The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival

Duanwu Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, its time to race in dragon-shaped boats, eat delicious rice balls called ”Zongzi”... Let us tell you all about it and discover the many other customs associated with this holiday!

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

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races. This regatta commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. Qu Yuan was also a famous Chinese poet, and minister known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry, who eventually became a national hero. Dragon boat racing is the most important activity of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said to originate from the legend of people paddling out on boats to seek the body of Qu Yuan who drowned himself in a River.

And people mourned the death of Qu Yuan by throwing rice into the river.They wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different-colored threads before tossing it into the river. That’s the origin of Zong zi rice-dumpling.

There are also some other customs or activities for Chinese people celebrating this festival. 

Hanging Chinese Mugwort and Calamus on top of a door, meant to deter insects.

The Dragon Boat Festival is held at the start of summer when diseases are more prevalent. Mugwort leaves are used medicinally in China to combat such diseases. Their fragrance deters flies and mosquitoes. Calamus is an aquatic plant that has similar effects.

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 also said hanging mugwort and calamus can bring good luck to the family.

Drink realgar wine

Realgar wine or Xionghuang wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink that is made from Chinese liquor dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral. It was traditionally used as a pesticide, and as a common antidote against disease and venom. On the Dragon Boat Festival, people may put realgar wine on parts of children's faces to repel the poisonous creatures.

Wear 5-colored silk-threaded braid

In some regions of China, people, especially children, wear silk ribbons or threads of 5 colors (blue, red, yellow, white, and black, representing the five elements) on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. People believe that this will help keep evil away.

"Safe and Healthy Dragon Boat Festival" is a popular greeting in the Dragon Boat Festival, SEEKMIND WISH you safe and healthy for ever!