China is now celebrating the “Dragon Boat Festival” (Duānwǔjié 端午节). The Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month) is a traditional Chinese festival.
The Dragon Boat Festival is regarded as an auspicious day in China to eliminate diseases and exorcise evils. Therefore, people will say “Wishing good luck for the Dragon Boat Festival!” (duānwǔ xiángruì 端午祥瑞) and “Wishing good health and safety for the Dragon Boat Festival!” (duānwǔ ānkāng 端午安康) to express their blessings.
“Dragon boat riding” (huálóngzhōu 划龙舟) and eating “rice dumplings” or zòngzi 粽子 are the two main themes of the Dragon Boat Festival. Zòngzi is a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and choice of filling wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
There are also many Dragon Boat customs in China. These customs have traditionally been seen as a way of “warding off evil, toxins and illness” (qūchú bìngwēn 祛除病瘟).
These customs include hanging up “wormwood/Chinese mugwort” (àicǎo 艾草) and “sachets” (xiāngnáng 香囊), “tying five coloured silk threads” (shuān wǔsè sīxiàn 拴五色丝线) and “painting the forehead” (huà é 画额).
Wishing good health and safety for the Dragon Boat Festival! Duānwǔ ānkāng 端午安康 !
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