Today was another short day, yet productive day. Today is also 端午節(duan1wu3jie2), or Dragon Boat Festival. The most iconic portion of the festival is the dragon-boat race, or 賽龍船(sai4long2chuan2).
The dragon boat race has its roots in ancient traditions. Quyuan (屈原, qu1yuan2), a famous poet, author, and statesman, was banished by the king. In sorrow, he drowned himself in the Miluo River(汨羅, mi4luo2).
The people rushed into the river to his aid, and now we hold a yearly celebratory race to commemorate his death. The common people also scattered rice to prevent the fish from eating his body, where the zongzi(粽子,zong4zi) originates.
粽子 are pyramidal dumplings made with glutinous rice (糯米, nuo4mi3) and wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are traditionally eaten during the Duanwu festivities.
Link to today’s vlog: