Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival has come and gone with little fanfare and a three-day weekend. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the lesser Chinese holidays. Like many traditional Chinese holidays, it’s date is determined by the lunar calendar. This festival “ occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calenda r.” Thanks Wikipedia . The short version is that minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) committed suicide after the dynasty he was loyal to was conquered. Having no dynasty to sever he had no reason to live and drowned himself. As such, he has become a figure of loyalty and piety. This origin story or myth serves to explain the two main traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival: Racing in paddle-driven longboats carved like long dragons to imitate the people as they raced out to pull Qu Yuan from the water. The bamboo-leaf wrapped rice balls in memory of the rice used to feed the fish in an attempt to distract the fish from eating Qu Yuan dead body.