The Chinese Are Getting Ready for this Year's Dragon Boat Festival on June 20th

Father’s Day is right around the corner, but in China another very important holiday is coming up as well. Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Chinese observe what is called The Dragon Boat Festival. Over the years the holiday has required several different names including the Tuen Ng Festival, the Duanwu Festival, and the Double Fifth Festival. For 2015, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month falls on June 20th, which is when the festival will take place. 

As with most Chinese holidays, there are many traditions associated with this festival, one of which is found within the name of the festival- dragon boats and dragon boat racing. Dragon boat racing is a team water sport that has been a part of ancient folk rituals for almost 2,000 years. Racing boats carved to look like dragons began as a ceremonial and religious tradition, but has since become an enjoyable and competitive form of sport and entertainment. 

The timing of the holiday is important as well. It is an ancient belief in China that the summer solstice and dragons are connected by a common energy. The Chinese traditionally connect the sun to a masculine energy and the moon to a feminine energy. Like the sun, dragons are also thought to possess a strong masculine energy. At the summer solstice, the sun is thought to be at its strongest, thus having the strongest masculine energy. Therefore, using the symbol of dragons during the summer solstice is thought to symbolize masculine energy, strength, and power at its highest point. 

Although racing dragon boats is the symbol of the holiday, there are other traditional activities done by families during this time. Some of which include hanging up icons of a mythical guardian named Zhong Kui, hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and a game of trying to make an egg stand at exactly noon- if your efforts are met with success you are thought to have a year of good luck ahead of you. Like many Chinese traditions, these activities are performed in regards to the ancient villager’s beliefs that they would ward off disease and promote good health and spiritual well-being. 

And of course no Chinese holiday is complete without eating and drinking. The traditional food consumed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is zongzi, a Chinese dish made of rice, stuffed with various fillings, and then carefully wrapped in bamboo or reed. Then the zongzi is washed down with realgar wine. 

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How the Chinese Celebrate the Moon During their Second Largest Festival: the Mid-Autumn Festival

This weekend people all over China were celebrating one of China’s biggest festivals, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Only second to the Spring Festival in size and grandeur, the annual Mid-Autumn Festival spans over several days and attracts thousands of participants. Several of the elements of the holiday that creates this enormous attraction, other than the numerous legends associated with it, are the rich history and deep traditions behind it. For centuries the Chinese people have celebrated the fall season and the cycles of the moon, making it all the more special. So this weekend how have the Chinese been celebrating their beloved Mid-Autumn Festival? 

Beginning during the Zhou Dynasty (which lasted from 1046- 256 BC) sacrificial offerings to the moon were a major part of the holiday tradition. The people recognized that the moon cycles played a role in the changing of seasons and thus, affected their autumn harvests. They felt in order to continue having good fall harvests it was necessary to thank the moon for its part. Fast forward to today and sacrificial offerings are a less widespread part of the celebration, only being continued in certain rural areas. 

However, in modern times people still use this time of year to express appreciation of the moon and all it does for us. Family members sit around a table while talking about the wonderful things the moon does for us and why they appreciate its presence. Although it is a more relaxing and less serious custom, its roots are derived from the ancient sacrificial ceremonies of the Zhou Dynasty. 

The offering and consumption of certain foods also has its place in the Mid-Autumn Festival weekend. The food most well known and associated with the holiday is the moon cake. The origins of the moon cake can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty when messages were passed between army leaders using notes baked into moon cakes. One of the leaders began giving the cakes to his subordinates as gifts around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since then it became a ritual for families to give each other moon cakes during the festival to signify reunion and the beginning of fall. 

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Other foods including watermelons cut into the shape of lotus flowers, grapefruits, soybeans, oranges, and wine are commonly consumed during this special time. 

In addition to appreciating the moon and eating moon cakes, the Mid-Autumn Festival features many other fun traditions and customs. Some of these include burning of incense, traditional Fire Dragon dances, releasing of festival lanterns, stealing vegetables in hopes of finding “Mr. Right”, and many many more. Certain customs differ depending on what region you are in but there is no doubt that they are all equally interesting and exciting. 

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The Chinese Kick Off the Summer with the Annual Dragon Boat Festival

For many of us the arrival of June means the arrival of summer and Father’s Day is just around the corner, but in China the coming of June also means the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival. The annual festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month according to the traditional Chinese calendar, which puts it at June 2nd this year. Over the years the holiday has acquired several names in addition to the Dragon Boat Festival, including (but not limited to) the Tuen Ng Festival, the Duanwu Festival, and the Double Fifth Festival. 

There are many traditions associated with the festival but the biggest one is found in the holiday’s name- dragon boat racing. Dragon boat racing is a team water sport rooted deeply in ancient folk rituals dating back over 2,000 years. Racing these boats began as a ceremonial and religious tradition but has since turned into a competitive sport. During competitions the boats are rigged with beautifully decorated Chinese dragon heads and tails, hence its name. 

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Dragons and the summer solstice are thought to be connected by the belief in a common energy. The moon is typically associated with a feminine energy while the sun represents a masculine energy. At the summer solstice the sun is considered to be at it’s strongest, thus having the strongest masculine energy at that time. Like the sun, the Chinese dragon is also considered to possess masculine energy. So the use of the Chinese dragon in combination with the summer solstice symbolizes the yearly peak of male energy. 

And of course no Chinese holiday is complete without eating and drinking. The traditional food consumed on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is zongzi, a Chinese dish made of rice, stuffed with various fillings, and then carefully wrapped in bamboo or reed. Then the zongzi is washed down with realgar wine. 

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Other fun and unique activities to celebrate the special day include hanging up icons of a mythical guardian named Zhong Kui, hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and a game of trying to make an egg stand at exactly noon- if your efforts are met with success you are thought to have a year of good luck ahead of you. Like many Chinese traditions, these activities are performed in regards to the ancient villager’s beliefs that they would ward off disease and promote good health and spiritual well-being. 

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival: Customs and Traditions (Part Two of Two)

Following the legend of Qu Yuan, the famous Chinese man who wrote of his love for his country even after being exiled, the holiday known as the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival was created. It has been celebrated annually for over 2,000 years on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, to honor and pay respect to the historic poet for his unwavering patriotism.  

The customs and traditions surrounding this culturally significant holiday are still very much alive today. One of the most popular and loved traditions of this day can be found within the name of the festival itself- Dragon boat racing. 

Dragon boats get their name from the fore and stern being designed in the shape of a traditional Chinese dragon. The race originated after the part in the Qu Yuan legend where the people of the village raced in their boats to save him after he drowned himself in the river. The rowers race to the finish line while one team member sits at the front of the boat and beats a drum, an action thought to preserve morale and keep the rowers in sync with one another. The team that wins is to bring a happy life to the people of their village. 

Like most other Chinese festivals and holidays, a particular food is often consumed by the people on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. For this festival, the food of choice is Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. Often times, part of the holiday tradition includes not just the family's consumption of the special Zongzi, but also the preparation. 

Besides honoring the great Qu Yuan, another reason behind the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival is the warding off of diseases and promotion of good health. So the high popularity of the next custom comes as no surprise. On the day of the festival, the Chinese people will clean their houses and then proceed to put mugwort leaves and calamus on the tops of all the doors in the house. The story behind these plants are that the discharge an aroma that will repel bugs and purify the home, thus preventing certain illnesses that often come with warm weather. 

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Another technique on this day purposed at promoting good health and healing is for children to wear five-color silk thread around their wrists, ankles, and neck. The thread is thought to hold special healing properties and protect the children from disease. It is only after the first rain of the summer that they are allowed to remove the thread and throw it into the nearest river. 

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