The Dragon Boat Festival Kelsey Kathy Sally and

The Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 Kelsey, Kathy, Sally and Caroline

Main Activities R Eating and Preparing zòngzi (粽子) R Which are angular rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves R Drinking realgar wine R Antidote R Used the wine to write the character King on the children’s forhead R Racing Dragon Boats R Throwing Food into the River R All these activities are to ward off evil and disease and to bring good health

Food-Zongzi R Glutinous Rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaf R Fillings include: R Pork marinated in soy sauce R Egg R Poultry R Mashed red beans R Dried dates R No filling RServed with sugar or honey

Mythical Origin RSuicide of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman RExiled because of disagreement with king RWrote famous poetry RDrowned himself in a river on 5 th day of the 5 th month RFans threw food into the river to keep fish from eating his body RPaddled out on boats to scare fish/find his body

Other Myths—Wu Zixu R The former territory of the state of Wu commemorates Wu Zixu in the festival instead of Qu Yuan R Wu Zixu was also an advisor to the king R Forced to commit suicide by the king on the fifth day of the fifth month R After his death Wu Zixu was revered as a river god R In the Jiangsu province the Danwu festival is still dedicated to Wu Zixu

More Myths RThese stories seem to have been promoted by Confucian scholars ROne theory says that the festival started with dragon worship RAnother theory says that the festival celebrates the harvest of winter wheat RSome researchers think that the stories of Qu Yuan or Wu Zixu were made up after the holiday was invented

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 16 th this year… Mark it on your calendars and celebrate it!