The Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 Kelsey, Kathy, Sally and Caroline

Main Activities Eating and Preparing zòngzi (粽子) Which are angular rice balls wrapped in bamboo leaves Drinking realgar wine Antidote Used the wine to write the character King on the children’s forhead Racing Dragon Boats Throwing Food into the River All these activities are to ward off evil and disease and to bring good health Caroline

Food-Zongzi Glutinous Rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaf Fillings include: Pork marinated in soy sauce Egg Poultry Mashed red beans Dried dates No filling Served with sugar or honey Kathy

Mythical Origin Suicide of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman Exiled because of disagreement with king Wrote famous poetry Drowned himself in a river on 5th day of the 5th month Fans threw food into the river to keep fish from eating his body Paddled out on boats to scare fish/find his body Sally

屈原 Kelsey

Other Myths—Wu Zixu The former territory of the state of Wu commemorates Wu Zixu in the festival instead of Qu Yuan Wu Zixu was also an advisor to the king Forced to commit suicide by the king on the fifth day of the fifth month After his death Wu Zixu was revered as a river god In the Jiangsu province the Danwu festival is still dedicated to Wu Zixu Kelsey

伍子胥 Kelsey

More Myths These stories seem to have been promoted by Confucian scholars One theory says that the festival started with dragon worship Another theory says that the festival celebrates the harvest of winter wheat Some researchers think that the stories of Qu Yuan or Wu Zixu were made up after the holiday was invented Kelsey

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 16th this year… Mark it on your calendars and celebrate it!