All posts tagged holidays

This past Wednesday, June 16 was Dragonboat Festival Day (端午节 “duānwǔjié”). Yes, this is an actual holiday.

According to tradition, you watch dragonboat (端午 “duānwǔ”) races and eat zòngzi (粽子—sweet rice dumplings). Without going into too much history, the festival basically celebrates Qu Yuan, a famous scholar and poet who drowned himself in a river. According to legend, people rushed to the river and used their boats to find him, but were unsuccessful. The zongzi were thrown into the river, though I’ve heard and read different reasons as to why this was the case. Some say it was a sacrificial offering, others say it was to feed Qu (in the event that he was, you know, alive), and still others say it was to feed the fish so that they wouldn’t eat his body. I even heard they were used to feed a dragon deep beneath the river’s surface. Just one of many things I’m unclear of on this holiday.

So how did I celebrate? Well, having given up on dragonboating—I tried out practicing with a real team in Beijing and had muscle spasms in my arms, back and shoulders for nearly a week afterward!—I decided to take the easier route and attend a zongzi cooking class on Wednesday morning. I learned not only how to prepare the treats, but also the history of the festival.

I bet you’re just dying to hear how one makes a zongzi. Turns out, it’s not as difficult as you might think, provided you have bamboo leaves. Continue Reading →