Honouring the Dragon Boat Festival’s Spirit

With over two millennia of history, the Double Fifth Festival, sometimes called the Dragon Boat Festival, is a customary Chinese celebration. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it starts. Due to the belief that the fifth month is unfortunate. There are numerous customs aimed at removing bad luck from people’s lives. For instance, during the festival, parents gift their kids five threads of colored silk to ward off evil spirits. During the celebrations, food and beverages are crucial, particularly the zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves with stuffing) and realgar wine (which is said to ward off illness, evil spirits, and snakes). The Dragon Boat Festival has a close connection to the myth of Qu Yuan, a court poet.

History of Dragon Boat Festival

A representative who, in 278 BCE, committed suicide to denounce imperial corruption. The legend of dragon boat racing comes from the villagers who raced to save Qu Yuan in their boats and beat the water with paddles to keep the fish from devouring his corpse.

Many people think that Qu Yuan, a statesman and poet from the Chu empire, committed suicide in 278 BCE, which is how the Dragon Boat Festival got its start in ancient China.

The festival honors the life and passing of renowned Chinese scholar Qu Yuan. Who served as the King of Chu’s obedient minister in the third century BCE. Due to the other court officials’ disapproval of Qu Yuan’s intelligence and wisdom. He was falsely accused of conspiratorial activities and banished by the monarch. Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry in his exile to vent his resentment and grief towards his ruler and people.

Qu Yuan Honored by Chu People

At the age of sixty-one, Qu Yuan committed himself in 278 BCE by plunging into the Miluo River. While wearing a huge stone fastened to his breast. The Chu people, who thought Qu Yuan was a good man, made a valiant effort to save him. But were unable to do so because they were searching in their boats for Qu Yuan. To remember this attempt to save Qu Yuan, the Dragon Boat Festival is held annually.

Some felt that the rice would stop the fish in the river from consuming Qu Yuan’s corpse. But the locals started the custom of tossing cooked rice into the river as a sacrifice for Qu Yuan. Originally, the people made zongzi with the intention of it sinking into the river and reaching Qu Yuan’s corpse. But the next year, the custom of encasing the rice in bamboo leaves to form zongzi was started.

The Origins and Evolution of Zongzi

Some felt that the rice would stop the fish in the river from consuming Qu Yuan’s corpse. But the locals started the custom of tossing cooked rice into the river as a sacrifice for Qu Yuan. Originally, the people made zongzi with the intention of it sinking into the river and reaching Qu Yuan’s corpse. But the next year, the custom of encasing the rice in bamboo leaves to form zongzi was started.

A filling-filled ball of glutinous rice wrapped in maize leaves is called a zong zi. Eggs, beans, dates, fruits, sweet potatoes, walnuts, mushrooms, meat, or a mix of these can be used as fillings. Usually, they are steam-cooked.

On Double Fifth Day, it is stated that you will have luck for the remainder of the year if you can balance a raw egg on its end at precisely noon.

It is thought that doing things like hanging calamus and moxa on the front entrance. Putting up images of Chung Kuei, sipping hsiung huang wine, and clutching scented sachets can keep evil away and bring about calm. In Taiwan, another tradition is “fetching noon water,” wherein participants gather well water in the afternoon of the celebration with the conviction that it will treat every disease.

Dragon Boat Festival Observances

Why Is the Dragon Boat Festival Such a Big Deal?

Many people think that the Dragon Boat Festival is held in remembrance of Qu Yuan. A well-known Chinese poet and minister who became a national hero after becoming recognized for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry.

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