A brief introduction to the origin and legend of Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the ancient ancestors' choice of "Dragon Ascending to Heaven" as an auspicious day to worship the ancestors of the Dragon, and injected the seasonal fashion of "eliminating diseases and preventing epidemics" in summer. Dragon Boat Festival is considered as an "evil moon day", which originated in the northern part of the Central Plains to commemorate Qu Yuan and other historical figures. The formation of the Dragon Boat Festival custom can be said to be the product of the integration of North and South customs.

According to historical records, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 278 BC, Qu Yuan, a doctor and patriotic poet of the State of Chu, was saddened by the news that Qin Jun had invaded the capital of the State of Chu. He resolutely wrote the last poem "Huai Sha" and threw himself into the Miluo River. People along the river are racing to salvage with boats, evoking souls along the water surface and throwing zongzi into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from eating into his body. This custom has lasted for more than two thousand years.

For thousands of years, Qu Yuan's patriotic spirit and touching poems have been deeply rooted in people's hearts. People "remember it, mourn it, pass on its words to the world and pass it on." In the field of folk culture, China people have since closely linked the dragon boat race and eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival with the commemoration of Qu Yuan. With the growing influence of Qu Yuan, the Dragon Boat Festival, which began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, gradually spread and became a festival of the Chinese nation.

There are many nicknames for the Dragon Boat Festival in China, such as Noon Festival, May Festival, Yulan Festival, Daughter's Day, Zhongyuan Festival, Poet's Day, Dragon Boat Festival and so on. Although the names are different, the customs of people everywhere are similar. The contents mainly include: daughter going back to her parents' home, hanging Zhong Kui statue, hanging calamus, wormwood, wearing sachets, dragon boat racing, fighting, hitting the ball, swinging, drawing realgar for children, drinking realgar wine, eating salted eggs, zongzi and seasonal fresh fruits.