2025 UK Dragon Boat Festival Programme

THE STORIES OF DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Jie in Chinese, is a traditional holiday celebrated primarily in China and among Chinese communities around the world. It is one of the four major traditional Chinese festivals (the other 3 are Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Festival), and falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, typically in May or June. The festival has a rich history that dates back over 2,000 years and is deeply rooted in various cultural and historical narratives. One of the most popular legends associated with the festival is the story of Qu Yuan, a famous poet and statesman of the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Qu Yuan is revered for his patriotism and integrity; when he saw the destruction of his homeland, he is said to have drowned himself in the Miluo River. Local people, distraught over his death, raced to the river in boats to try to save him and threw rice dumplings (Zongzi) into the water to feed his spirit, preventing fish from consuming his body.