Google Doodle Celebrates - Dragon Boat Festival 2023 | 22 June
On your mark, get set, row! The Dragon Boat Festival is being celebrated with today's Doodle. This traditional event takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Because of this, it is sometimes called the Double Fifth Festival. This holiday has been celebrated since the third century BCE. It remembers the life and death of the artist Qu Yuan. Today's Doodle is a yarn and cardboard copy of a Dragon Boat that was made by hand.
When Qu found out that the Chu State had lost, he was so sad that he jumped into the Miluo River. The story goes that people in the area rushed out in boats to try to find him and save him. When they couldn't stop the fish, they threw sticky rice cakes into the water. People say that this is why they eat zongzi, which are rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves to look like a pyramid, at the event. The dragon boat races may also come from this story because they show how the boaters raced out to find Qu.
On this day, there are many things to do and events to attend, but the dragon boat races are the most exciting. People from all over Asia meet to watch teams get into long, colourful wooden boats and race towards a flag or finish line. There are anywhere from 12 to 32 people in each boat, including paddlers, drummers who keep the rowing in time, and someone who reaches out to grab the flag. The front of the complicated boats has a dragon's head, and before the race, the teams paint eyes on the dragon to make it look alive.
Other events on this day are meant to bring wealth. People think that the fifth lunar month is bad and unhealthy because summer brings bugs and other pests. People can take sachets full of herbs and plants that keep bugs away, or they can hang plants like mugwort, calamus, or wormwood on doors and windows. Taking part in an egg-balancing task is another way to bring good luck. People say that if you balance an egg on its end at noon, you will have good luck for a whole year.
And that's the whole point of the Dragon Boat Festival! Everyone who is running today, good luck!
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