Long colorful boats galloping on the water, cheering crews rowing from both sides to propel the boats forward, a cheer leader cheering on his team and the speed, gusto, passion and spirit to win to cross the finish line. All the emotions are reflected in the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional festival held in China every year. In India, when the new moon of the month of Ashadha comes, the tenth of the 24 solar seasons arrives in China, which is called Shyachi. Means summer solstice or extreme heat. After this begins the fifth month of the Chinese calendar –WuYue- and on its fifth day people from all over the country are thrilled about this competition held every year. The date of this festival is also called ‘Double Fifth’. This year this date is on 22 June. During this, not only the sailors who give lightning speed to the boats, but also the spectators watching this race are thrilled. Many tourists also gather with the same enthusiasm to watch this race. This festival is celebrated with enthusiasm not only in China but also in Singapore and Malaysia. This festival also gives the message of unity and strength of togetherness. Also, how every work can be done successfully in teamwork, this lesson is learned from this festival. It is believed that mainly in China, “Hometown of Traditional Chinese Dragon Boats” in South China. Located in Quangzhou City, Guangdong Province, the city has intertwined the dragon boat culture and the development of the tourism industry. Also, the arrival of visitors also increases in this month of the year. It is also customary to eat zongzi ie rice dumplings on this festival. There is a holiday on this festival in the whole country and enthusiasm and energetic atmosphere is visible in the society. Even though thousands of years old tradition is being followed through this festival, but its attraction has not ended even in the present era. Every section of the society and people of every age do not lag behind in celebrating this festival. Every traditional festival in China is kept according to the calendar, and the change in the calendar is directly related to the change in the season. During this month of the year, there is extreme heat of summer, due to which this heat motivates humans to play sports near water and in river canals. This is the reason why the Dragon Boat Festival is held at this time of the year. The Indian state of Kerala also sees a similar boat race called Kallam Vali every year during the Onam festival. The boat races of Kerala are 100 to 120 feet in length and are steered by about 64 to 128 people. In this race too, the joy of harvesting, the thrill of celebrating with togetherness and teamwork and the many colors of life are seen. Through this, somewhere there is a similarity in the cultures and festivals of the East.(Reporter-Vivek Sharma)
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