Why do some places eat preserved eggs and salted duck eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival?

In China, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are also called "the three major festivals in China".

Why is the Dragon Boat Festival called Dragon Boat Festival? It turns out that Duan means Chu, and the fifth day means Dragon Boat Festival. According to the China calendar, May is noon, so the fifth day of May is Dragon Boat Festival.

There are many different explanations about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival. Some people think that the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the custom of the ancient solstice and summer, while others think that people in the ancient Yangtze River valley worship the dragon totem. However, the most common folk saying is that the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate the ancient patriotic poet Qu Yuan. In the 3rd century BC, Qu Yuan lived in Chu State. After his motherland was captured by the enemy, he jumped into the Guluo River in grief and indignation and died. It was the fifth day of May. From now on, every year on the fifth day of May, in order to commemorate Qu Yuan's noble character, people will throw rice in bamboo tubes into the river to show their respect for him. Later, the rice in the bamboo tube evolved into zongzi.

Eating zongzi is the most important custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi was called "corn millet" in ancient times. It is made by wrapping glutinous rice with reed leaves and bamboo leaves, tying it into a cone or pillow shape with rope, and then cooking it. On the eve of Dragon Boat Festival, every household will make dumplings and cook them in a pot for dieting. Zongzi is also a gift for each other. When visiting relatives and friends on the Dragon Boat Festival, people will give each other their own dumplings.

Besides zongzi, China also has some foods, such as eating salted duck eggs and drinking realgar wine, which are all taken from the folk saying of avoiding evil spirits.

In addition to eating, the Dragon Boat Festival has a unique decorative folk custom. On this day, wormwood and cattail are hung in front of every household. On the one hand, they are used to ward off evil spirits; On the other hand, it is rainy and humid in early summer, poisonous insects breed, and people are prone to get sick. These two herbs can play a certain role in preventing and treating diseases. In addition, on the Dragon Boat Festival, people will wrap colorful silk threads for children, which means "longevity". They sew sachets, which are shaped like tigers and gourds, put spices in them, hang them on their chests with silk threads, dress them with shoes in the shape of tiger's head, and embroider tiger's Chinese bra. All these are to protect their safety and good luck.

In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southern China, dragon boat racing is also one of the important customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that this custom is also related to Qu Yuan. Legend has it that people found Qu Yuan jumping into the river and rowed desperately to save him. Later, it evolved into the custom of holding dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival. Every year, the Dragon Boat Festival, the dragon boat race by the river and the lake has become a grand festival. In some places, there are 50 or 60 dragon boats, and each bow is equipped with wood carving faucets with bright colors and different shapes. The famous ship was full of gongs and drums and loud shouts. You chase after me, colorful flags fly on the river bank, and everyone is jubilant. The exciting dragon boat race pushed the Dragon Boat Festival to a climax.