The Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year, and is also known as the Duan Yang Festival, Wuzhi Festival, May Festival and so on.

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival

1, to commemorate Qu Yuan: Qu Yuan is a poet and statesman of the Warring States period, because of his advocacy of political reforms, offending the interests of the aristocrats and ministers, he was ostracized and exiled, and finally the state of Chu was defeated by the state of Qin, Qu Yuan, grief and indignation, jumped into the Miluo River, martyred himself, and the people in order to commemorate the qu yuan, he jumped into the river on the day designated as the Dragon Boat Festival.

2, to commemorate the Wu general Wu Zixu: According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a native of Chu, led the Wu army to kill the capital of Chu, and whipped the body of the dead King Ping of Chu to 300, to avenge the killing of his father and brother. Later, Wu Zixu led the Wu army to destroy the state of Yue, and the king of Yue, Goujian, took himself as a hostage in the state of Wu. Wu Zixu advised the king of Wu, Fu Zhai, to kill Goujian, but Fu Zhai refused to listen to him. When Wu Zixu was advised to kill Goujian, Fu Cha refused to listen to him. Later, Fu Cha listened to the slanderous words of Bo Xi, and sent a sword to Wu Zixu, causing him to commit suicide. Before his death, Wu Zixu told his neighbors, "When I die, gouge out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of the capital of Wu, so as to see the army of Yue enter the city and destroy Wu." Upon hearing this, King Fu-chai of Wu was furious and had Wu Zixu's body sunk in the Qiantang River on the 5th day of the 5th month. The local people made dumplings and raced dragon boats on this day to honor him.

3, to commemorate the filial daughter of Cao E: According to legend, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shangyu people, Cao E's father drowned in the river, Cao E looking for many days, but still did not find his father, so in the day of the 5th of May, the 14-year-old Cao E threw himself into the river to look for his father, and a few days later, Cao E held his father's body out of the river. In order to commemorate the filial piety of Cao E, the descendants will be May 5 every year as a holiday to commemorate the Cao E.

The Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival, together with the Spring Festival, the Qingming Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, is known as the four major traditional festivals in Chinese folklore, and in May 2006, the State Council included it in the list of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages. Since 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday.

In September 2009, UNESCO officially considered and approved the inclusion of the Dragon Boat Festival in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage, making it the first Chinese festival to be selected as a World Intangible Heritage. The Dragon Boat Festival is not only a custom for most Chinese people, but also a traditional festival for Chinese people in the countries of the Chinese character culture circle as well as overseas Chinese around the world due to the influence of Chinese culture.