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Published:June06,2022
By Staff writer
China celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival on Friday, June 3. The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese festival which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is known as one of the Four Traditional Chinese Festivals, together with Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival. Dragon Boat Festival is famous around the world, and some countries and regions outside of China also celebrate it. Since 2008, Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national holiday.
In September 2009, the festival became the first Chinese festival to be included in the representative list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Dragon Boat Festival was originally a festival in which ancient ancestors sacrificed to the dragon god in the form of dragon boat racing. Its origin covers ancient astrology culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects.
According to legend, during the Warring States period, Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet of the state of Chu, committed suicide by jumping into a river on this day. As a result, people also used the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu. As a traditional Chinese festival, the Dragon Boat Festival has many famous traditional folk customs, enjoying an excellent reputation both at home and abroad.
Dragon-boat racing is an essential activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. It was prevalent in the States of Wu, Yue and Chu in ancient times, and it remains prevalent in the southern coastal areas of China today. As early as 7,000 years ago, ancient inhabitants constructed canoes by hollowing out logs and used wooden paddles to maneuver themselves on the water.
Dragon boat races are generally held after a grand sacrificial ceremony, where people worship and make sacrifices to the dragon god. In the past, the atmosphere of the celebration was quite serious. People prayed for blessings, good weather and future luck. In some places, there are also dragon boating rituals to worship Qu Yuan.
