Duan Wu JieDragon Boat Festival

端午節

Customs, Taboos, and FoodTracie, Byron P, Aaron, Theo, and Anna

Customs!

• The Dragon Boat Race• Most Important Aspect of the Festival.• Competing teams race boats to a drumbeat,

racing to collect flags at the end of different courses.• Before a Dragon Boat can be raced,

it must be brought to life by painting the eyes in a sacred ceremony.

Customs Continued!

• Dragon Boat Races!Note the colorful boats, and Eyes painted on the Dragon’s head

More Customs!

• Plants - Hanging artemisia and calamus plants in the house is a Duan Wu tradition. Because the two herbs give off strong scents, their aroma can repel pests like mosquitoes and centipedes, etc.

• Spice Bag- During Double Fifth time, adults and children in China carry with them fragrant silk pouches filled with spices. They perform the dual function of scaring evil spirits and bringing happiness and prosperity to its wearer.

Old Customs

• The following are no longer practiced;Except possibly in rural villages.

• Pasting pictures of Zhongkui, a legend, on their doors to ward off what they believed to be upcoming disease.• Children wore necklaces made of colorful thread to ward off

disease, as they were considered to be most vulnerable.

Customs Continued!

• Example of a picture of Zhong Kui to be hung on doorposts.

Food!

• Zong Zi- a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.

• Most people still maintain the tradition of eating Zong Zi on the day of the Duan Wu Festival, and throwing them into the water. But the special delicacy has become so popular that you can now buy it all the year round.

Food Continued!

• Zong Zi is often made of rice mixed with dates in Northern China, because dates are abundant in the area.

• Eastern China's Jia Xing County is famous for its pork-stuffed Zong Zi.

• In the southern Province of Guangdong, people stuff Zong Zi with pork, ham, chestnuts and other ingredients, making them very rich in flavor.

• In Sichuan Province, Zong Zi is usually served with a sugar dressing.

Food Continued!

• Tradition behind Zong Zi– It is believed that immediately after Qu Yuan

threw himself into the river, the people threw dumplings made of glutinous rice into the the water, so that the fish would eat the dumplings instead of the body of their beloved poet.

Food Continued!

• Realgar Wine– The drinking of Chinese liquor seasoned with Realgar, a

rare soft orange mineral consisting of arsenic sulfide, is a very popular practice during the Dragon Boat Festival. The ancient tradition of drinking Xiong Huang Wine has turned into this modern custom. This is for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year.

Taboos!

• The Dragon Boat festival"端午節 " originated on a bad day.The fifth month "五月 " of the Chinese "中文 " lunar calendar is considered an evil month and the 5th of the month is marked as “poison”or"毒 ".Many"很多 " contagious disease and plagues started"開始 " on that day. Also many famous people "有名的人 "died on that day.

Taboos Continued!

• People hold superstitions about the day,And therefore practice many of the customs earlierDescribed, such as:– Wearing spice bags to ward off evil spirits.– Posting picture of Zhong Kui to ward off disease.– Giving children colorful thread necklaces to wearto ward off disease from them.

THE END!

Bibliography!

• http://www.theholidayspot.com/dragon_boat_festival/traditions.htm

• http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/Dragonboat_rle.htm

• http://www.hiichina.com/?action-viewnews-itemid-45

• http://taoism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Dragon_Boat_Festival.htm