Sending holiday wishes on Dragon Boat Festival has become a little tricky in recent years, or at least that’s the impression you get from social networks, be it Wechat or Weibo. We are used to saying wish you a happy Dragon Boat Festival, but now some argue that we should say wish you a peaceful and healthy Dragon Boat Festival instead as the day is meant to commemorate the departed. It’s like the debates on the flavors of soybean curd and zongzi when some love the salty flavored and others are all for the sweet ones.

Dragon Boat Festival is Duanwu Festival to be precise. It got this name as it falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The traditions differ from region to region across the country. In my hometown in Henan province, we eat zongzi, boiled eggs/salted duck eggs and garlic. Some drink realgar wine (which can be poisonous with excessive intake). Mugwort leaves are hung on the wall in every household. Mothers make scented sachets with tassels made from sections of mugwort stalk for children. Young girls and boys wear five-colored threads around their wrists (we are told these threads would turn into snakes after the holiday when we cut them off and throw them on the ground). All these practices are supposed to prevent diseases and evil. Dragon boat racing is most commonly seen in the south.

There is no consensus on the origin of Duanwu Festival. It may be related with the summer solstice, ancient dragon totem worshipping, or the unlucky number of double five. But the general public has always believed that this festival is established in memory of the great poet and patriot Qu Yuan.

As a minister in the royal court of Chu during the Warring States Period, Qu was banished for alleged treason. Hearing the downfall of his state while in exile, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River in despair. It is said that local people raced out their boats to retrieve his body, and when they failed to do so, sticky rice balls were thrown into the river so that the fish would not eat his body. This explains why we have the customs of having dragon boat races and eating zongzi.

However, academics have long ago dismissed the connection between the origin of Duanwu and Quyuan’s death as there is no solid proof. Existing documents on Quyuan’s life are not entirely reliable. Most of the stories about his death are either fictional or hearsay. Besides, there is no record of the exact date of his death. The same is true of the stories of Wu Zixu and Cao E.

What is certain is that the special day is set aside not because someone died. All the records indicate that people have been celebrating this day with practices mentioned above to fend off evil spirits and pray for blessings. The Spring Festival, for example, was originally an activity of offering sacrifice to the gods and ancestors. Therefore, it is perfectly ok to wish others good health and happiness.

There is nothing wrong in being cheery on this day, in action or in words.

By the way, I like both sweet zongzi and meat zongzi. I have soybean curd with sugar. And Happy Dragon Boat Festival to all.