The Dragon Boat Festival
Every year, the Dragon Boat Festival is held to ward off evil, promote good health, and pay respect to the Dragon God and other Chinese heroes. Although it’s one of the most popular Chinese celebrations, there’s a lot of conflicting information regarding its origins, meaning, and even name! To help you better understand this important celebration, here’s everything you need to know about the Dragon Boat Festival.
What is the Dragon Boat Festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that has two primary focuses. It’s either celebrated by worshiping the Dragon God and other heroes or warding off evil and disease. The Dragon Boat Festival is also known by up to 20 different names, including the Double Fifth Festival and Duanwu Jie (端午节) in Mandarin due to when it occurs. If you want to learn how to wish someone a happy Dragon Boat Festival in your target language, download Tandem today. With over 300 languages to choose from, you can practice all of the different names for this festival across various cultures.
When is the Dragon Boat Festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month of the year. This is typically in late May or June on the Gregorian calendar. In 2023, the Dragon Boat Festival will occur on Thursday, June 22. It’s considered one of the most traditional Chinese festivals celebrated throughout the country. The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is also celebrated by several countries outside of mainland China including Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and many areas throughout the United States.
What is the Meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival?
Although some believe that meaning of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival traces back to the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet, other evidence suggests the festival originated from the ‘month of poison.’ During this time of the year, it became so hot that people would become ill, and epidemics easily plagued communities, leading to high fatality rates and famine. It was also the time where the ‘five poisonous creatures’ began to emerge for the year—snakes, spiders, toads, scorpions, and centipedes.
Both of these led people to believe that the fifth month of the year was evil, and they wanted to create a ceremonial way to help defend against disease or poisonous insects. Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival was originally considered a traditional medical and health festival. It’s also still called the Calamus Festival by many, as the calamus leaves could help keep away poisonous pests and evil spirits.
Qu Yuan happened to die on the fifth day of the fifth month, which is why many of his devout followers began to associate his death with the Dragon Boat Festival. He was well known throughout the country for his classical poetry, but also for his patriotism. Over the course of his life, his patriotic poetry became a symbol of hope even when he was exiled. He took his own life by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month.
How Do People Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?
As mentioned, there are two focuses when celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. One is to honor and worship the god of dragon and heroes. If you want to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in this way, you’ll likely spend your time eating rice dumplings (zongzi) or participating in a dragon boat race.
Many Chinese cultures offer sacrifices of zongzi to the Dragon God by throwing the dumplings into the river. This is done as a commemoration to Qu Yuan to help stop fish from feasting on his body.
Dragon boat races are also popular and resort back to the legend of Qu Yuan. They began as a way to paddle out and try to retrieve his body. However, others believe that dragon boat races are a way to worship either the Dragon God or the Water God. The boats are shaped like a dragon in Chinese cultures and usually holds about 30 to 60 people. Famous dragon boat races are regularly held in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
The other way to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival is to hang calamus or Chinese mugwort as a way to ward off evil spirits and promote good health. Both of these leaves and herbs are used to combat disease or deter poisonous insects. Many people also drink realgar wine, as it’s been said to help promote good health.
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival
The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival is considered the largest Dragon Boat Festival in the United States. In 2023, it will be held in Denver, Colorado on July 22nd and July 23rd. The Dragon Boat Festival in Denver takes place annually at Sloan’s Lake Park and is considered one of Colorado’s greatest festivals. This year’s theme will be the Year of the Water Tiger and is expected to be one of the largest events yet.
The two-day festival held in Denver will have over 50 teams of boaters, more than 60 performances across three different stages, and an Asian Marketplace with unique items from the Asia and the Pacific. There will also be plenty of Asian dishes to try alongside a beer garden.
The Boston Dragon Boat Festival
The Boston Dragon Boat Festival will be held on June 11th, 2023. Alongside the boat races, there will be several traditional performances that focus on traditional dance, martial arts, and live musical acts. There will also be family events for all ages and plenty of food vendors available.
If you want to learn more about the Dragon Boat Festival by speaking with someone who actively celebrates, Tandem is a great place to connect to like-minded native speakers. Our community of language learners focuses on improving fluency while making real-world connections with individuals around the globe. All you need to do is download the app, match with a native speaker of your preferred language, and start talking!
