This year, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 25th of June!<\/p>\n
For some who may be not yet aware, in China, the Dragon Boat Festival is a public holiday commemorating the life and death of the Chinese scholar, Qu Yuan.<\/p>\n
Qu Yuan was originally appointed as a minister for the Chu but was ousted for refusing the alliance of the much larger and more powerful Kingdom of Qin. When the Qin eventually conquered the capital of Chu, Yingdu, the general felt that his grief too much that he chose to commit suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the 5th of May of the Lunar Calendar.<\/p>\n
As the townsfolk were touched by the patriotism of Qu Yuan, they all started rolling their boats to save him. The act of saving Qu Yuan was the beginning of the dragon boat races during this festival. After they had failed to retrieve his corpse, they threw packets of sticky rice into the river, hoping the fishes would eat the rice instead of his body.<\/p>\n
Thus, Chinese people started to serve rice dumplings (i.e. zongzi) every year on the same day when Qu Yuan committed suicide, which happens on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar.<\/p>\n
To commemorate this special day, many would would eat rice dumplings, drink realgar wine, and race dragon boats for reasons as mentioned above.<\/p>\n
Following the tradition, many Chinese celebrities shared new photos on social media on how they have spent this special holiday.<\/p>\n
On Oasis, Xiao Zhan<\/a> shared a photo of his rice dumplings accompanied by a sketch wishing everyone a Happy Dragon Boat Festival.<\/p>\n #XiaoZhan<\/a> wishes fans a Happy Dragon Boat Festival on Oasis with a new sketch and photo of a rice dumpling.<\/p>\n "Wishing the best of health, be well." pic.twitter.com\/dJnEnf6lSu<\/a><\/p>\n — Daily Cpop<\/a> News (@DailyCpop) June 25, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n