The Dragon Boat Festival,in Memory ofa Chinese Poet
1 min readDuanwu Festival ,also known as the Dragon Boat Festival ,is a traditionaland statutory holiday associated with Chinese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies aswell.It is a public holiday in China.The festival is also celebrated in countries with significant Chinesepopulations,such as in Singapore and Malaysia.Equivalent and related festivals outside Chinese-speaking societies include the Kodomo no hi in Japan,and Dano in Korea.
The festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar on which theChinese calendar is based.This is the source of the alternative name of the Double Fifth.In2011 this falls on June 6.The focus of the celebrations includes eating the rice dumpling zongzi,drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu ,and racing dragon boats.
The Duanwu Festival is believed to have originated in ancient China.A number of theoriesexist about its origins as a number of folk traditions and explanatory myths are connected to itsobservance.Today the best known of these relates to the suicide in 278 BC of Qu Yuan,poetand statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period.
