Dragon Boat Festival: Perfect Gifts For The Occasion

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, usually in May or June. It's a great opportunity for family fun, with dragon boat races, folk customs, and gift-giving. The festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who drowned in the Miluo River in 278 BC. Eating and gifting zongzi (rice dumplings) is a popular tradition during the festival. Other customs include drinking realgar wine, hanging calamus and wormwood on doors, and wearing perfume pouches. Dragon boat racing has become an international sport, with competitions held worldwide. If you're looking for gift ideas, merchandise related to dragon boat racing is a great option, with many t-shirts, stickers, and other items available featuring creative designs.

Dragon Boat Racing

The Dragon Boat Festival is a summer holiday, usually celebrated close to the summer solstice. The date is determined by the lunar calendar and is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which typically falls in May or June.

The festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a patriotic Chinese poet and minister who drowned in the Miluo River in 278 BC. The story goes that locals raced out in their boats to save him or retrieve his body, but when they couldn't find him, they dropped rice dumplings in the water to feed the fish so that his body would not be eaten.

Eating Zongzi

Zongzi are made differently across China. In the north, people enjoy zongzi with dates, while in the south, people prefer mixed ingredients such as meat, sausages, and eggs. The custom is also practised in other parts of Asia, including Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

In addition to their cultural significance, zongzi are also popular gifts during the Dragon Boat Festival. They are often given to teachers or older relatives. When giving zongzi as a gift, it is customary to present them in a gift basket or box. This adds a touch of elegance and makes the gift more special.

When preparing zongzi at home, it is important to use fresh and high-quality ingredients. The type of rice used is crucial, as it should be sticky and glutinous. For the fillings, a variety of options are available, including savoury and sweet choices. Some popular savoury fillings are pork, peanuts, sausage, and mung beans, while sweet options may include red bean paste or lotus seed paste.

The process of making zongzi can be a fun and rewarding family activity. It is a great way to involve children in the Dragon Boat Festival celebrations and teach them about the traditions and culture associated with the holiday. By preparing zongzi at home, families can also ensure the dumplings are made to their taste preferences and include their favourite ingredients.

Hanging Calamus and Wormwood on Doors

In the lead-up to the Dragon Boat Festival, people will clean their houses and hang calamus and wormwood by their doors. The plants are sometimes made into mini bouquets and sold in markets. People also use the plants to make decorations, wearing them for aroma and health. The plants are believed to have special fragrances that can repel insects.

Calamus and wormwood are also used in other Dragon Boat Festival customs. People make perfume pouches filled with vanilla, calamus, wormwood, and other fragrant items to wear around their necks. They also bathe in herb waters, boiling the plants with water to prevent diseases.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year. It is a highly anticipated event with international reach, featuring dragon boat racing, rice dumplings, and gift-giving.

Drinking Realgar Wine

Realgar Wine, or Xionghuang Wine, is a Chinese alcoholic drink consisting of huangjiu ("yellow wine") mixed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral. The wine is traditionally consumed by adults during the Dragon Boat Festival, which coincides with the height of summer in Chinese astronomy and the force of yang for the year.

The practice of drinking Realgar Wine is rooted in the belief that it offers protection against disease, snakes, and evil spirits. This belief stems from traditional Chinese medicine, which considered realgar to be a universal antidote to poison. In addition to drinking the wine, adults would also apply it to children's faces to repel the five poisonous creatures associated with the festival: the snake, centipede, scorpion, lizard, and toad.

The preparation of Realgar Wine involves adding 50 to 100 grams of realgar powder to one liter of homemade wine and letting it stand at room temperature for several hours. While the wine has been traditionally made from homemade yellow wine, modern versions may use store-bought wine. The realgar mineral powder can be purchased from drugstores, markets, or street vendors.

It is important to note that the consumption of Realgar Wine has come under scrutiny due to the presence of arsenic compounds. While pure realgar has low toxicity when ingested due to its poor solubility, the wine may contain other inorganic arsenic compounds that can be absorbed by the body. Arsenic is a potent poison and has been linked to various cancers. Therefore, it is recommended to exercise caution when preparing and consuming Realgar Wine.

Painting Kids' Foreheads with Realgar Wine

Painting children's foreheads with realgar wine is a traditional ritual during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is a Chinese national holiday and ancient feast day celebrated throughout Asia. The festival is rich in tradition and is extremely popular in China and beyond.

Realgar wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink consisting of huangjiu ("yellow wine") mixed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral. The Dragon Boat Festival coincides with what Chinese astronomy considers the height of summer and the year's yang force. It is believed that drinking huangjiu with realgar powder protects adults from disease, snakes, and evil spirits. Children who are too young to drink alcohol are instead painted with a 王 ("king") on their forehead or chest with realgar slurry left over from the wine-making process. This is believed to bestow good luck and health upon the child.

However, the practice of painting children's foreheads with realgar wine has come under scrutiny in modern times. Realgar by itself has low toxicity when ingested due to its poor solubility in the gastrointestinal tract. Nevertheless, the minerals used in realgar wine may contain substantial amounts of other inorganic arsenic compounds, such as arsenate and arsenite, which can be absorbed by the body. Arsenic is a potent poison and a causal factor in urinary bladder, skin, liver, and lung cancers. There have been several poisonings associated with realgar ingestion.

Urine samples collected from children with realgar-painted foreheads showed arsenic levels of ≥80 μg/L, indicating absorption through the skin. This suggests that the ceremonial practice of painting children's foreheads with realgar wine presents a potentially serious health risk.

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