Dragon Boat Festival 2025: Food, History, Schedule

The Dragon Boat Festival is over 2,000 years old. It is one of the most important traditional Chinese festivals, born in the Spring and Autumn Period (507-444 BC). The day usually falls on the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar. China's Dragon Boat Festival 2025 falls on May 31, 2025. At this time of year, people in China enjoy the public holiday, 3 days off, and celebrate it with colorful activities.

What is the Dragon Boat Festival & Why is It Important?

The Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Duanwu Festival in China. During the holiday, many celebrations would be held, especially racing dragon boats, which is the reason why the name was chosen.

The Dragon Boat Festival was built to commemorate Qu Yuan, the famous poet, for his patriotic poetry and contributions, who was regarded as a national hero. As mentioned above, the Dragon Boat Festival usually comes in summer, when people are more likely to get sick. Therefore, they will take steps, like drinking realgar wine, to drive diseases and evils away.

The Dragon Boat Festival not only plays an indispensable part in Chinese culture, but also is one of the Four Traditional Chinese Festivals, consisting of Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day, and Mid-Autumn Festival. These festivals are significant for Chinese people. Dragon Boat Festival was listed in the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. In addition to China, the Dragon Boat Festival means a lot to Asian and European countries, such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, etc.

When is the Dragon Boat Festival 2025?

The Day falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of Chinese lunar year. Dragon Boat Festival will come on May 31, 2025. The festival varies in the solar calendar. According to previous years, it usually comes at the end of May or the beginning or middle of June of the Gregorian Calendar.

The table below lists recent Chinese Dragon Boat Festivals, including Dragon Boat Festival 2025 schedule:

Year Month Public Holiday 2023 June 22 June 22- June 24 2024 June 10 June 8 June 10 2025 May 31 May 31-June 2 2026 June 19 June 19-June 21 2027 June 9 June 7- June 9

The Origins of the Dragon Boat Festival

The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival needs to be traced back to 2,000 years ago. There are multiple versions of the Dragon Boat Festival story. One of the legends being widely circulated is as follows.

The Legend of Qu Yuan

According to the Record of the Grand Historian, not only was Qu Yuan a prominent poet but also he was an outstanding politician of the Chu State(476-223 BC). He was the cultivated descendant of a noble class, advocating many advanced ideas, like “Enrich the state, strengthen the military.” However, he was expelled from the state due to political factors.

During that period, he created the most famous work, Li Sao, expressing his care about the country and the people, which had a profound effect on later generations. When hearing that his country had perished, he was heart-wrenching and finished the last word, Huaisha. Then he drowned himself in the Miluo River with desperation, located in today’s Hunan province, on May 5 on the lunar calendar.

After knowing he was drowning, local people immediately rowed boats to salvage and carry out a rescue. But it did not work, nobody found his body. To give expression to their grief, folks rowed boats on the lake, which gradually developed as dragon boat racing later. Residents were afraid of his body being harmed, so they threw rice dumplings into the river to keep fish and evils away from his body, which evolved into the custom of eating sticky rice dumplings, Zongzi in Chinese, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

Dragon Boat Festival Food

Various Dragon Boat Festival food have their own characteristics in different parts of China. Some representative specialties are listed as follows.

Zongzi (Sticky Rice Dumpling):

There are many traditional Dragon Boat Festival dishes, of which Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) can be the most typical one. Zongzi is made of sticky rice, dried dates, sweet red beans, meat, and other ingredients. All of them are wrapped in bamboo leaves and cooked into edible Zongzi with different shapes.

Five Yellow:

For the southern part of China, such as Zhejiang and Jiang Subregions, a traditional habit was left: to eat Five Yellow, which refers to cucumber, yellow croaker, salted egg yolk, realgar wine, and yellow eel. Drinking realgar wine refers to white wine or yellow rice wine made of powdered realgar (an arsenic sulfide mineral). During the Dragon Boat Festival, people will drink a small amount of realgar wine or draw a Chinese character, Wang, on children’s foreheads to drive away poisonous worms.

Boiled Egg with tea:

It is a custom for people in the Nanchang region to eat eggs boiled with tea at the Dragon Boat Festival. Local people will dye eggs red, including chicken eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs. A mesh bag carrying an egg will be hung on the kid’s neck, symbolizing safe and sound.

Mianshanzi:

Mianshanzi is a fan-shaped wheat flour food made of several multi-colored layers, each covered with pepper powder. This snack is popular in the Gansu and Ningxia regions of China. Its surface is pinched with various shapes covered with different colors.

Green Mung Bean Cake:

In many Chinese cities, like Wuhan, Nanjing, Wuhu, Xi'an, etc., the green mung bean cake is a dispensable snack for natives, which means good luck with study or career. If paired with Zongzi, they carry an auspicious meaning, gaining accomplishments, which expresses best wishes for students ready to take the examination.

How to Celebrate Dragon Boat Festival – Activities and Events

Aside from the dragon boats racing and eating rice dumplings, there are many other Dragon Boat Festival activities to celebrate.

Dragon Boat Racing: The Heart of the Festival

The Dragon Boat Racing is a traditional competitive event with over 2,000 years of history, closely related to the Dragon Boat Festival. It occurs to people when the Dragon Boat Day is referred to. It was originally set to commemorate the Chinese eminent poet, Qu Yuan. Paddling over the river to protect his body with lumps of rice has gradually developed into this popular tradition.

