Dragon Boat Festival
Dolphin Wong
Baidu,China Daily,Wikipedia
2015-06-19 14:03:15
The Dragon Boat Festival is coming.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also often known as the Tuen Ng or Duanwu Festival, is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China.
The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional lunar calendar,also called the Double Fifth Festival. On that day, people will hold dragon boat race, eat Zongzi(sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves), drink realgar wine , hangs Ay Tsao on their front door,and so on.
The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional lunar calendar,also called the Double Fifth Festival. On that day, people will hold dragon boat race, eat Zongzi(sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves), drink realgar wine , hangs Ay Tsao on their front door,and so on.
The story best known in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC), he was a minister in the kingdom of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Huber province, during the Warring States period. Qu Yuan was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that had brought peace and prosperity to kingdom. However,when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu Yuan,he was disgraced and dismissed from his office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu Yuan clasped a large stone and leaped into Mi Lo River on the fifth day of the fifth moon.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him or at least retrieve his body. This is said to have been the origin of dragon boat races. When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of Zongzi.
To some extent,the festival changes with time passing by.But the traditional of holding dragon boat race and eating Zongzi on this day never changed.
Happy Festival Everyone!