zixu, and Cao E. The festival has long been a traditional holiday in China. On October 1, 2020, the Harvest Moon will light up the sky. The Dragon Boat Festival is also called Duanwu Festival, and is famous for both the Dragon Boat Races and an exiled poet Qu Yuan who committed suicide in the Pre-Qin Period. When is the time change? Want to learn more about the festival or how you can support? Unable to find him and worried that fish would eat his body, they threw balls of sticky rice into the river in hopes that the fish would choose the rice over Qu Yuan. Learn more facts about the Dragon Boat Festival. Like other Chinese festivals, there is also a legend behind the festival.
This traditional holiday, also called the Double Fifth festival, is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar (called 农历 or nónglì in Chinese). Qu Yuan spent his exile in a productive manner, writing many works of poetry, but his mind was troubled.
Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. This traditional holiday, also called the Double Fifth festival, is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar (called 农历 or nónglì in Chinese).
In most parts of China, the weather is quite good at this time of year, and people congregate outside on the banks of rivers and lakes to enjoy the fine weather while watching traditional dragon boat races. The distance covered by racers can vary from 100 to 2,000 meters (328 to 6,562 feet). Zòngzi are a type of pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and stuffed with various sweet or savory fillings. The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival, Duānwǔ Jié, Double Fifth, Tuen Ng Jit) is a traditional holiday that commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). The Dragon Boat Festival is called Duan Wu Jie in Chinese. Wen Yiduo suggested that the festival may be closely associated with dragons because two of its most important activities, boat racing and eating zongzi, have ties to dragons. It is said that the winning team will have good luck and a happy life in the following year. Now, dragon boat races and other activities are held annually throughout ten sites in Hong Kong during this festive time.
The Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 or Duānwǔjié in pīnyīn) is an official public holiday in Mainland China. The legend goes that after his death, local villagers who sympathized with Qu beat drums and thrashed the water with paddles, flinging rice balls into the water in order to keep fish from eating his remains.
Today you may see zongzi in different shapes and with a variety of fillings.
Many believe that the Dragon Boat Festival originated in ancient China based on the suicide of the poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom, Qu Yuan in 278 BCE. Savory zòngzi might be stuffed with salted egg yolks, pork or mushrooms. There are also a number of different fillings available, such as egg yolk, lotus seeds, ham, red bean paste, rose, melon, date, chestnut and pork. Now many of the customs are disappearing, or no longer observed. On the fifth day of the fifth month, people usually clean their houses, courtyards, and hang mugwort and calamus on doors lintels to discourage diseases. It is related to Qu Yuan commemoration, as the legend says that lumps of rice were thrown into the river to stop fish eating his drowned body.
In these settings, instead of watching from the bank, villagers sometimes row their family boats out into the river so that they can get a closer look at the dragon boats during the race. The Dragon Boat Festival is held at the start of summer, when diseases are more prevalent. They are a kind of sticky rice dumpling made of glutinous rice filled with meats, beans, and other fillings. Qu Yuan’s suicide is only one of the explanations that have been advanced, however. Where to Celebrate Chinese New Year in Taiwan, Februarius - Month of February in the Roman Calendar, The Story Behind the Double Happiness Symbol, 10 Mythical Beasts Inspired by Prehistoric Animals, B.A., East Asian Studies, Brown University.
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Many of these informal races are held in communities where people have a close relationship with nearby bodies of water and most families own their own boats. Almost every Chinese holiday has a specific food or foods associated with it, and Dragon Boat Festival is no different. 2021 – Monday June 14th. During Dragon Boat Festival perfume pouches are hung around kids' necks or tied to the front of a garment as an ornament. Learn more about Dragon Boat Festival Food. In mainland China, there are also various informal races organized by local villages and communities. Over the years, dragon boat racing has developed into a sport with a variety of rules and regulations. He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. The zong zi is a glutinous rice ball with a filling and wrapped in corn leaves. The most popular theory of the origin of the festival is that it was derived from the commemoration of a great patriot poet, Qu Yuan. Read on to find out more about how Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated. During races, the boats are fitted out with a colorful dragon head and tail. How do people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival? During his time in exile, Qu Yuan had become quite popular with the local people. He was a wise and erudite man. In recent years, however, Dragon Boat Festival has regained its traditional place as an important holiday in Mainland China.