Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is a traditional and important celebration in China.

This year’s Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 7 (Friday). China will have 3 days of holiday from Friday (June 7) to Sunday (June 9), and we will be back at work on Monday, June 10.

With a history over 2,000 years, Dragon Boat Festival used to be a hygiene day when people would use herbs to dispel diseases and viruses. However, the most popular origin is closely related to the great poet Qu Yuan (343–278 BC) in the Warring States Period. To engrave his death on the fifth day on the fifth lunar month, people celebrate the festival in various ways.

Dragon boat racing is the most important activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said to originate from the legend of people paddling out on boats to seek the body of patriotic poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the Miluo River. The wooden boats are shaped and decorated in the form of a Chinese dragon. The boat size varies by region. During the races, dragon boat teams paddle harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by the sound of beating drums. It is said that the winning team will have good luck and a happy life in the following year.

Many traditional customs and activities are held on the specified day by people in China and even by people in neighboring Asian countries. Dragon boat racing and eating Zongzi are the central customs of the festival. In some regions in China, people also wear a perfume pouch, tie five-color silk thread and hang mugwort leaves or calamus on their doors.

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