1. The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
2. This festival has a long history and is one of the most significant traditional holidays in China. It is marked by dragon boat races, where teams rowcolorful boats to the beat of drums, racing to the finish line.
3. The origin of the festival is related to the attempt to rescue the patriotic poet, Qu Yuan, who drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 BC. To prevent fish from eating his body, people threw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. This tradition later evolved into the eating of zongzi and rice dumplings.
4. During the festival, people also practice rituals such as hanging healthy herbs on the front door, drinking realgar wine, and displaying portraits of Chung Kuei, the nemesis of evil, to seek protection from evil and disease.
5. The Dragon Boat Festival provides an opportunity to glimpse China's rich cultural heritage, with practices like dragon boat races and the eating of zongzi demonstrating cooperation and teamwork.
6. In the West, the festival is commonly known as Dragon Boat Festival. Although its origins are unclear, one traditional view attributes the festival to the memory of Qu Yuan, a renowned poet and statesman who drowned himself due to his disgust with the corruption of the Chu government.
金彩汇快37. The festival is not only celebrated in China but also in other parts of East Asia. In the early years of the Chinese Republic, Duanwu Festival was also celebrated as Poets' Day, honoring Qu Yuan's status as China's first renowned poet.