It is celebrated not only as a festival but also a public holiday in the People's Republic of China. The fifth Chinese lunar month is traditionally considered a month of death and disease, evil and darkness, due to the high summer temperatures in China. Therefore, venerating the awakening Dragon was meant to avert misfortune and encourage rainfall, needed for the fertility of crops and prosperity of the people.
The ceremony called 'Awakening the Dragon' or 'Dotting of the Eye' traditionally involves a Taoist priest dotting the protruding eyes of the dragon head carved on the boats, thus ending its slumber. The ceremony is practiced at many Dragon Boat events throughout the world today, sometimes with event dignitaries performing the 'dotting of the eye'. Another tradition rarely practised nowadays involved the laying to rest of the boat at the end of the racing season.
After the Dragon Boat Festival it was practice to sink the boats under water by loading them up with stones. As the dragon boats were made of teak and would often warp and crack with the changes in temperature and humidity, so once the head and tail were removed and the boats sat under water until raised and painted with a protective varnish, just before the next Dragon Boat Festival.
He lived in the period called 'the Period of Warring States' BC during which the area today known as China was torn into seven main states battling among themselves. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu. He was loyal to the Chu Emperor who fell under the influence of other corrupt, jealous ministers who eventually managed to turn the king against him.
Qu Yuan was banished from the State of Chu he loved and wrote passionate poetry expressing his concerns for its future. According to the legend, when news of his drowning became known, boats were launched by the local fishermen in a race to be first to recover Qu Yuan's body. Thus dragon boat racing was born. The furious splashing of paddles and banging of drums used these days to get the crews in time has it origin in the fishermen's bid to scare off fish and other river creatures from defiling his body.
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JM Veggie Friends Home. Yangshuo Serene Cove Hotel. They also threw rice wrapped in lotus leaves to attract fish elsewhere. These traditions still inspire the Festival today. Brightly coloured boats with beating drums traverse False Creek during the Duan Wu , or Dragon Boat Festival the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Dragon boat racing in Canada started during Expo 86 in Vancouver, when the government of Hong Kong gifted six teak dragon boats to the city to run races in the spirit of sport, harmony, cultural understanding, and friendship.
Dragon boat is unique as a sport; it is equal parts culture and sport. Major races cannot start without summoning the spirit of the dragons from their high perches in the remote mountains and clouds, nor can it happen without aerospace grade paddles and frame-by-frame analysis of finish line times. Most races happen in 22 person boats 20 paddlers, 1 drummer, and 1 steersperson , with a smaller boat also used in some races 12 people: 10 paddlers, 1 drummer, and 1 steersperson.
The sport is a global phenomenon, with major concentrations of paddlers and events across the world. Notable races include the Hong Kong races and Vancouver. The sport ranges from a recreational activity for new paddlers of any age, to high performance elite sport where milliseconds determine whether a team wins a medal or not. Come down to our events and races to learn how to paddle, or to watch world-class racing. We invite priests and members of the congregation of the Evergreen Taoist Church to the waters of False Creek to conduct this ancient and colourful ritual.
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