From Ancient Legends to Vibrant Customs: Dragon Boat Festival's Traditions and Legends

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is an important traditional holiday for the Chinese people.

Originally, it was a festival held in summer to ward off evil spirits and worship the dragon, and it was a tribute to the dragon clan. There are also theories that it commemorates figures like Wu Zixu, Cao E, and Jie Zitui. However, it is widely regarded as a day to commemorate the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

According to legend, after Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River, the local people immediately rushed to rescue him by rowing boats. They rowed all the way to Dongting Lake but couldn't find Qu Yuan's body. At that time, it was raining, and all the boats gathered near a pavilion on the shore.

When they learned that they were there to search for the loyal minister Qu Yuan, they braved the rain and rowed into the vast Dongting Lake. As an expression of mourning, people started rowing boats on rivers and lakes, which gradually developed into the dragon boat races.

People were also worried that the fish in the river would eat Qu Yuan's body, so they started throwing rice dumplings into the water to prevent the fish and shrimps from damaging his remains. To avoid the rice dumplings from being eaten by water creatures, people came up with the idea of wrapping rice in leaves of the Chinese Sweetflag tree, tying them with colorful threads, and thus creating the traditional zongzi. This is how the custom of eating zongzi originated.

A wise physician poured a jar of realgar wine into the river, claiming that it would intoxicate the water creatures and prevent them from harming Qu Yuan. This gave rise to the tradition of drinking realgar wine.

Since then, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year, people participate in dragon boat races, eat zongzi, and drink realgar wine to commemorate Qu Yuan.

The Dragon Boat Festival also features other customs, such as wearing scented sachets, hanging Artemisia, hanging statues of Zhong Kui, hanging pouches and colorful threads, eating "Five Poisons" cakes, and drawing "Five Poisons" pictures.

This festive holiday is filled with joy and celebration, allowing people to embrace and enjoy traditional culture while spending quality time with family and friends.

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