The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival is to honor Qu Yuan, as detailed below. Customs include eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, inserting mugwort leaves, wearing scented bags and so on.
I. The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival and legendary stories.
Memorial Qu Yuan. Legend has it that Qu Yuan threw himself into the river because his ambition was hard to fulfill and he had no way to serve his country, plus his country was invaded. People at that time were very sad when they knew that Qu Yuan had died, and many people went to Miluo River to mourn Qu Yuan.
Some fishermen even put food into the Miluo River in the hope that the fish and shrimp would not nibble on Qu Yuan's body after they had their fill, a move that was emulated by many, and some even used leaves to wrap up the rice and put it into the river.
This custom has also been passed down, so people will eat zongzi on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival on the 5th of May to honor Qu Yuan with this act.
2. Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.
1, eat zongzi.
In our country in the spring and autumn things have appeared zongzi, with the improvement of people's living standards, zongzi type is also more and more diverse, such as bacon and sausage zongzi, pine nut and lotus seed zongzi, egg yolk and ham zongzi and so on flavor.
2, dragon boat racing.
Legend has it that after Qu Yuan threw himself into the river, the fisherman rowed a boat in the river to salvage Qu Yuan's body, however, it still hasn't been found, therefore, in order to commemorate the Qu Yuan, people will row a dragon boat on May 5 every year in order to express their condolences to Qu Yuan.
3. Hanging of mugwort leaves.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, people would hang a bunch of mugwort leaves on the door brow to expel plague and miasma. Ai leaves have a fragrance, can drive away mosquitoes, has the role of air purification, sterilization, therefore, the ancient people will be inserted in the door eyebrow ai leaves to prevent the spread of disease.