端午節 Dragon Boat Festival / Double-fifth Festival
屈原 Chu Yuan
愛國詩人 a patriotic poet
粽子 Zongzi / rice dumpling / Chinese Tamale
糯米 sticky rice / glutinous rice
蛋黃 the egg yolk
豬肉 pork、
香菇 mushroom
大蒜 garlic
牛肉 beef
栗子 chestnut
蝦米 dried shrimp
蔬菜 vegetable
魚肉 fish
豆沙 red bean paste
香包 sachet
艾草 mugwort
菖蒲 calamus
雄黃酒 hsiung huang wine
划龍舟 Dragon Boat race
立蛋 stand an egg
What is the Dragon Boat Festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival, known as 端午節 in mandarin, has been celebrated for thousands of years, which is also one of the three most important traditional Chinese festivals,. It’s a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China. It’s associated with a number of East Asian and southeast Asian traditions in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. The date varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. This year, the holiday will fall on June 2nd. There are many legends about the origins of Dragon Boat Festival. The most famous and widely accepted is the story of a poet from the 3rd century BC. It’s said that the festival is held every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar to commemorate the death of Chu Yuan, a patriotic poet who lived during the warring States Period about 2,000 years ago. It’s good to brush up on some of the history.
Who is Chu Yuan?
Chu Yuan was Minister of State of Chu and one of China’s earliest known poets, who continually slander's by politicians who was exiled by the king.
Without choosing guidance, the state was soon invaded by a neighboring kingdom.
Upon hearing the news, Chu Yuan couldn’t bear the anguish when his motherland was invaded. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, he threw himself into the Milo River and drowned himself. Legend has it that local residents paddled out in boats to retrieve Chu Yuan’s body. This activity gradually evolved into the dragon boat race. In a bid to stop the fish feeding on Chu Yuan, they wrapped rice with fillings inside in bamboo or reed leaves and threw them into the river to distract the fish. This is the origin of the rice dumpling.
The dragon boat racing tradition stems from the legend that local people had paddled out in similar style long boats as they tried to after he drowned in the river.
Chu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Milo River after the capital of Chu, his mother kingdom was overrun by the enemy.
Zongzi / Rice Dumplings
During the Dragon Boat Festival, you must not miss out on eating rice dumplings. Zongzi is a fundamental part of the Dragon Boat Festival and a delicious snack enjoyed by people even today. So, what does a rice dumpling look like?
Fillings such as chestnuts, red bean paste or others are put inside soaked glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. After boiling, you can peel off the leaves and dip the rice dumplings in sugar or other sauces to eat them.
Long ago, Zongzi came in the form of glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and then tied with colored thread. But now the fillings are more diversified and include mushrooms, fresh meat and egg yolks. Sometimes people will spend hours soaking the glutinous rice, washing reed leaves and wrapping up Zongzi by hands. However, these days ready-made Zongzi can be bought almost in every supermarkets and restaurants at this time of the year. The custom of eating Zongzi has now become popular in South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.
Aside from eating Zongzi, the festival comes with many traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation. Let’s find out more on the festival’s long history.
Dragon Boat Race
For thousands of years the festival has been celebrated by eating rice dumplings, which are called Zongzi in mandarin, as well as drinking wine and racing dragon boats. The dragon boat races have become a spectacular event in Chinese area, especially in southern provinces, where are many rivers and lakes.
Dragon boats are dragon-shaped canoes, and the dragon boat race is a boating race. There are 22-25 members on each boat: one in command, two playing the drums and the rest making rigorous efforts to be the fastest to reach the finish line. After the starting pistol is fired, the boats start gliding through the water accompanied by the drumbeats. On the dragon boat, the rhythm of the drumbeats can be very crucial.
These two traditions remain central to the festival to this day, but there’s now some historical evidence to suggest they existed even before the time of Chu Yuan.
The festival also marks a change of seasons, a time when insects begin to breathe and diseases to spread.
Hang the Mugwort
People would traditionally hang mugwort on the front door to repel pests and evil spirits. Children carried a perfume pouch with dried mugwort and other herbs inside to ward off evil spirits. In ancient times, people believed that hanging mugwort leaves on the door of their home could keep evil away. Modern science has found that mugwort leaves can sterilize and prevent plague infection.
Sachets
In some places, more traditional families would drink Rilke wine and dress their children with a perfume pouch, the sachet, a little bag made of colorful silk cloth. The bag, filled with herbs or medicines with aromatic scents, is believed to ward off evil.
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