Tomorrow, May 28, is China’s Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Jie. This traditional festival, which was added to the list of official holidays just last year, commemorates the heroism of Qu Yuan, a poet and government official from the Warring States Period. According to legend, Qu Yuan was exiled for daring to criticize some of the emperor’s decisions. When the emperor was defeated, Qu Yuan was so remorseful that he threw himself into the Miluo River near Yueyang in northern Hunan Province and drowned.
In truth, the origins of the festival are a bit more murky. But everyone agrees on how to celebrate. Zongzi (粽子) are glutinous rice “dumplings” that are wrapped with banana leaves and tied into neat little packages. They can be flavored with dates, red bean, meat, egg yolks and more. Supposedly they symbolize the rice that residents of Yueyang dropped into the river to feed Qu Yuan’s spirit after his death. Mainly, I think people think they are yummy. About a week ago, the grocery store added a huge zongzi display to cater to the pre-festival demand. But they are available year-round. (My students brought me one this morning, but I didn’t have a camera. Check out pictures here.)
The festival is also celebrated by racing dragon boats. The boats look like extremely long canoes, fitted with large teams of rowers. It is much more than just a holiday sport — there is an international dragon boat racing competition held every year.
For me, Duanwu Jie translates into a three-day weekend. Under the strange rules of Chinese holiday calendars, we have Thursday and Friday off from class, but must make up Friday’s classes on Sunday. Thursday’s classes never get made up. I don’t understand, but it’s more convenient than class on Friday! I’ll be spending the weekend in Dehang, a Miao village in western Hunan. Look for an update when I get back.
Update: For more on zongzi, check out this Wall St. Journal article.
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