Transcript dragon Boat festival

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The Dragon Boat
Festival, Duānwǔ Jié ,
marks the arrival of
summer. This day
occurs on the 5th day of
the 5th month on the
lunar calendar.
During the festival
people gather at river
banks to watch many
people race dragon
boats.
It’s also a time to
remember one of
China’s most famous
poets Qū Yuán.
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Qu Yuan a poet and statesman lived in a
state by the name of Chu. He hated
corruption but it was all around him. He
tried to help his country and no one would
listen. His enemies told lies to the king
and he was kicked out of the state.
He lived in exile for 67 years and wrote
poetry. He remained loyal to his king.
One day he found out enemy troops were
starting to invade the state of Chu to over
throw the king
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Qū Yuán was so heartbroken that he threw
himself into the river and drowned.
Not long after Qū Yuán’s death a fisherman
threw rice into the Milo River to please the
River God. He heard a voice from the bottom
of the river say, “I’m hungry!” This happens
for the next day.
On the 3rd day, the fisherman threw a big bag
of rice into the river. The spirit of Qū Yuán
spoke to him and explained there is a dragon
at the bottom of the river and it eats the rice
before he has a chance. The spirit tells the
fisherman to wrap the rice in leaves and
attach them to black, green, and red ropes to
scare the dragon
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The Spirit also tells
the fisherman to
throw in handfuls of
loose rice too make
sure both of them
are happy.
The fisherman does
what he is supposed
to do and is
rewarded with a net
full of fish.
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Race wooden Dragon boats with a carved
dragon head at the front and a tail at the back
Musicians and performers sing songs and tell
stories using bamboo clackers called zhupian
Around Dragon Boat festival, people wear
small bags filled with herbs and plants to
keep illness and evil spirits away. These bags
are called xiangbao
People make rice packets called zongzi
Occurs on June 16, 2010