Students wrap zongzi traditional rice dumplings at a Dragon Boat Festival event in Sydney, on June 19. [Photo by XIN XIN/chinadaily.com.cn]
Australian student Thomas Watson knows friends who take part in dragon boat racing on Lake Burley Griffin in his hometown of Canberra.
But it was only on Friday (June 19) that he learned the water sport traces its roots to a major Chinese festival celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival, fell on Friday this year. The festival honors Qu Yuan, a legendary patriot-poet of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), and upholds traditional values such as family and community ties.
Duanwu is also known for the preparation and eating of zongzi, glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves with sweet or savory fillings.
