We’re having anther holiday---the Dragon Boat Festival, which is also called the Duanwu Festival in this area. However, as a Chinese, I never knew what Duanwu really meant. It sounds odd but it is true. I only knew we usually eat Zongzi, glutinous rice wrapped in the shape of a pyramid or a pillow using bamboo leaves, and in some parts of the country, where there are big rivers or lakes, people may hold boat races. As an “educated person”, I also knew that it had its origin in the Warring States Period. People do these things from generation to generation just to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a loyal and highly respected minister as well as a poet, who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. That’s all I knew about the festival.

Not until recently did I get to know the real meaning of Duanwu. According a Chinese teacher, Duan means beginning while Wu is the same as five in ancient Chinese. Duanwu simply means the beginning fifth day, 初五 in Chinese. As the festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, it’s also called Double Fifth Festival.

Qu Yuan was a minister of the State of Chu in what is now Hunan and Hubei provinces. He was upright and highly esteemed for his wise counsel. However, he was dismissed from office because of the misdeeds of jealous rivals. Realizing that the country was in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, he leapt into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him but were unable to find his body. The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts to rescue and recover Qu Yuan's body. People also threw Zongzi into the river to feed his ghost every year on that day. So actually Zongzi used to be the offerings to Qu Yuan.

I suppose I’m absolutely not alone in being ignorant of the traditional festivals. We seem to have got used to observing foreign festivals such as Christmas, April Fool’s Day and Valentine's Day. Being a Chinese, I feel ashamed! How can we forget our own traditions and culture? I don’t think I’m a person who is unwilling to accept outside influences or new ideas. And I don’t object to celebrating foreign festivals. However, we need to know our history and what our culture really is, in any case. Allow me to make a metaphor, which may not be accurate, you can not take another person’s grandparents as your own! I believe only what is national can truly be international. I remember a philosopher once said something to this effect: A person without his own spiritual home is like a homeless dog.

Have a good Duan Wu holiday! Just Enjoy it!