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Dragon Boat Festival is a one of most spectacular festivals in summer, celebrated in many countries throughout Asia. The festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month which is also called as five five festival. The festival is dedicated to the patriot and poet Chu Yuan(屈原) who was a minister of the state of Ch’u(楚國). Chu Yuan loved his country and wanted his country to be rich and strong. But the king of Ch’u(楚國) believed in the people who said some false statements about Chu Yuan. It became more hard for Chu Yuan to convince his king that he didn't state any wrong statements on him. The king took a decision to exile Chu Yuan to the countryside. He was disappointed and felt depressed. He committed suicide by drowning himself in the Milo River(汨羅江) at the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Chu Yuan was the patriot and a great poet. People rowed their boats in search of his body because they loved him. The Chinese commemorated this day in the memory of Chu Yuan as Dragon Boat festival.
In his memory people put rice inside bamboo leaves and threw it into the river as an offering and also wanted to keep his body safe from fish.
People race on long boats in upstream and downstream river, trying to save Qu-Yuan as soon as possible.
That tradition become annual and ever since it is the time to contest in teamwork and cooking skills. Since III century BC it spread to many other Asian countries. Each year Taiwan celebrates this holiday, and both local and international teams arrive to Taiwan to compete.
Join our Dragon Boat Team for the next year's competition now! Key to victory is cooperative work, to put paddle and push at the same time. The team will have 2-3 meetings to practice on water (some meetings on weekends and some on weekdays, by convenience of the group) and also meet up for physical excercises (jogging, gym etc).
If you want to participate please join the group on Facebook and also send your personal information to the GSA rep of your program This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to be included in the team:
1. Name_Family Name
2. ARC number / ROC ID (for insurance)
3. Birthday: yyyy/mm/dd
4. Program-enrolled year (for TIGP) / Affiliation (from someone else)
5. Cell phone number
6. Your photo
7. Address
8. T-shirt size : S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL
What else to expect during this festival
There are some most widespread activities on this holiday such as eating zongzi (粽子) which is originally from people who threw food into the river to feed the fish to prevent them from eating Qu Yuan’s body, racing dragon boat which is said to scare the fish away while paddling and to retrieve Qu Yuan’s body, hanging up Zhong Kui’s (鍾魁) icon, mugwort艾草, and calamus菖蒲, wearing perfumed bags, drinking realgar wine, and the most interesing is to make an egg stand at noon.
1: Zong zi (粽子) which are eaten in the memory of patriot Chu Yuan are originally the food which is thrown into the water to feed the fish to keep Chu Yuan's body protected from fish bite which is now gradually evolved into a snack during the festival time. We also prepare Tzung tzu to honor our ancestors.
2: The dragon boat races :- Originally this activity was done to find out Chu Yuan's body in the river but now it has evolved as an important occasion. Nowadays, some of the main city governments take part in this activity by rowing boats on the famous river.
3: Chinese prepare Calamus(菖蒲) and Moxa(艾草) to hang on the front door and paste pictures of Chung Kuei(鐘魁), adults drink Hsiung huang wine(雄黃酒) and children are given fragrant sachets(俗稱:香包). These activities are symbolized to avoid evil and disease. Some people believe that this activity could bring peace.
4: Fetching noon water(午時水) :- People trust that the water which they draw today from their house has the power and the magic which can keep the human body healthy.
5: Standing Egg :- This activity is very interesting. If you can successfully stand an egg on its end exactly at 12:00 noon, then the coming year will be a lucky one.
### http://kids.yam.com/dragon/english.htm
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Double Fifth Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, the other two being the Autumn Moon Festival and Chinese New Year.
The origin of this summer festival centers around a scholarly government official named Chu Yuan. He was a good and respected man, but because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals he eventually fell into disfavor in the emperor's court.
Unable to regain the respect of the emperor, in his sorrow Chu Yuan threw himself into the Mi Low river. Because of their admiration for Chu Yuan, the local people living adjacent to the Mi Lo River rushed into their boats to search for him while throwing rice into the waters to appease the river dragons.
Although they were unable to find Chu Yuan, their efforts are still commemorated today during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Traditions
Dragon Boat race
At the center of this festival are the dragon boat races. Competing teams drive their colorful dragon boats forward to the rhythm of beating drums. These exciting races were inspired by the villager's valiant attempts to rescue Chu Yuan from the Mi Lo river. This tradition has remained unbroken for centuries.
Dzong dzy
A very popular dish during the Dragon Boat festival is Zongzi. This tasty dish consists of rice dumplings with meat, peanut, egg yolk, or other fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. The tradition of Zongzi is meant to remind us of the village fishermen scattering rice across the water of the Mi Low river in order to appease the river dragons so that they would not devour Chu Yuan.
Ay Taso
The time of year of the Dragon Boat Festival, the fifth lunar moon, has more significance than just the story of Chu Yuan. Many Chinese consider this time of year an especially dangerous time when extra efforts must be made to protect their family from illness. Families will hang various herbs, called Ay Tsao, on their door for protection. The drinking of realgar wine is thought to remove poisons from the body. Hsiang Bao are also worn. These sachets contain various fragrant medicinal herbs thought to protect the wearer from illness.
Story of White Snake
There is a very famous traditional Chinese story that has a close connection to the Dragon Boat Festival. Once upon a time on E-Mei mountain there lived two snake spirits, White Snake and Green Snake. These snakes, being magical, turned themselves into beautiful maidens and set off on a journey to the West Lake of Hang Zhou.
When they arrived at West Lake they met a man named Xu Xian. White Snake quickly fell in love with Xu Xian and they were soon married. A Buddhist monk, named Fa Hai, warned Xu Xian of his wife's deceptive appearance and suggested to him a plan.
On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival White Snake wished to stay home so as to avoid the Ay Tsao, used for protection from spirits, hanging on the doors of people's houses. Her husband prepared, according to Fa Hai's instruction, some realgar wine, as this was a tradition during the Dragon boat festival. White Snake, thinking her magic would protect her from the effects of the realgar wine accepted a cup. After she drank the wine she became very ill and was barely able to get to her bed.
When her husband came to her side, he found not his wife but a huge white snake. So great was Xu Xian's shock that he fell to the floor dead.
After recovering from the realgar wine and regaining her human form, White Snake was grief-stricken to find her husband dead. She set off on a journey to obtain a potent medicinal herb, which could revive her husband. After returning and reviving her husband with the medicine, she explained to Xu Xian that the white snake he saw was actually a dragon and that this vision was indeed a very good omen. Xu Xain's fears were put to rest for the moment by his wife's fanciful story…
### http://www2.tsps.tpc.edu.tw/plog/linmou2/archives/249
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### http://picasaweb.google.com/btcc.org.tw/970608#5209706793394654722
### Video clips
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mObqa1RsR28&feature=related
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EUtwl8bOzk
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bnFQPhbZOY&feature=related
4. http://tw.truveo.com/video-detail/-/3843381066/?icid=VIDURV01
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKaU30q0-Os
6. http://www.kflem.com/video/video/BOMnBUT81J8/2009%E5%8F%B0%E5%8C%97%E5%9C%8B%E9%9A%9B%E9%BE%8D%E8%88%9F%E8%B3%BD.html
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mby1YF_ZA
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBOJb-zwRpE&feature=related
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6ACMI6B2w&feature=related
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XCcmWfdPmM&feature=related
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