Dragon Boat Festival

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The Dragon Boat Festival (or Double Fifth Festival) is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month—which typically falls sometime in late May or early June. While origin stories vary, the most popular and widely accepted in China relates to Qu Yuan, a poet and government official of the ancient Chu Kingdom. 

After the kingdom was invaded and conquered by rivals during his exile, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River—which is located in the Hunan Province—on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Many of the locals raced out in boats to try to save Qu Yuan or retrieve his body, with many throwing balls of sticky rice in the river, hoping that the fish would eat the rice instead of Qu Yuan’s body.

Today, celebrants watch or race dragon-shaped boats, with some boats requiring as many as 60 people to row. They may also make, eat, and gift zongzi, a sticky rice dumpling often wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves (and a nod to the Qu Yuan legend), and drink realgar, an alcohol thought to combat disease and drive away evil spirits. 

Because the Dragon Boat Festival often occurs around the time diseases increase (due to the warmer weather), many people take the time to hang mugwort leaves—which repel flies and mosquitoes—from doorways in an effort to combat disease. People observing the holiday may also wear silk pouches filled with herbs and perfumes as another type of protection from evil.

How to prepare

Our offices will be closed for the Dragon Boat Festival on [insert date]. Please turn on your out of office message before you leave.

How we’re celebrating

In honor of the Dragon Boat Festival, @company.name will be hosting the following events (please join us!):

• [Insert event]