Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is the most famous festival in Taiwan, which commemorates the rescue attempt of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet, who drowned on the fifth day of the fifth month in 277BC. When the rescue attempt failed, the people had to throw bamboo stuffed with rice into the water so the fish would not eat his body.

Nowadays, in celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival, people will eat zongzi and race dragon boats to honor and commemorate the great Qu Yuan. Other customs also include: hanging mugwort and calamus to ward off evil spirits and cleanse the environment, balancing an egg for good luck, drinking realgar wine, and wearing incense sachets to ward off evil and sickness.

When: 5th Lunar May