From May 28 to May 30, 2017, it is a three-day public holiday
June 30 (Tuesday, Dragon Boat Festival) is a national legal holiday
May 28 (Sunday) public holiday
Public holiday from May 28 (Sunday) to May 29 (Monday)
Work as usual on Wednesday, May 31.
Expanding knowledge: the origin of Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, also known as Dragon Boat Festival, noon day festival, May Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Yulan Festival, etc. It is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and other countries in the circle of Chinese character culture,
The Dragon Boat Festival originated in China. It was originally a festival to cure diseases and prevent epidemics. Before the spring and Autumn Period in Wuyue, there was a custom to hold a tribal totem sacrifice in the form of dragon boat race on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Later, because the poet Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River to die, it became a traditional festival for Chinese to commemorate Qu Yuan. In some areas, there are also sayings to commemorate Wu Zixu and Cao E.
Dragon Boat Festival has always had zongzi and realgar for a long time. Influenced by Chinese culture, Mid Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival of Chinese culture circle countries and overseas Chinese all over the world.
Since 2008, Dragon Boat Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday. In May 2006, the State Council listed it in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In September 2009, UNESCO officially reviewed and approved China Dragon Boat Festival to be listed as the world intangible cultural heritage, becoming China's first festival selected as the world intangible cultural heritage.
The custom of Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom of the Chinese people for more than 2000 years. Due to the vast area, numerous nationalities, and many stories and legends, not only many different Festival names but also different customs are produced in different places. Its contents mainly include: the daughter goes back to her mother's home, hangs the bell Kui statue, welcomes the ghost boat, hides the noon, pastes the noon leaf Fu, hangs the calamus, the wormwood, swims the hundred diseases, wears the sachet, prepares the animal and the lily, competes the dragon boat, competes the martial arts, hits the ball, swings, paints the realgar to the child, drinks the realgar wine, the calamus wine, eats the five poison cake, the salted egg, the zongzi and the seasonal fresh fruit and so on.
The legend of Dragon Boat Festival
1. Commemoration of Qu Yuan's Theory
According to the records of history, Qu Yuan was the Minister of King Huai of Chu in the spring and Autumn period. He advocated the cultivation of talents, the prosperity of the country and the strength of the army, and the unity of Qi and Qin. He was strongly opposed by aristocrats such as Zi Lan. Qu Yuan was greedily dismissed from his post, expelled from the capital, and exiled to yuan and Xiang river basins. In exile, he wrote immortal poems such as Lisao, Tianwen and Jiuge, which worried about the country and the people, with unique style and profound influence (therefore, Dragon Boat Festival is also called poet Festival). In 278 BC, the Qin army conquered the capital of Chu. Qu Yuan saw his motherland was invaded and his heart was cut like a knife, but he could not bear to abandon his motherland. On May 5, after writing the masterpiece "Huaisha", he threw stones into Miluo River and died, composing a magnificent patriotic movement with his own life.
It is said that after Qu Yuan's death, the people of Chu state were in great sorrow and rushed to Miluo River to pay homage to Qu Yuan. The fishermen rowed their boats and fished for his body on the river. A fisherman took out the rice balls, eggs and other food prepared for Qu Yuan and threw them into the river "plop, plop", saying that if the fish, shrimp and crab were full, they would not bite Dr Qu. People followed suit. An old doctor took a jar of realgar wine and poured it into the river, saying it was to make Jiaolong water animals faint, so as not to hurt Dr Qu. Later, for fear that rice balls would be eaten by Jiaolong, people thought of wrapping rice with neem leaves, wrapping colorful silk outside, and developing into brown seeds.
Later, on the fifth day of May every year, there was the custom of dragon boat race, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
2. Commemorating Wu Zixu's Theory
The legend of Dragon Boat Festival: Qu Yuan and Wu Zixu
The second legend of the Dragon Boat Festival, widely spread in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, commemorates Wu Zixu in the spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC). Wu Zixu, a famous member of the state of Chu, and his father and brother were killed by the king of Chu. Later, Zixu abandoned himself and went to the state of Wu to help Wu conquer Chu. He entered the capital of Chu in five wars. At that time, King Ping of Chu was dead. Zixu dug the tomb and whipped 300 corpses to avenge the killing of his father and brother. After the death of King Helu of Wu, his son fuchai succeeded him. The morale of the Wu army was high, winning every battle, and the state of Yue was defeated. Gou Jian, king of Yue, asked him to join him, and fuchai promised him. Zixu suggested that the state of Yue should be wiped out completely, and the master of the state of Wu would not listen to him. He was bribed by the state of Yue, slandered and framed Zixu. He believed it, and gave Zixu a sword, and Zixu died.
Zixu, who was loyal and good, saw death as a return. Before he died, he said to his neighbors: 'after I died, I dug out my eyes and hung them on the east gate of the capital of Wu to see the army of the state of Yue enter the city and destroy Wu'. Then he committed suicide and died. When hearing the anger, he ordered Zixu's body to be put in leather and put into the river on May 5. Therefore, it is said that Dragon Boat Festival is also to commemorate the day of Wu Zixu.
3. To commemorate the filial daughter Cao E
The third legend of the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Cao E, a filial daughter of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-220), who saved her father from drowning in the river. Cao E was born in Shangyu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Her father drowned in the river, and she did not see the body for several days. At that time, Cao E, her filial daughter, was only 14 years old, crying along the river day and night. After 17 days, he also threw himself into the river on May 5, and picked up his father's body five days later. This is a myth, and then it's passed down to the magistrate of the county, who ordered Dushan to set up a monument and let his disciple Handan Chun eulogize it.
The tomb of Cao'e, a filial daughter, is in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. It is later said that the stele of Cao'e was written by Wang Yi of Jin Dynasty. In order to commemorate Cao'e's filial piety, Cao'e temple was built at the place where Cao'e threw herself into the river. The village she lived in was renamed as Cao'e Town, and the place where Cao'e died for her father was named as Cao'e River. Therefore, it is said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also a day to commemorate Cao E, a filial daughter.