
"Dragon Boat Festival" redirects here. For dragon boating as a sport, see dragon boat.
端午節
Duanwu Festival
Dragon Boat Festival (18th century)
Official name Dragon Boat Festival (端午節)
Dragon Boat Festival (端午節)
Tuen Ng Festival[4] (端午節)
Also called Duanyang (端陽節)
Double Fifth Festival (雙五節)
Dragon Boat Festival (龍舟節)
Fifth Month Festival (五月節)
Fifth Day Festival (五日節)
Dumpling Festival (肉粽節)
Observed by Chinese
Type Cultural
Observances Dragon boat racing, consumption of xionghuangjiu and zongzi
Date 24th day of the 11th lunar month
2013 date June 12
2014 date June 2
2015 date June 20
2016 date June 9
Frequency annual
Related to Children's Day, Dano, Tết Đoan Ngọ, Yukka Nu Hii
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese 端午节
端阳节
Traditional Chinese 端午節
端陽節
Literal meaning Opening the Seventh
Opening Yang
[show]Transcriptions
Dragon Boat Festival
Simplified Chinese 龙船节 / 龙舟节
Traditional Chinese 龍船節 / 龍舟節
[show]Transcriptions
Double Fifth Festival
Fifth Month Festival
Fifth Day Festival
Simplified Chinese 双五节
五月节
五日节
Traditional Chinese 雙五節
五月節
五日節
[show]Transcriptions
Dumpling Festival
Simplified Chinese 肉粽节
Traditional Chinese 肉粽節
Literal meaning Pork Zongzi Festival
[show]Transcriptions
Portuguese name
Portuguese Festividade do Barco-Dragão
The Dragon Boat or Duanwu Festival is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China.
The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar, the source of its alternate name, the Double Fifth Festival. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. In 2012, it fell on June 23; in 2013, on June 12; and in 2014, it will occur on June 2. The focus of most celebrations involves eating zongzi (sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves), drinking realgar wine (雄黃酒, xiónghuángjiǔ), and racing dragon boats.
The sun is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice, as the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. The sun, like the Chinese dragon, traditionally represents masculine energy, whereas the moon, like the phoenix, traditionally represents feminine energy. The summer solstice is considered the annual peak of male energy while the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, represents the annual peak of feminine energy. The masculine image of the dragon was thus naturally associated with Duanwu .