Dragon Boat Festival to Be Held for the First Time in Mount Hope, Orange County
A Chinese cultural association will host a Dragon Boat festival in the Town of Mount Hope on June 18. The group said the event will offer a “unique experience” and “fun for the whole family” as it coincides with Father’s Day.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duan Wu Festival, falls on June 22 this year, four days after Father’s Day; the holiday falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
“We provide a channel for Orange County residents—including Mount Hope, Otisville, and Middletown residents—to come out to meet their neighbors,” Mela Wu, president of the Mount Hope Chinese Association (MHCA), told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times.
“The whole family will have a great time,” she said.
“There will be vendors selling food and drinks, jewelry, precious stones, clothing, and health products. There will be educational and nonprofit organizations at the event.
“There will be fun games for children and performances that showcase traditional Chinese music and dances,” she added.
The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the major Chinese traditional festivals, including the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, and the Moon Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated by holding dragon boat racing, eating “zong zi,” which is sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, and hanging calamus and wormwood leaves on doors and windows to dispel pestilence.
For this event, “although we won’t have a dragon boat race on the river, we will have several handmade dragons to race on land, which will be fun. We have them prepared already for this race,” Wu said.
The themes of the festival will be loyalty and health. “In ancient China, people commemorated Qu Yuan for his love of his country and his people,” she said.
Chinese Legend
According to one legend, Qu Yuan (340–278 B.C.) was a prominent poet and court official of the Chu State of the Warring States Period (476–221 B.C.), during which the Qin State was one of the most powerful (there were seven warring states: Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin). Qu Yuan advised his king to unite the Qi State to fend off the Qin, but Qu Yuan was slandered by other officials and accused of treason. The king dismissed Qu Yuan’s advice and exiled him to a remote rural area.
Upon learning that the Qin had conquered his country and captured the king of the Chu, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River (in today’s Hunan Province) on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The local people rowed out on the river, trying to save him, but it was too late. They also threw leaf-wrapped rice into the river to feed the fish so they wouldn’t eat Qu Yuan’s body.
Since then, locals in the Miluo River area have followed similar practices to commemorate Qu Yuan on the day that he took his own life. Gradually, rowing boats developed into dragon boat racing, and the leaf-wrapped rice became sticky rice dumplings traditionally eaten during the festival.
‘Unique Experience’
“For those who are interested in Chinese culture, the event is a unique experience and they will be inspired by it.”
“Everyone can find something fun to do at the event. People of all ages can participate in the dragon boat races. It is truly fun for the whole family.”
Admission to the event is free.
Wu said the MHCA has successfully organized other events, including the Chinese New Year celebrations in January.
“Our activities have truly brought the community together, and together we are stronger,” she said.
The MHCA aims to “share traditional Chinese values and culture” and “help Chinese Americans to better serve the American community through cultural exchange and social responsibility,” according to its website.
