Chinese Festival: Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of traditional chinese festival, which usually arrives on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year.  The Dragon Boat Festival is originally a summer holiday removing plague, but later became a exclusive festival in memory of Qu Yuan, a poet of Chu State, after his suicide.

Origin of Dragon Boat Festival
1) In membory of Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan, Minister of Chu State, was expelled from the capital and banished to the Yuan, Xiang District. After Chu State has been invaded, he could not bear to abandon the homeland and jumped into Miluo River. After Qu Yuan’s death, people have flocked to the riverside to reminisce Qu Yuan. A fisherman thrown prepared eggs and other foods into the river which is hoped to feed fish up so that they would not bite Qu Yuan’s body. An old doctor pour realgar wine away down the river, saying that drugs would pass water beast out so as not to hurt the Qu Yuan’s body. Later, people come up with a senior ketupat binded up with neem tree leaves (also called Zongzi).

2) In membory of Wu Zi Xu
It is also said that Dragon Boat Festival was to in membory of Wu Zi Xu, whose faher and brother were killed by the king of Chu State, and later was framed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. After his death, people in Zhejiang and Jiangsu province promoted the Dragon Boat Festival in membory of him.

3) In membory of Cao’e
The third legend of Dragon Boat Festival is in memory of a Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23 – 220) girl named Cao’e, whose father has been sinked to the river for several days. The 14-year-old Cao’e cried day and night along the river. After 17 days later, on the May 5th, eventually, she jumped into the river and and hold the father’s body in her arms. The county governor heard the story and erected a monument to her.

Custom of Dragon Boat Festival

1) Hang Zhong Kui Image
Zhong Kui was folk personage who was good at ghost hunting. In the Huaihe region, every family hangs Zhong Kui Image in the house.

2) Hang moxa leaf and calamus
Hang moxa leaf in the hall. Women wear tiger-shape moxa leaf as phylactery.

3) dragon boat races
Chu people chased boat to rescue Qu Yuan, which is the origin of the dragon boat races.

4) Eat Zongzi
Jingchu people cooked glutinous rice cake put into a bamboo and then thrown them into the river to worship Qu Yuan. Gradually the bamboo was replaced by bamboo leaves.

5) Drink realgar wine
Such custom is very popular during people in the Yangtze River region .

6) Wear sachet
Children wear a small sachet when the Dragon Boat Festival not only as phylactery but also as decoration. Sachet is comprise of cinnabar, realgar, Hong medicine and paked with silk cloth.

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