The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals and a world intangible cultural heritage. Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people celebrate this traditional festival to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

According to legend, Qu Yuan was a minister of the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period. In order to save the country, he gave up his official position and lived in Dadong Mountain in the south of the Yangtze River. There, he wrote many patriotic poems, expressing his love for the motherland and his call for national unity.

Later, the state of Chu was destroyed by the state of Qin. Qu Yuan could not bear the loss of his motherland, so he threw himself into the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. In order to prevent his body from being eaten by fish and shrimps, the people took out rice dumplings and threw them into the river for him to enjoy.

Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

There are many traditional customs during the Dragon Boat Festival, the most famous of which are eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats.

Eating rice dumplings is one of the traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi is a food made of glutinous rice, bean paste, meat and other ingredients, and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Eating rice dumplings not only commemorates Qu Yuan, but also has the function of expelling evil spirits and avoiding diseases.

Dragon boat racing is also one of the traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. A dragon boat is a long boat with a dragon head at the bow and a dragon tail at the stern. In the dragon boat race, the team members must row with all their strength to strive for first place.

Modern Innovation of the Dragon Boat Festival

With the changes of the times, the way of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival is also constantly innovating. Modern people not only eat traditional rice dumplings and race dragon boats, but also hold various interesting activities, such as the Dragon Boat Festival Cultural Festival, Dragon Boat Festival concerts, etc.

In addition, modern people also add various flavors to the rice dumplings, such as bacon rice dumplings, egg yolk meat rice dumplings, red bean rice dumplings, etc. These new flavors of rice dumplings not only satisfy people’s taste buds, but also allow people to better understand the cultural connotation of the Dragon Boat Festival.

How to make Zongzi

The steps to make Zongzi are as follows:

1. Prepare materials: glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, meat, bean paste, etc.

2. Soak the bamboo leaves in water until softened.

3. Soak the glutinous rice in water until it becomes soft.

4. Make fillings such as meat or bean paste.

5. Cut the bamboo leaves into rectangles of appropriate size.

6. Place the glutinous rice on the bamboo leaves and add the fillings.

7. Wrap the bamboo leaves and tie them tightly with thin rope.

8. Put the wrapped rice dumplings into boiling water and cook for about 2 hours.