Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Zhengyang Festival, the Orchid Bathing Festival, the Daughter's Festival, the Tianzhong Festival, the Di La Festival, the Poets' Festival, the Dragon Day, etc., is one of the ancient traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. It is a folk festival that combines worshipping gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and warding off evil spirits, celebrating entertainment and eating. The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. It is a festival to send away the five plague gods and drive away the plague in summer.

The Dragon Boat Festival has a long history and is said to have a history of more than 2,000 years. Regarding the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, there are many theories, such as Qu Yuan's suicide, Wu Zixu's death anniversary, and Cao E's rescue of his father. The Qu Yuan's suicide is the most popular.

Qu Yuan was a great patriotic poet of the Chu State. He was loyal to his country all his life, but was framed by treacherous officials and exiled by the King of Chu. In 278 BC, the Qin army broke through the Chu State, and Qu Yuan desperately threw himself into the Miluo River and died. In order to commemorate Qu Yuan, the people of the Chu State threw zongzi into the river to express their respect and love for him.

The customs of the Dragon Boat Festival are rich and varied, and vary from place to place, but the main ones are as follows:

Dragon Boat Racing: Dragon Boat Racing is the most representative activity of the Dragon Boat Festival and is also an ancient traditional sport. Dragon Boat Racing originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when people rowed dragon boats to worship Qu Yuan.