These dumplings are made with sticky rice, meat, and vegetables and can be steamed or boiled. To commemorate Qu Yuan, people beat drums and paddle out in boats on the river as they once did to keep fish and evil spirits away from their bodies every fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The top places to celebrate the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival are Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Foshan, and Yueyang., Xixi Wetland Parkis the most famous place to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival in Hangzhou City. Read More , Rice dumplings are parcels of glutinous rice stuffed with different savory or sweet fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. [15] A cadet member of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. Read More . Many older Chinese people still make traditional holiday foods by hand. Chinese people, especially children, made incense bags and hung them on their necks to avoid catching contagious diseases and to keep evil spirits awayat this inauspicious time. Box 221306 How Do People Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival? Making rice dumplings yourself at home is a fun family activity and the finished product can be eaten at home or given away as gifts during the festival. We offer community a time to celebrate . The Shun River was renamed Cao'e River in her honor.[16]. The fifth month of the lunar calendar was regarded as a bad month and the fifth day of the month a bad day. Sweet flag is an importantpart of the festival.It is a herb and is regarded as a symbol of braveryin Japanese culture. Xi Shi, a beautiful woman sent by King Goujian of the state of Yue, was much loved by King Fuchai of Wu. Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival provides an effortless opportunity for you to enjoying Chinese culture with your family. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Vietnamese people prepare glutinous rice with a blend of spices to thank their ancestors and pray fora good harvest.They eat this glutinous rice and drink realgar wine to help prevent plagues. Home Dragon Boat Festival: A Guide To Celebrating It. why it is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the History and Legends of the Dragon Boat Festival, Click to know how to greetpeopleduringDragon Boat Festival, China Travel Restrictions & Travel Advisory, Qu Yuan: Chinese Poet in the Dragon Boat Festival Story, Dragon Boat Festival Traditions: The Top 7 Activities, China Travel Restrictions & Travel Advisory (Updated February 10, 2023), China Group Tours vs Private China Tours: 7 Key Differences, Spotlight Experiences for Romantic China Tour, 12-Day China Train Safari from North across South China, 12-Day Shanghai, Huangshan, Hangzhou, Guilin and Hong Kong Tour, 8-Day BeijingPingyaoXi'an Private Tour By High-Speed Train, 17-DayRelaxing Tour of Both Ancient & Modern Flavor, Loyalty Established in 1979, the Boston Dragon Boat Festival is the first and oldest such festival in North America. Children and families often look forward to the celebration for its games, activities, and food. Some are still widely practiced in rural areas, but some are not. South Korea In South Korea, Gangneung Danoje Festival is another version of the Dragon Boat Festival. At Duanwu Festival, people woulddrink realgar wine to drive evil things away and to promote a healthy life. Typically, the festival brings in thousands of visitors along the Charles River and is . It's possible that the practice of dragon boat racing started out as a way to worship an ancient dragon god. There are also various zongzion sale in supermarkets. . Today, the Dragon Boat Festivals growing popularity around the world can be credited in large part to the growth of dragon boat racing as a sport. stories, insider information, and even create unexpected highlights! The origin of this festival dates many centuries back and is based on activities in remembrance of a great Chinese poet, Qu Yuan. The promotion of these stories might be encouraged by Confucian scholars, seeking to legitimize and strengthen their influence in China. In some regions of China, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, parents braid silk threads of five colors and put them on their children's wrists. Significance of the Dragon Boat Festival Duanwu Jie is a widely celebrated holiday for the Chinese community-immigrants and non-immigrants in New York. [24], The sun is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice, as the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. . Experience local culture by practicing it. Dragon boat races and dumplingstwo of the most distinctive elements of the festival have their roots in a story of patriotism and politics. [14] Big ceremonies and performances developed from these practices in many areas, making the Dragon Boat Festival a day for getting rid of disease and bad luck. In ancient times, people believed that realgar was an antidote for all poisons, and effective for killing insects and driving away evil spirits. Explore destinations at your own pace. Proving the power of storytelling has been part of the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival since its inception and this year it is taking the time to celebrate all the voices that share their stories. The program includes scholarship and essay writing contestawards to children and youth. Eight years later, in 151, a temple was built in Shangyu dedicated to the memory of Cao E and her sacrifice for filial piety. Support Colorado Dragon Boat. 475 to 221 BC). But why is the dragon boat festival so important? 20 October 2016 View The renowned Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Tuen Ng, falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. For the general Chinese community, the festival is like any other holiday, where people gather and celebrate with food and drinks. In addition to the drummer, there is also a steerer who sits in the back of the boat and helps to steer it using a long steering oar. The History and Modern Practice of the Dragon Boat Festival. Youll find them for sale at a Dragon Boat Festival, as well as throughout Chinatown. The Boat festival is celebrated throughout China, but the traditions vary from region to region. People traditionally wrap zongzi in leaves of reed, bamboo, forming a pyramid shape. The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival is roaring back for its Year of the Water Tiger, following a two-year quiet that left the waters of Sloan's Lake Park eerily still. 