What day is the Dragon Boat Festival in the lunar calendar?
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month every year.The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duan Yang Festival, Chong Wu Festival, Wu Ri Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Zheng Yang Festival, Yu Lan Festival, and Tian Zhong Festival, is a traditional folk festival in China. The Dragon Boat Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena, evolving from the totem worship of the dragon in ancient times. In the middle of summer, the Dragon Boat Festival is when the seven stars of the Dragon rise to the center of the southern sky, which is the day when the dragon flies up to the sky, as mentioned in the fifth line of the "Qian" (Heaven) hexagram in the Book of Changes: "The dragon soars in the sky"; at this time, the dragon star is both "in the center" and "in the right position," occupying a very auspicious position, spreading blessings everywhere, and displaying the virtue of the dragon. The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival encompasses ancient astronomical culture and humanistic philosophy, containing profound and rich cultural connotations. In the process of inheritance and development, the Dragon Boat Festival has integrated various folk customs, with rich festival customs. Rowing dragon boats and eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are the two main themes of the Dragon Boat Festival. These two traditional customs have been passed down since ancient times in China and continue to this day.
What does "Dragon Boat" mean?
The term "Dragon Boat" first appeared in the Western Jin Dynasty's "Feng Tu Ji": "In the middle of summer, the Dragon Boat Festival refers to May 5th, and the custom highly values this day, just like the Summer Solstice." "Duan" means beginning or initial in ancient Chinese. Therefore, "Duan Wu" is also called "Chu Wu" (the first five). According to the "Shuo Wen Jie Zi": "Duan means the head of the birth of things," meaning that "Duan" refers to the beginning, so the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is called "Duan Wu Festival." According to "Yan Jing Sui Shi Ji": "The fifth day of the fifth month is called 'Duan Wu' because 'Duan' is the phonetic translation." The ancients used "Duan" to refer to the first few days of May. According to "Sui Shi Guang Ji": "In the capital, people refer to May 1st as Duan Yi, May 2nd as Duan Er, and so on until the fifth day, which is called Duan Wu." The first noon day of the fifth (or fifth) month is called the Dragon Boat Festival.Do you want to know your birth elements? Want to find out where your golden marriage is? Click on the 【Premium Calculation - Lifetime Fate】 below to calculate your birth elements and fortune!
