Folklore expert Niu Yun introduced that there was an old saying, "Early Duanwu, Mid-Autumn Festival," which means the Dragon Boat Festival is generally celebrated in the morning, while the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in the evening. "On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, one must get up early to eat zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) and mung bean cakes. The elderly in the family would also burn incense coils and hang them in the house. Every household would hang mugwort and calamus, which are believed to ward off illness and disaster."
Niu Yun said that the Dragon Boat Festival is also another day for family reunion. Having a reunion dinner is all about the family living in harmony. The tradition of eating zongzi is widely known by all, as a way to commemorate the great poet of the Chu state, Qu Yuan. In the tradition of Jiangnan (the region south of the Yangtze River), there is another essential custom: eating the "Five Yellows" at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival. "Braised eel with pork, cold cucumber salad, yellow croaker, salted duck egg yolk, and drinking realgar wine," Niu Yun said. Realgar wine is only for adults; children usually have a "king" character written on their forehead with realgar wine and a little bit applied behind their ears and on their chest. It is said that "eating the 'Five Yellows' will keep the five venomous creatures at bay and ensure peace and safety throughout the four seasons."
Besides the food customs, there are also special clothing traditions for the Dragon Boat Festival. On this day, children are given "waistcoats" embroidered with the images of the "five venomous creatures": scorpions, centipedes, venomous snakes, toads, and geckos. These are believed to drive away the "five venomous creatures" and prevent plagues. Fragrant sachets are also the best gifts for children on the Dragon Boat Festival. "Fragrant sachets are filled with spices made from realgar, fragrant herbs, and other ingredients. Wearing them is believed to repel insects and eliminate bad odors," Niu Yun explained. Some families also hang pictures of Zhong Kui, a deity who wards off evil spirits and protects health.
So, besides zongzi, what other rich and varied foods are there in folk traditions for the Dragon Boat Festival?
1. Eating the "Five Yellows". On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, it is a tradition in Jiangnan for people to eat the "Five Yellows"—eel, yellow croaker, cucumber, salted duck egg yolk, and yellow wine (originally realgar wine, but due to its toxicity, regular yellow wine is usually consumed as a substitute). Therefore, this month is also called the "Month of the Five Yellows".
Why eat the "Five Yellows"? Because realgar is a traditional Chinese medicine. Realgar wine, made by mixing realgar powder with calamus root shavings in wine, has the effect of detoxification and sterilization. There is a proverb in Jiangnan: "On the fifth day of the fifth month, drink realgar wine to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival." There is also a folk saying: "After drinking realgar wine, all illnesses will stay away." Yellow croaker, eel, salted duck egg yolk, and cucumber are all seasonal foods during the Dragon Boat Festival. For example, the eel during this time is plump, tender, delicious, and nutritious. Not only is it tasty, but it also has nourishing properties. Therefore, there is a folk saying, "Duanwu eel is better than ginseng."
2. Eating the "Five Whites". The Dragon Boat Festival is also popularly celebrated with the "Five Whites": white-cut meat, white garlic, white-cut chicken, white tofu, and water bamboo shoots. Eating the "Five Yellows" along with the "Five Whites" can clear heat, reduce fire, and strengthen the spleen and stomach.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the yang energy is at its peak on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. Eating the "Five Yellows" and "Five Whites" at noon, the "yang within yang" time, can not only drive away the "five venomous creatures" but also harness the "yang" power of the Dragon Boat Festival to suppress and eliminate bad luck, and enhance one's own "essence, qi, spirit, and blood."
3. Eating "Mian Shanzi" (Fan-shaped Steamed Buns). In the area of Minqin County, Gansu Province, people steam "mian shanzi" on the Dragon Boat Festival. Mian shanzi is made from fermented dough, shaped like a fan, and has five layers. Each layer is sprinkled with finely ground cooked pepper, and the surface is pinched into various patterns and dyed with colors, making it very beautiful. This food custom is said to have evolved from the tradition of making, selling, and giving away fans on the Dragon Boat Festival.
4. Eating Tea Eggs. In the Nanchang area of Jiangxi Province, people boil tea eggs and salted eggs to eat on the Dragon Boat Festival. The eggs can be chicken, duck, or goose eggs. The eggshells are painted red, put into colorful mesh bags, and hung around the children's necks, symbolizing a blessing for the children to turn misfortune into good luck and stay safe and sound.
5. Eating Garlic Eggs. In rural areas of provinces like Henan and Zhejiang, the housewives get up especially early on the Dragon Boat Festival. They boil the prepared garlic and eggs together for the family's breakfast. In some places, a few mugwort leaves are also added when boiling the garlic and eggs. Eating garlic, eggs, and fried oil cakes for breakfast is said to ward off the "five venomous creatures" and is beneficial to health.
6. Eating "Dak" (Strike Cake). The Dragon Boat Festival is also a grand festival for the Korean people in Yanbian, Jilin Province. The most representative food on this day is the fragrant "Dak". Dak is a rice cake made by placing mugwort and glutinous rice in a large wooden trough carved from a single log and pounding it with a long wooden mallet.
7. Eating "Jian Dui" (Fried Dough). In the Jinjiang area of Fujian Province, every household also eats "jian dui" on the Dragon Boat Festival. So-called jian dui is made by mixing flour, rice flour, or sweet potato flour with other ingredients into a thick paste, which is then fried in a wok into a large piece. Legend has it that in ancient times, the area south of the Min River had a rainy season before the Dragon Boat Festival, with continuous overcast and rainy days. People said the "Sky God" had a hole in his clothes and needed to "patch the sky". After eating "jian dui" on the Dragon Boat Festival, the rain would stop, and people would say that the sky had been patched.
8. Eating "Bing" (Thin Pancakes). In the Wenzhou area of Zhejiang Province, it is also a custom for every household to eat "bing" (thin pancakes) on the Dragon Boat Festival. The thin pancakes are made from refined white flour mixed into a batter, then baked on a large, flat iron griddle into round, translucent sheets as thin as silk. They are then filled with bean sprouts, chives, shredded pork, shredded egg, mushrooms, and other ingredients, rolled into a cylinder shape. One bite allows you to taste a variety of flavors.