**Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) Customs, Origins, and Legends**
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is a time for family reunions, feasts, and the honoring of heroes. Here are some customs, origins, and legends associated with this festival:
**Customs:**
1. **Dragon Boat Racing:** This is the most well-known custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Teams of rowers compete in long boats, shaped like dragons, while a drummer beats a rhythm to coordinate their efforts. It is believed that this tradition originated to honor the poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the river to protest corruption.
2. **Zongzi (Glutinous Rice Dumplings):** Zongzi are pyramid-shaped dumplings made of glutinous rice and filled with various ingredients such as red bean paste, egg, or meat. They are wrapped in bamboo leaves and tied with string. It is a traditional food associated with the festival, symbolizing protection against evil spirits.
3. **Wearing Periwinkle Leaves:** Women and children often wear periwinkle leaves around their wrists or necks, as they are believed to ward off evil spirits and protect against diseases.
4. **Patching Clothes:** It is a custom to patch or mend clothes on the Dragon Boat Festival, as it is believed that this will bring good luck and protection for the year.
5. **Drinking Realgar Wine:** In some areas, people drink realgar wine, which is made by mixing realgar (a red mineral) with wine. It is believed to have medicinal properties and can protect against diseases.
**Origins:**
The Dragon Boat Festival has its origins in the memory of the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was a statesman and poet during the Warring States period. He was a loyal minister who was betrayed and exiled by his king. In despair, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC. The people of his hometown, Chuan, were in great sorrow and raced out in their boats to search for his body. To prevent fish from eating his body, they threw rice dumplings into the river. This is how the custom of eating zongzi began.
**Legends:**
1. **Qu Yuan's Suicide:** The most famous legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is the story of Qu Yuan's ***. He drowned himself in the Miluo River after being betrayed and exiled by his king. The people of his hometown tried to save him but were too late.
2. **The Dragon Boat Race:** Another legend explains the origin of the dragon boat race. A fisherman named Chao Zhi found Qu Yuan's body and wrapped it in bamboo leaves. He then raced his boat to retrieve the body, but by the time he arrived, Qu Yuan's body had already been eaten by fish. The villagers, in a desperate attempt to save Qu Yuan's body, raced their boats and beat drums to scare away the fish.
The Dragon Boat Festival is a time of celebration, remembrance, and tradition, and it continues to be an important part of Chinese culture and heritage.
「点击下面查看原网页 领取您的八字精批报告☟☟☟☟☟☟」