(CFP)

The Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar. In 2011, it falls on June 6 of the solar calendar.

The festival, which is celebrated by all Chinese, has a history of more than 2,500 years. As a popular ballad in ancient time goes: "The smell of rice dumpling spreads in the kitchen. The fragrance of mugwort leaves fills the whole house. Peach branches are decorated at the gate. Yellow wheat fills the eyes as you step out of the gate," depicts how Chinese people celebrate the festival.

Nationally speaking, dragon boat racing and eating rice dumplings (zongzi in Chinese), a pyramid-shaped snack made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, are the two most important activities during the festival.

In 2008, the Dragon Boat Festival was listed as an official holiday in China and in 2009 it was included on the list of world intangible cultural heritage.

Origin

China is a big agricultural country, which means many traditional festivals are related to farming activities. The fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar is the time when spring ends and hot summer begins.

There is a saying in Taiwan which goes, "Don't store heavy coats before eating rice dumplings," which means summer does not really start before the Dragon Boat Festival.

In the days before the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), the fifth month of the lunar calendar was regarded as a bad month and the fifth day of the month as a bad day, as animals regarded as poisonous by human beings, such as scorpions, centipedes, snakes, toads and wall geckos, start to come out after this day. Besides, after this day, the temperature goes higher, and people become more vulnerable to disease.

MAKE A DASH: More than 70 teams take part in the dragon boat race held in Hong Kong on June 16, 2010, to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival (HUANG XIAOYONG)

During the Dragon Boat Festival, people try any way to avoid the bad luck. For example, people paste pictures of the five poisonous creatures on the wall and stick needles in them. People also make paper cuttings of the five creatures and wrapped these around the wrists of their children. Big ceremonies and performances developed from these practices in many areas, making the Dragon Boat Festival a day for getting rid of disease and bad luck.