Dragon Boats have various styles, but all of them are designed to the appearance of the dragon, starting with the head of the dragon and ending with its tail. Each dragon boat usually can accommodate 20 peddlers, one of whom is responsible for playing the drum and keeping the same pace, and another one for navigating.

It sets a high standard of coordination and a sense of rhythm for peddlers. All participants are required to synchronize the strokes according to the drummer’s beating. The race range usually covers a distance of 250 to 500 meters long. This celebration is known for its strong team spirit and involvement.

The dragon boat racing is the same as the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, with a history of thousands of years. At this time of the year, the boat racing will be held across the country. Participants row with paddles and compete with speed, which combines the traditional culture with competitive spirits, making it a dynamic sport welcomed by people all over the world.

Hanging Wormwood

People will hang calamus and wormwood upon the door to attract happiness and auspiciousness. Wormwood is a kind of herb, the best medicine, which can treat all kinds of diseases. Not only can its hanging get rid of disease and bad luck, but also its fragrance can deter flies and mosquitoes. Besides, dry wormwood soaked in water can sterilize and soothe itches. Especially for babies, they can frequently take a bath with wormwood water.

Dabbing Realgar Wine

In ancient times, people would put realgar into wine, forming a Chinese alcoholic drink. It was an effective way for ancient humans to drink wine to protect themselves from insects and viruses during the Dragon Boat Festival. However, in most regions, people just put small quantities of realgar into wine and spread it for kids on their forehead or nose, after the liquid dried.

Wearing Colorful Sachets

Wearing perfume sachets is another tradition during the festival. People in old times believed that Dragon Boat Day was in early summer when the disease was more common. During the Dragon Boat Festival, parents will dress children up with a sachet, which is a handmade bag covered with different colors and filled with fragrant traditional Chinese medicine to repel insects and evil spirits. Moreover, children would take a bath in water boiled with herbal medicine, having a wholesome effect.

Driving Five Poisons Out

It was believed that the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar is the season that poisonous animals and gems will become more active than ever. And people are easily getting sick. Generally speaking, there are Five Poisonous Animals including snakes, toads, scorpions, geckos, and centipedes. People would take many measures to drive five poisons out. For instance, people would paste a red paper printed with five poisons in the room or wear a string with five colors.

Where to Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in 2025

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival has a significant impact on other countries, not just Asian countries, but European countries. As the birthplace of the Dragon Boat Festival, China will hold celebrations on the largest scale. Even in China, multifarious celebrations will be held in different regions.

Dragon Boat Festival in Other Regions of China

For example, in the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, natives will swim in the river that the dragon boats have paddled through. People believed that the water could wash away all bad luck and scare evil spirits away. Some of them will worship in temples, and turn windmills during the day because it is believed that turning the windmills can bring them good luck.

In addition to drinking realgar wine, locals in the Taiwan region will keep Li Dan and keep egg balancing. It is believed that people can have good fortune all year round if they succeed at just 12 o’clock in the morning. Besides, they will pump water out of the well in the middle of the day during the Dragon Boat Festival, whose water can heal the sick and beat the heat.

Dragon Boat Festival in Asian Countries

Other countries in Asia, like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc, have different forms of activities with their own features. The Japanese will raise flags above their homes of carp fish. Different colors carry different meanings. In addition to this, they will place dolls, looking like a suit of armor, wishing boys can be brave and healthy like the warrior.

South Koreans will hold diverse prayer services and sacrifices, like wrestling, masquerade parties, swinging, etc., of which wrestling is the most typical one. In Vietnam, people worship their ancestors with tributes, like pork, Zongzi, and a boiled egg in tea. Parents in Vietnam will prepare the five-colored string for their kids. In Singapore, natives will make Nonya Zongzi, aside from traditional Zongzi, made of marinated lean meat in soy sauce and winter squash strips. In Thailand, the Dragon Boat Festival is also called the Bazhang Festival. Folks here will also prepare a big dish to worship predecessors. Thai Zongzi is an essential specialty.

How to Experience the Dragon Boat Festival Like a Local

Watching Dragon Boat Racing

There will be lots of dragon boat racing held in different regions of China during the Dragon Boat Festival. Most spectators will watch the racing with families and cheer for participants by the river. These moments are full of festival atmosphere. If there is any competition in your place, it is also a good idea to make model boats and have a competition in the tub or the sink with families.

Homemade Sticky Rice Dumplings

Hand-made Zongzi is a necessary delicacy for the Dragon Boat Festival. A lot of families in China, especially in rural areas, will make Zongzi on their own. The whole family can not only enjoy food but also experience traditional culture, during the process of making the sticky rice dumplings with families. No matter what stuffing is, it is a unique experience.

Making Herb Sachets

It is a custom to hang the perfume pouches. You can try to make them as well. The heart of the sachet belongs to the herbal medicine inside, wormwood, calamus, mint, or patchouli. The bags of mugwort and calamus will finally be bound with red strings. And its fragrance of perfume sachets will waft through the room, adding vibes of a festival. In addition to this, hanging those plants can also bring good luck and keep mosquitoes and insects away.

Wearing Five-colored String

This kind of string is woven in five colors, red, yellow, blue, green, and black. People usually wear it on their hands, ankles, or neck. When the first drops of rain come, folks will throw them in the rain, which represents the rain will take diseases and bad fortune away.

Dragon Boat Festival Greetings

Chinese Pinyin English 端午快乐 duān wǔ kuài lè Happy Dragon Boat Festival 端午安康 duān wǔ ān kānɡ Safe and Healthy Dragon Boat Festival

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