{"id":13716,"date":"2021-05-30T21:04:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T15:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/?p=13716"},"modified":"2021-05-30T21:04:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T15:34:59","slug":"what-are-the-traditions-of-the-dragon-boat-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/what-are-the-traditions-of-the-dragon-boat-festival","title":{"rendered":"What are the Traditions of the Dragon Boat Festival?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scrumptious dumplings and deafening drumbeats are the two most thrilling components of the dragon boat festival in Singapore. This festival also known as the Duanwu Festival is a 2000-year-old tradition that is observed with great fervour and enthusiasm. While this tradition was instituted due to the suicide of a loyal and patriotic Chinese\u2019s fellow, now it has developed into a fun and exciting activity.<\/p>\n

Dragon Boat Festival Dates\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The festival is based on the lunar calendar which is why the dates on the Gregorian calendar differ every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Year<\/strong><\/td>\nDate<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020<\/td>\n25th<\/sup> June<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2021<\/td>\n14th<\/sup> June<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2022<\/td>\n3rd<\/sup> June<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2023<\/td>\n22nd<\/sup> June<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2024<\/td>\n10th<\/sup> June<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

While the ancient festival is filled with traditions and superstitions, it is also very energising and adrenaline-rushing. With modernisation, certain customs have become outdated, however, a few interesting ones remain. Let us take a look at some original traditions of the dragon boat festival.<\/p>\n

Dragon Boat Racing<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dragon-boat-Racing\"<\/p>\n

It is said that the race originated from the hunt for the patriotic poet Qu Yuan who drowned himself. Today these wooden boats are made and decorated in the shape of Chinese dragons. The sizes vary from 25-30 metres in length with about 30 to 60 people required to paddle it. During the race, the boat is paddled in synchrony and at a fast pace, while the sound of the beating drums is used to boost the morale of the participants.<\/p>\n

Eat Dumplings\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Dumplings\"<\/p>\n

Dumplings are by far the most famous and loved Dragon boat festival food. You will usually find sticky rice dumplings made out of glutinous rice stuffed with fillings of beans and meat. These dumplings are wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves in rectangle or triangle shapes and are tied with soaked stalks or colourful silky cords.<\/p>\n

Hang Mugwort and Calumus<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Hang<\/p>\n

Mugwort leaves are widely used for medicinal purposes while on the other hand, Calumus is an aquatic plant that helps keep flies and mosquitoes at bay. These two plants gain importance during this time because the Dragon boat festival is held at the beginning of summer when diseases are far more prevalent. Thus, on the fifth day of the fifth month, folks hang mugwort and calumus on doors to discourage illness and bring good luck to the family.<\/p>\n

Drink Realgar Wine<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"realgar-wine\"<\/p>\n

As an old Chinese saying goes, \u2018drinking realgar wine drives diseases and evils away\u2019, the Dragon boat festival is celebrated by consuming gallons of this wine. Realgar wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink that consists of powdered realgar and fermented cereals. In ancient times, it was believed that realgar was an antidote to all poisons and highly effective in driving evil spirits away.<\/p>\n

Wear Perfume Pouches<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Wear<\/p>\n

Before the commencement of the festival, parents prepare perfume pouches for their children. It is made by sewing colourful silk cloths into little bags that are later filled with herbal medicines or perfumes. During the Duanwu festival, these perfume pouches are hung around the kid\u2019s necks or tied to the front of a garment to keep evil at bay.<\/p>\n

Even though this festival stands as a symbol of the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar, it has a special place in everyone\u2019s hearts as it leads to great joy and adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scrumptious dumplings and deafening drumbeats are the two most thrilling components of the dragon boat festival in Singapore. This festival also known as the Duanwu Festival is a 2000-year-old tradition that is observed with great fervour and enthusiasm. While this tradition was instituted due to the suicide of a loyal and patriotic Chinese\u2019s fellow, now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":13717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1328],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13716"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13725,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13716\/revisions\/13725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fnp.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}