150,000. Wu Zixu, seeing the dangerous plot of Goujian, warned Fuchai, who became angry at this remark. The first international dragon boat races were held in 1976 in this city. See how this centuries-old tradition is kept alive today. The Dragon Boat Festival is an annual festival held in China each year on the 5 th day of the fifth month (; wyu;) of the traditional Chinese calendar. The Dragon Boat Festival (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. Dragon boat racing is increasingly popular in cities around the world. Youre welcome, Sarah. Another name for it is the Duanwu Festival. Besides for Asian countries, the United States, Canada and European countries like Germany also celebrate the Duanwu Festival, mainly with dragon boat races. To honor this festival, two main activities are conducted: consuming zongzi (rice dumplings) and participating in boat races both of which are connected to dragons. Dragon Boat Festival Celebration Activities around the World Influenced by Chinese culture, South Korea, Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia developed their own versions of the Dragon Boat Festival, along with some unique customs. Office of the Chief Executive. including the traditional annual Dragon Boat Festival, which is . Getting there: Take MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui Station (Exit G) and walk east for about 15 minutes. Cao E's father Cao Xu () was a shaman who presided over local ceremonies at Shangyu. Tours, Yangtze The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and elsewhere around the world. In fact, 5280 Magazine declared it "one of Colorado's greatest festivals." What is the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival () and how is it celebrated? /VCG. Read More , Dragon boat racing has become an international sports phenomenon in the last 40 years. To honor the memory of Qu Yuan, a loyal minister who drowned himself in the river, people also throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked rice into the water as an offering to his spirit. Every reply The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival, Dunw Ji, Double Fifth, Tuen Ng Jit) is a traditional holiday that commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). One such tradition that has survived to this day and is still incorporated into modern Dragon Boat Festival celebrations is the custom of hanging mugwort and calamus branches on ones door to ward off evil spirits. Qu Yuan (340278 BC) was a devoted poet and banished public servant during the Warring States Period of old China. Here is a collection of easy activities, recipes and crafts with step-by-step directions to help your family celebrate an ancient Chinese holiday thats become a modern international phenomenon. Chinese Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month on the Chinese lunar calendar. Often, they are related to many of the crew members by birth or marriage. A legendary figure One of the most enduring legends associated with this celebration tells the story of Qu Yuan, an incorruptible minister of state during the Warring States era of China. Dragon boat teams from around the world participate in the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival in south China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, June 22, 2018. The event was then moved to Frankfurt in 1991 and named the Frankfurt International Dragonboat Festival. Dragon Boat Legend. The most popular one is that the holiday is for honoring Qu Yuan, an ancient Chinese poet and loyal politician who drowned in the Miluo River on the fifth day of . The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four main festivals celebrated by the Chinese. Her Majesty told me this, so that day I went all over everywhere and dug into the ground, but found nothing.[18]. The Dragon Boat Festival is referred to as Duanwu Jie in Mandarin Chinese. For example, people may paste pictures of the five poisonous creatures on the wall and stick needles in them. Todays theres a full summer race schedule running from February through October in cities across the United States. Ana Ortega July 18, 20225:00AM. Dragon boat festival is a traditional festival celebrated by the Chinese. On this day, the Japanese, like the Chinese, eat special food that resembles zongzi and drink calamus wine to fend off evil spirits. People may also make paper cutouts of the five creatures and wrap them around the wrists of their children. One of China's major traditional festivals, the Dragon Boat Festival has been celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar for millennia. Races typically start at sunrise and can last for several hours, with spectators cheering on their favorite teams. The origin of the festival is said to be when locals paddled out on boats to scare the fish away and retrieve Qu Yuan's body (the patriotic poet who drowned himself in the Miluo River when the Chu State fell in 278 BC).See the story behind the Dragon Boat Festival. OCASacramentohas long celebrated this traditional holiday, also known as the Double Fifth (fifth day of the 5th lunar month) which has been deeply rooted in Chinese culture. The food may have originally represented an offering to the dragon king, while dragon boat racing naturally reflects a reverence for the dragon and the active yang energy associated with it. