The dragon festival is one of the most unique events that you will ever get to witness. The event revolves around the sport of dragon boat racing. It is known as the Duanwu Festival in China. This is a special day in China as it is even a declared public holiday.
This celebration has a many components other than the boat races. The date of the festival is also significant to the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is held continually each year in the fifth month and commences on the fifth day. Not surprising this festival has acquired the nickname Double Fifth.
This lively festival sets the atmosphere for the entire region. In addition to the boat races, another custom present at these festivals is the consumption of the zongzi, a delicious rice dumpling. Rich in tradition, this celebration is one of China’s most beloved and traditional holidays.
Not surprising, other Far Eastern countries such as Japan, also share this celebration with China. Each country has its own variation to this holiday. Their celebrations are specific to their own individual customs and traditions.
The event caught on the name of Dragon boat festival in English because of the main even of the racing. This name however is not the correct translation of the term the Chinese use to describe festival. The Chinese word that is used for the festival translates as the Solar Maximus Festival.
The name has its own science behind it which is rather complicated yet interesting to delve into. More interesting however are the various stories that seek to describe the origins of the dragon festival. There is no doubt about the fact that the festival originated from ancient China but there are quite a few stories regarding the precise evolution of the nature of the festival.
The most popular of these stories is associated with patriot poet Qu Yuan who committed suicide. He was a Confucian scholar as well as a minister to the king during the Chu dynasty’s rule in 278 BC. It is documented that certain political conflicts led to the exile of the poet who later on drowned himself in the Miluo River. The date on which he did this was the Double Fifth.
The zongzi tradition was developed when the admirers of the poet began to throw food in the river so that the fish would not feed on Qu Yuan’s corpse. Similarly the people had made use of paddle boats in order to look for his body and scare off the fish. Over the years this practice developed the face of a festival that is still practiced amongst the Chinese.
Undoubtedly, through the years many other stories were told interpreting different versions of Qu Yuan’s suicide. However, the purpose of why the dragon festival is held today pertains specifically to the legend that is most commonly accepted by the Chinese population.
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