Chinese Duanwu Festival: Eating Northern-and-Southern-Style Zongzi
Are you travelling in Beijing, with coming across the traditional Chinese festival – Duanwu? Whether or not every Chinese people around you are talking about this festival? You are just lucky! It is the Chinese Duanwu Festival, known as Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional and statutory holiday associated with Chinese and other East Asian and Southeast Asian societies as well.
The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. The focus of the celebrations includes eating the rice dumpling (Zongzi), drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.
Zongzi
Why people eat Zongzi in Duanwu festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the popular Chinese patriot, Qu Yuan, (Chu Yuan) who in the 3rd century in protest of a corrupt government threw himself into the Mi Lo River in despair.
Upon hearing the news, local people frantically raced out in boats to save him, and to scare away any fish who might want to eat him pounded drums and threw rice into the river – but, sadly, they arrived too late. As legend has it, boat races and ceremonial sacrifices of rice were performed each year to symbolize the valiant attempts to rescue Qu Yuan. Today, rice dumplings or zongzi are eaten to symbolize the rice offerings on behalf of Qu Yuan.
Xiangbao
Superstitions
Superstitions associated with the Dragon Boat Festival include protection against plagues and illnesses caused by moist, warm weather and so xiangbao (fragrant pouches of herbs) are traditionally tied around the necks of children during the festival. Among adults, successful warding off of summer illness begins with imbibing a healthy dose of hsiung huang, a special rice wine.
Zongzi are often called “Chinese tamales” because they are wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves and thus resemble Western tamales. Inside the zongzi are glutinous rice and a filling. While the preparation, filling, and even the way the zongzi is wrapped vary between regions and families, this article provides a general overview and some specific recipes so you can enjoy these delicious “tamales” ASAP!
The shape of zongzi ranges from being relatively tetrahedral in southern China to cylindrical in northern China.
Wrapping a zongzi neatly is a skill which is passed down through families
Like tamale-making in Mexico and Pamonha-making in Brazil, making zongzi was a family event with everyone helping out.
Zongzi need to be steamed or boiled for several hours depending on how the rice is made prior to adding the fillings.
Are you travelling in Beijing now? Would like to know where you can purchase the authentic Zongzi in Beijing? Just leave me a message in the following comment, or email me at advisor1@beijingholiday.com , and I will give you a reply within only few hours.
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