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The Dragon Boat Festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar(June 14, 2021), is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. This festival was created by ancient Chinese ancestors to worship dragon ancestors and pray for blessings and ward off evil spirits. Later, it is generally believed that the poet Qu Yuan (patriotic poet) of Chu during the Warring States Period committed suicide by jumping on the Miluo River on May 5. Later, people also regarded that day as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan.

Eating zongzi at the Dragon Boat Festival is one of the customs. It originated from the Eastern Han Dynasty of China. At that time, people were accustomed to eating rice dumplings with unique fragrance and refreshing heat during May 5th and during the summer solstice. In the Jingchu area, boiled glutinous rice or steamed rice dumplings were thrown into the river to worship Qu Yuan.

Dragon boating is another popular custom. The more common saying is that Quyuan jumped into the river and people rushed to row in and hoped to find his body. In fact, the ancients used the boat as a tool to send away evil spirits. Since the evil spirits are about to be sent away, the sooner, the better and the Dragon Boat Festival race custom was derived. In ancient times, the dragon boats that participated in the races were very particular: the hull was narrow and long, with decorations such as dragon heads, dragon tails and scales, and colorful umbrellas on the boats. During the race, the gongs and drums were noisy, firecrackers rang, and thousands of people cheered.

The Dragon Boat Festival culture has a wide influence in the world, and some countries and regions in the world also have activities to celebrate it.

As the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, all MaiShi staff wish everyone a healthy Dragon Boat Festival.