Dragon Boat Festival

[Thomas Promise]

 

My SO told me that tomorrow will start a 3 day festival of Dragon Boats. It is an Ancient ritual to ward off summertime diseases and plagues.

 

 

[Randy W]

 

My SO told me that tomorrow will start a 3 day festival of Dragon Boats. It is an Ancient ritual to ward off summertime diseases and plagues.

 

 

 

 

The DuanWu Jie falls on the 5th day of the fifth lunar month - that's June 12 (tomorrow) this year. Two extra days are thrown in (Monday and Tuesday) to make a three day holiday from work, but those days are made up by having to work on Saturday and Sunday, the 8th and 9th.

 

From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival

 

A number of theories exist about its origins as a number of folk traditions and explanatory myths are connected to its observance. Today the best known of these relates to the suicide in 278 BCE of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period

 

. . .

 

It is said that the local people, who admired him, dropped sticky hi triangles wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river to feed the fish. The rice was wrapped so that fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body and eat the rice instead. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing

[NickF]

Talked to ChunMei last night (morning in Nanning, of course.) She and her sisters are busy making zongzi for the Festival. Then she's going shopping. I'm happy she gets to spend the Festival with her family, but I'm even happier she'll be coming home a week from today.

[Thomas Promise]

Zongzi. A really delicous food.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Taiwanese_zongzi_by_fhisa_in_Yokohama_Chinatown.jpg/450px-Taiwanese_zongzi_by_fhisa_in_Yokohama_Chinatown.jpg

[Randy W]

From the People's Daily

 

A taste of Chinese Duanwu

 

Quote

 

Dragon Boat Festival

The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year is an important day for the Chinese people. The day is called Duan Wu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated everywhere in China. This festival dates back to about 2,000 years ago with a number of legends explaining its origin. The best-known story centers on a great patriotic poet named Qu Yuan.

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

First Dragon Boat Festival in space

 

 

Astronauts willtuckintostickyricedumplings, butalsofacenewrisks

ThethreeastronautsonboardShenzhouXhaveincreasedfoodchoicesandamorerelaxedworkschedule, butmayalsofacenewrisks.

NieHaisheng, ZhangXiaoguangandWangYapingwillcelebrateDragonBoatFestivalonWednesdaywiththetraditionalstickyricedumplingsknownas "zongzi".

 

. . .

 

Some expertsarealsoconcernedaboutthesafetyofthespacemodule'senvironment.

Despiteanairpurifiercleaningthemodule'sairandastronautsonpreviousmissionswipingawaydustwithwettissuesbeforeleaving, therecouldbeunknownrisks, saidWangXiang, chiefcommanderofthespacelabsystem.

"AstronautslivedinTiangong 1 lastyear, bringingmoistureinside. All the windows and doors were shut over the past year. We are worried about the microbes that may have grown inside the module andthehazardsthatmicrobesposetotheastronauts' health."

 

Sound familiar?