We were supposed to go out and celebrate Duanwu festival today but since my youngest is still sick we opted to stay at home.For sure it's traffic and crowded outside because of the celebration.Mahirap din to join the crowds kasi may mga chikitings me...The focus of the celebration includes eating the rice dumpling zongzi (Chinese: 粽子; pinyin: Zòngzi), drinking realgar wine xionghuangjiu (Chinese: 雄黃酒; pinyin: Xiónghuángjiǔ), and racing dragon boats
A little info about dragon boat festival according to wikipedia:
Duanwu Festival (simplified Chinese: 端午节; traditional Chinese: 端午節; pinyin: Duānwǔ Jié), also known as Dragon Boat Festival (simplified Chinese: 龙船节; traditional Chinese: 龍船節; pinyin: Lóngchuán Jié), is a traditional and statutory holiday origiating in China and associated with a number of East Asian and Southeast Asian societies. In Mandarin it is known by the name Duānwǔ Jié; in Hong Kong and Macau by the Cantonese name Tuen Ng Jit. In 2008 it was recognised as a public holiday in mainland China for the first time since the 1940s. [1][2] The festival has also long been celebrated in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.
The festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar on which the Chinese calendar is based. This is the source of the alternative name of Double Fifth.[3] In 2011 this falls on June 6.
Like all other traditional festivals, Duanwu is reckoned in accordance with the lunar calendar consisting of 29 or 30 days. For this reason Duanwu—the fifth day of the fifth moon, or double fifth—drifts from year to year on the Gregorian (solar) calendar.
The moon is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice ("mid-summer" in traditional Japan, but "beginning" of summer elsewhere) when the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. The sun (yang), like the dragon (long), traditionally represents masculine energy, whereas the moon (yue), like the phoenix (or firebird, fenghuang), traditionally represents feminine energy. Summer solstice is considered the peak annual moment of male energy[4] while the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, represents the peak annual moment of feminine energy. The masculine image of the dragon is thus naturally associated with Duanwu.
Other common activities include hanging up icons of Zhong Kui (a mythic guardian figure), hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags. Other traditional activities include a game of making an egg stand at noon, and writing spells. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine, were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil and promoting health and well-being.
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