What is Dragon Boat Festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Heavy martial Festival, Tianzhong Festival, etc., is a large folk festival that combines offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors, praying for good luck and warding off evil spirits, celebrating entertainment and eating.The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of natural gods, evolved from the ancient sacrificial dragon. Midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon in the center of the south, in the year’s most “positive” position, For example, the fifth line of the Book of Changes – Qian Gua Gua: “Flying dragon in the air.” Dragon Boat Festival is the auspicious day of “flying dragon”, dragon boat culture has been running through the historical heritage of the Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and Chinese cultural circles. According to legend, Qu Yuan, a poet in the state of Chu during the Warring States Period, committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month, Later people will also be the Dragon Boat Festival as a memorial to Qu Yuan festival; Also commemorates Wu Zixu, Cao E, Jie Zitui and so on. The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival covers ancient astrological culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects of the content,It contains profound and rich cultural connotation and integrates various folk customs in the inheritance and development. Different places differ in the content or details of customs due to different regional cultures.
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of China’s four traditional festivals, along with the Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival. In 2023, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on Thursday, June 22. China will have a three-day holiday from Thursday (June 22) to Saturday (June 24). Besides the Chinese mainland, many other Asian countries and regions also celebrate the festival. In Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan, it is called “Meat Festival”. Learn more facts about the Dragon Boat Festival.
Dragon Boat Festival customs
1. Dragon Boat Festival food zong
Reed, that is, “Reed flower”, commonly known as zongzi, the main material is glutinous rice, inside the filling, with reed leaves (or Shu leaves) package, a variety of shapes, pointed, quadrangular and so on. Zongzi has a long history and was originally used to offer sacrifices to ancestors and gods. In ancient times, to worship Qu Yuan who threw himself into a river, People in Jingchu would boil glutinous rice or steamed zongzi on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and throw them into the river because they were afraid that fish would eat them. Later, eating zongzi became the custom of the Dragon Boat Festival.
2. Dragon boat race
There are several theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. The most familiar one is to commemorate Qu Yuan.According to legend, the origin of the ancient Chu people because they could not let the wise minister Qu Yuan died in the river, many people rowed boats to chase and save. They hurried to Dongting Lake and lost sight of him. Since then, dragon boats have been rowed on May 5 every year to commemorate the dead. By rowing dragon boats to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish do not eat Qu Yuan’s body.
3. hanging mugwort hanging calamus
On Dragon Boat Festival day, people hang wormwood or calamus in front of the yard and under the eaves, because both are herbs and mosquitoes are afraid of the smell and can act as repellents.Because it is the summer solstice, the heat and cold, every household will clean the yard on this day, wormwood inserted in the door, sterilization.
4. Tethering five-color silk thread
Another important custom of the Dragon Boat Festival is to tie the five-color silk thread, also known in some places as the renewal of life wisp, renewal of life silk, longevity thread, longevity wisp, etc.. Generally, with five colors of thread rolled into colored string, or make a variety of shapes of trinkets, in the Dragon Boat Festival Day, hanging on the wrists of children, ankles, or neck, it is said to avoid disasters and diseases, blessing well-being, longevity and longevity.
Some places known as the collection of five poisons, Dragon Boat Festival, girls should be pinned on the chest “bindings”, it is said that this cloth with colored silk thread sewn, look similar to the zongzi can drive away evil. Boys are hanging a gourd around the neck, which is collected into the “five poisons” pattern, meaning “collected” the five poisons
Some areas are known as wearing incense sacs, Dragon Boat Festival children wearing incense sacs, the legend has the intention of warding off evil and drive away the plague, the actual is used to decorate the lapel head embellishment. Incense sacs with vermilion, yellow, incense, wrapped in silk cloth, fragrant, and then with five-color silk thread strings buckled into a rope for a variety of different shapes, knotted into a string of shapes and colors, exquisite and lovely.
5. Boiled eggs
Dragon Boat Festival day with mugwort leaves, cat’s eye, walnut leaves and some other insecticidal, detoxifying herbs boiled eggs, Shandong Linyi area Dragon Boat Festival day, children from home with herbs boiled eggs touch, whose eggs broken to eat. Children believe that the eggs can not touch others because the number of herbs put less.
6. Drink Xionghuang wine, kill poison to avoid evil
Dragon Boat Festival drinking Xiong Huang wine origin, also related to the qu yuan. Legend has it that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, people in order to prevent the dragon from eating Qu Yuan’s remains, they have thrown into the river zongzi. There is an old doctor, will be a jar of Xiong Huang wine poured into the river, said it can be drug stunned dragon. After a short time, the water did float up a dragon. People then dragged the dragon to the shore, tendons and skin, the dragon tendons wrapped around the children’s necks and wrists, and then used Xionghuang wine in the children’s ears, nose, forehead, hands, feet and other places, hoping that the children can be protected from insects and snakes.
Dragon Boat Festival Greetings
- The Dragon Boat Festival is in mid-summer; the time is clear, and the day is long
- Summer color leaning on the green mugwort, zongxiang gift beautiful
- The world, “zong” love lake and mountain
- The best taste, to the most “zong” want people
- The rice dumplings are love, rice dumplings with wine can not
- Zong leaves fragrant May 5, strong feelings Dragon Boat Festival together with wellbeing. 7.
- The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching midsummer, not to lose the time to win the time
- Long zong grass, the earth’s fragrance, year after year are as wished, year after year long peace and prosperity
- Good health at the Dragon Boat Festival, all things will go well
- Five grain wine on the table, everywhere fragrant to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival
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