Duanwu Festival - 06Jun2011


Duanwu Festival (simplified Chinese: 端午节; traditional Chinese: 端午節; pinyin: Duānwǔ Jié), also known as Dragon Boat Festival (simplified Chinese: 龙船节; traditional Chinese: 龍船節; pinyin: Lóngchuán Jié), is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China and associated with a number of East Asian and Southeast Asian societies. In Mandarin, it is known by the name Duānwǔ Jié; in Hong Kong and Macau, by the Cantonese name Tuen Ng Jit. In 2008, it was recognised as a public holiday in mainland China for the first time since the 1940s. The festival has also long been celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Equivalent and related festivals in Asia include the Kodomo no hi in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam.

The festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth. In 2011, this falls on June 6. The focus of the celebrations includes eating the rice dumpling zongzi (Chinese: 粽子; pinyin: zòngzi), drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu (Chinese: 雄黃酒; pinyin: Xiónghuángjiǔ), and racing dragon boats.

端午節為每年農曆五月初五,又稱端陽節、午日節、五月節、五日節、艾節、端五、重午、午日、夏節、蒲節,本來是夏季的一個驅除瘟疫的節日,後來楚國詩人屈原於端午節投江自盡,就變成紀念屈原的節日(一說紀念吳國忠臣伍子胥的忌日),與春節、中秋等節日同屬東亞文化圈的中國大陸、日本、韓國、臺灣、越南的重要傳統節日。

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