Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan supported the decision to fight against the powerful state of Qin. Instead of seeing country get occupied and conquered he drowned himself in the river. Locals where sad and distressed to hear the news so fisherman searched for his body and others threw food such as eggs and food like zongzi(glutinous rice stuffed in different fillings and wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves) into the river to attract animals such as fish from destroying his body.

The Dragon Boat Festival a holiday originating in China. The festival is on every 5th day of the 5th month according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. There are many from games to peaceful activities making this festival fun for all ages.

Customs
Dragon boat Racing – The fore and stern of the boat is in the shape of a traditional Chinese Dragon. A team of people paddle in a race to cross the finish line before the other team(s). One team member sits in front of the boat beating a drum ensuring that the rowers keep in time with one another. Legend has it that the race is originates from the idea of the people who rowed their boats to save Qu Yuan.

Eating Zongzi – Zongzi is a traditional food eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival. It’s made using sticky rice and comes in different shapes and fillings. Lots of families make Zongzi at home and the most important part of making Zongzi is soaking the rice, washing the reed or washing the bamboo and wrapping Zongzi with leaves.

Wearing a perfume pouch and tying five-colour silk thread - According to folklore wearing the perfume pouch protects children from evil. So to this day, children decorate their clothing with these colourful pouches.
Another tradition is tying a five-colour silk thread to a child’s wrist, ankle and around their neck. It is believed the five-colour silk thread hold magical and healing properties. Children are not allowed to speak whilst they’re getting it put on and they cannot remove it until the end of a specified time. Only after the first summer rainfall can children remove it and throw it into the river. This is believed to protect the children from plagues and diseases.

Hanging