Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival) falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. For thousands of years, the Festival has been characterized by dragon boat racing, and eating Zongzi. This holiday will provide ample chances for all to be involved in celebrations.
It is a folk festival widely passed down with a history of over two thousand years, and one of the most important festivals as well. There are various celebrating activities on the day of Dragon Boat Festival, among which eating rice dumplings (Zongzi, the steamed glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) and dragon boat race are important customs.
There will be a 3-day holiday for the coming Dragon Boat Festival, starting from May 28 (Sunday) to May 30 (Tuesday, the Dragon Boat Festival).
The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant holiday celebrated in China, and the one with the longest history. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated by boat races in the shape of dragons. Competing teams row their boats forward to a drumbeat racing to reach the finish end first.
The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are traditional customs to attempts to rescue the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan drowned on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned into the custom of eating tzung tzu and rice dumplings. The celebration's is a time for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year. It is done so by different practices such as hanging healthy herbs on the front door, drinking nutritious concoctions, and displaying portraits of evil's nemesis, Chung Kuei. If one manages to stand an egg on it's end at exactly 12：00 noon, the following year will be a lucky one.
Dragon Boat race Traditions:At the center of this festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by the villager's valiant attempts to rescue Qu Yuan from the Mi Luo river. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries.
Tzung Tzu ：A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is tzung tzu. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of tzung tzu is meant to remind us of the village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Mi Low river in order to appease the river dragons so that they would not devour Qu Yuan.
Ay Taso:The time of year of the Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth lunar moon, has more significance than just the story of Qu Yuan. Many Chinese consider this time of year an especially dangerous time when extra efforts must be made to protect their family from illness. Families will hang various herbs, called Ay Tsao, on their door for protection. The drinking of realgar wine is thought to remove poisons from the body. Hsiang Bao are also worn. These sachets contain various fragrant medicinal herbs thought to protect the wearer from illness.