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine or water, were regarded by the ancients and some today as effective in preventing disease or evil while promoting health and well-being. This festival is commemorated every fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. During the 1960s, when China was embroiled in the Cultural Revolution, campaigns against traditional culture and customs caused the popularity of traditional festivals, including the Dragon Boat Festival, to decrease dramatically. the use of cookies. Learning about these traditional festivals is a fun and interesting way to enrich your understanding of Chinese culture. In South Korea, GangneungDanojeFestival is another version of the Dragon Boat Festival. After being slandered by another official, however, he was sent into exile. It falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month . View. Here are some traditional ways to celebrate the Dragon boat festival in China. On this day, people typically take part in dragon boat races, enjoy various types of zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in leaves), and hold dragon dances for entertainment. Realgar wine or Xiong Huang wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink that is made from Chinese yellow wine dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral also known as "rice wine". If you'd like to learn more about China's many ancient holidays and traditions, you can also explore other traditional holidays like the Qingming Festival and the winter solstice festival. Discover the hidden gems. The coalition brings together community leaders from civil rights and social justicegroups, multicultural chambers, interfaith, educators, legislators, and lawmakers to collaborate on hate crimes and bullyingby maintaining open lines of communications, sharing resources, in addition to outreach and education to communities. As noted above, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Double Fifth Festival because it falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. 1. Over the years, various traditions emerged to help ensure that people were protected from illness and bad luck during the dreaded Double Fifth. Dragon boats are long and thin. The 2022 Dragon Boat Festival celebration is set to take over the shores and waters of Lake Burley Griffin this Saturday (04 June). Read More . Thus, it is also called the Double Fifth Festival. Learn why this specific day is chosen to celebrate the festival. During the festival, people hang itfrom theireaves, lay it on roofs, put it under pillows, bathe in sweet flag water,and drink sweet flag wine.People believe this can help chase away plaguesand evil spirits. Eating sticky rice dumplings is one of the most popular things to do during the Dragon Boat Festival. Read on to find out more about this festival. This is said to have been the origin of dragon boat races. Ching Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day - April 5, 2023. Singaporeans, much like Chinese, usually eat zongzi and hold dragon boat races to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, as the country has a big population of Chinese migrants. Chinese people call the Dragon Boat Festival - Dun W Ji | . ", General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Thanks so much for your kind words. The common people rushed to the water and tried to recover his body, but they failed. It is the Dragon Boat Festival. Thanks to attempts by the Chinese government to promote traditional Chinese culture, the Dragon Boat Festival reemerged as an official public holiday in 2008. The festival is celebrated all over Asia, but most notably in China. Food, Train Stations Originally, dragon boats were made of teak. /Screenshot via Dragon Boat Innovate. Duan translates to start while wu symbolizes noon, but also identifies the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar (between June 6 July 6), which coincides with the summer solstice. What is Chinese Labor Day ( Lodngji) and how is it celebrated? With our expert travel guides, you can be sure to make the most of your trip. According to this explanation, the custom is thought to have originated in southern Chinas Guangdong Province along the Pearl River Delta. Live dragon boat races can be seen on most major bodies of water in China during the festival. At the time, it was common for Chinese literati to work in government, and Qu Yuan was no different. Eating Sticky Rice Dumplings. Qu Yuan was a faithful government official who was unjustly slandered. Qu Yuan: Chinese Poet in the Dragon Boat Festival Story, 4-Day Shanghai and Its Neighbors Tour by High Speed Train, 3-Day Zhongwei Desert Tour with Winery Experience. The Taiwanese also sometimes conflate the spring practice of egg-balancing with Duanwu. The wine is traditionally served in a bowl-shaped cup made from bamboo or wood. In addition to the threat posed by the reemergence of poisonous animals, it was also believed that people were more prone to falling ill around this time. More Top 3 Stories of the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon BoatFestival has been celebrated in China for, Special plants with strong flavors will hang on doors to ward off evil spirits.. Parents would paint a Chinese character (wang, literally meaning king)using realgar wine. Thank you so much for sharing your time, effort, and knowledge. With the longest history of Korea's local festivals, the Danoje sees locals hold a series of activities such as throwing pots, wrestling, swinging, taekwondo competitions, and college football matches to help pray for a good harvest, health and happiness. The festival commemorates the end of the Warring States period in 476 BC when Qu Yuan led the people of Chu State in protesting the oppressive rule of the powerful Kingiquan. Even before the modern era, dragon boat racing was popular among ethnic Chinese people living throughout Asia. Performers & Vendors. He has been training for today all year. People eat zongzi, race dragon boats, and exchange greetings such as Wishing you good health. Giving small gifts such as jewelry, sweets, or flowers is also customary as tokens of appreciation. The entrance fee is free. On the annual Dragon Boat Festival, Singaporeans also have the custom of racing dragon boats and eating rice dumplings (bakzhang). It is celebrated to commemorate the life and death of Qu Yuan, a renowned scholar from ancient China. Dragon Boat Festival - June 22, 2023. Beijing ICP prepared NO.16065310-3. Youre very welcome, Pam. I'm Wes, a biracial Chinese American dad living in Oakland, California, who left the technology world when my son was born to serve this wonderfully diverse community of Chinese American families. Dragon Boat . 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