The Dragon Boat Festival, also known in Chinese as Duan Wu Jie. Students gathered at the Little Circle on June 8 and ate rice dumplings, tied five-color silk thread, played team-united games and threw water balloons.
Rice dumpling (Zongzi)
One of the customary dishes for the Dragon Boat Festival is zongzi. According to chinahighlights.com, the dish is filled with rice, meat, nuts or bean paste and wrapped in bamboo leaves or banana leaves.
After tasting a rice dumpling for the first time in her life, Maddi Morton, a freshman from Idaho studying intercultural peacebuilding, said she was amazed by the taste of rice dumpling. She also said it changed her concept for sticky rice.
“Normally when I think of sticky rice, I think of sushi or kind of a dessert with like mango, but [rice dumpling] is different. It has beans and meat. It wasn’t [plain], but it has lots of flavors.”
After eating a rice dumpling, Yue Yao Liao, a sophomore from China studying graphic design, said she felt the warmth of home and love. “Being able to eat a rice dumpling in a foreign country is so warming. My family back home would make rice dumplings together every year. I have such a love for rice dumplings.”
Dragon boat racing
The races began as a legend, according to chinahighlights.com. The story starts with Qu Yuan, one of China's famous poets, when he drowned himself when his home state of Chu was overthrown. People rowed dragon boats and scattered rice dumplings into the Miluo River to protect the body of Qu Yuan, says chinahighlights.com.
Menorah Lock, a sophomore from Hong Kong studying biology, explained a typical Dragon Boat Festival in Hong Kong not only includes eating dumplings with family members but also a Dragon Boat race held by the government. A dragon boat is a traditional Chinese kayak with a dragon head on the front of the boat and can sit more than 10 people.
Luo Xi Lin, a sophomore from China studying TESOL and president of the China Club, explained the game students played was to imitate the rolling of the dragon boat. He said the way to make a dragon boat “fly” is to paddle in unison. Lin said the game symbolized unity.
Lock said the event held by the China Club was just simple and beautiful. “It’s not very formal, but I could still feel the spirit of the festival. It doesn’t always have to be big. It was simple but everyone was having fun.”
Tying five-color silk thread
According to chinahighlights.com, in hopes of dispelling disease and evil spirits, adults tie a five-color silk threads on their children's wrist, ankle and neck to protect their health.
Lin shared, “When you make the rope, you need to make sure [the thread] twist is very tight. It implies how we make the connection with our family. When you let go one side of the rope, it automatically goes together. I learned that if we work on our relationship with others, our family will become stronger.”
Writer: Taffie Kwok and Tomson Cheang