What does Dragon Boat Festival mean?

Dragon Boat Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China, also known as "Double Ninth Festival" and "Duanyang Festival". It is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year in memory of Qu Yuan, an ancient patriotic poet in China. Dragon Boat Festival originated in the south of China, and then gradually spread to all parts of the country, becoming one of the traditional festivals in China.

The main activities of the Dragon Boat Festival include eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, hanging wormwood, wearing sachets and drinking realgar wine. These activities have profound cultural background and historical origins. Among them, eating zongzi is one of the most important customs of Dragon Boat Festival, which means commemorating Qu Yuan and preventing plague. Dragon boat race is to commemorate the person who saved Qu Yuan and look for his body in the river. It symbolizes courage and unity. Hanging wormwood and wearing sachets is to ward off evil spirits and avoid epidemics; Drinking realgar wine is to prevent diseases and poisonous snakes.

In a word, Dragon Boat Festival is one of the important traditional festivals in China, with rich historical and cultural background and folk customs.