Monday, 13 February 2012

The Great Dragon Boat Race

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It's War on Water!

I've fallen in love with Dragon Boats!

On the afternoon of the first day of April 2012, I'll be down at the Melbourne Docklands, watching the dragon-boat racing championships.

The solid beat of drums will accompany frightening-looking dragon heads, the crews will give their gallant best and the boats will stab through the water to reach the finish line. And I'll be there!

Dragon Boat in Darling Harbour

albertktau

Dragon Boat, Sydney, during festivities for Chinese New Year

The Dragon Boat Festival

Way back in the Zhou Dynasty, there was a man named Qu Yuan who served as minister to Emperor Zhou. After hearing that Zhou's kingdom had been defeated, Qu Yuan threw himself into the river in despair.

Villagers and fisherman headed out onto the river in long boats, trying desperately to save Qu Yuan but were too late to do so. To keep fish and evil spirits away from his body, they beat drums and thrashed the water with paddles. They also threw rice into the water both as a food offering to Qu Yuan's spirit and also to distract the fish away from his body

So, to commemorate Qu Yuan, we have the Dragon Boat Festival. There are two happy ways to celebrate - having dragon boat races and eating zongzi.

wikimedia commons

Qu Yuan

vmenkova

A statue of Qu Yuan in a dragon boat on one of Singapore's central streets as a display for the Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boats in Melbourne

2012 Australian Dragon Boat Championships

Docklands will reverberate to the beat of the drum more...0 points

Docklands will reverberate to the beat of the drums as dragon boat athletes from across the nation converge in Melbourne to vie for the title of Australian National Dragon Boat Champions and the honour of wearing the green and gold.0 points