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Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday that is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The festival has a history of over 2000 years and is one of the most important and colorful Chinese cultural celebrations.

The festival commemorates the life and death of Qu Yuan, a famous poet and statesman of the Warring States Period in ancient China. Legend has it that Qu Yuan drowned himself in a river when his country was invaded and conquered by the enemies. Local people raced their boats in the river, looking for his body and throwing rice dumplings into the water to feed his soul.

Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated with dragon boat racing, where teams compete in long, colorful boats designed like dragons. The boats are adorned with bright colors, dragon heads, and tails, and are manned by teams of paddlers rowing in unison to the beat of drums. The race represents the search for Qu Yuan’s body and is a way for people to honor his memory and show their unity and strength as a community.

In addition to the dragon boat racing, there are other customs associated with the Dragon Boat Festival. One of the most popular traditions is the eating of zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves and filled with meat, egg, or other ingredients. The dumplings are said to have been thrown into the river to keep fish from eating Qu Yuan’s body and have since become a symbol of the festival.

Overall, the Dragon Boat Festival is a vibrant and festive holiday that celebrates Chinese culture, history, and unity. It is a time for people to come together, compete in races, and enjoy traditional foods while honoring the memory of a revered poet and statesman.

On this page, you will find congratulations, messages, wishes and quotes about the festival.

 

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