What kind of wine do you drink on Dragon Boat Festival?

The wines drunk during the Dragon Boat Festival include Pu wine, realgar wine and cinnabar wine. The custom of drinking realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival was very popular in the ancient Yangtze River basin. There is an old saying: "Drink realgar wine and all diseases will disappear." Drinking realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival is intended to ward off evil spirits and drive away poison. Dragon Boat Festival is in hot summer, so applying realgar wine to children's nose and mouth can protect children from insects and snakes.

What kind of wine do you drink on Dragon Boat Festival?

"Chronicle of Jingchu Times" records: "Acorus calamus is carved or shredded to cool wine." Pu wine is fragrant and refreshing. Later, realgar and cinnabar were added to the wine, and this custom spread widely. On the Dragon Boat Festival, people dip calamus and wormwood in wine and sprinkle it on walls, doors and windows, under beds and other corners. Then apply wine to the child's ears, nose and navel to drive away poisonous insects.

Legend has it that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, people in his hometown threw zongzi and salted eggs into the river to prevent the dragon from eating Qu Yuan's body. An old doctor brought an altar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying that it could save the dragon and protect Qu Yuan. Surprisingly, there is really a dragon floating on the water. So, people pulled the dragon ashore, lacing and peeling it. Then wrap the dragon tendon around the child's wrist and neck, and then wipe the seven orifices with realgar wine, thinking that this can protect the child from insects and snakes.

It is said that this is the origin of drinking realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival.