2017 Dragon Boat Festival

The usual English name for the holiday, "Dragon Boat Festival," directly translates into two alternative Chinese names for the holiday, 龍船節 (Lóngchuánjié) and 龍舟節 (Lóngzhōujié).

The official Chinese name of the festival is 端午节 on the mainland[6] and 端午節 in Taiwan,[7] Hong Kong, Singapore[4] and Macao.[8]This is pronounced variously in different Chinese languages. In Mandarin, it is romanized as Duānwǔjié on the mainland and Taiwan; in Cantonese, it is romanized as Tuen1 Ng5 Jit3 on Hong Kong and Tung1 Ng5 Jit3 on Macao. All of these names (lit. "Opening the Seventh") refer to its original position as the first seventh-day (午日, Wǔrì) in the fifth month (五月, Wǔyuè) of the traditional Chinese calendar, which was also known as 午 (Wǔ). Both the People's Republic and the Republic of China use "Dragon Boat Festival" as the official English translation of the holiday,[1][2] while Hong Kong calls it the "Tuen Ng Festival"[4] and Macao calls it "Dragon Boat Festival (Tun Ng)" in English[3] and Festividade do Barco-Drag?o (Tung Ng) in Portuguese.[9]

Among Malaysian, Singaporean, and Taiwanese Hokkien speakers, the festival is also known as the "Fifth Month Festival," the "Fifth Day Festival," and the "Dumpling Festival."

In Indonesian, the festival is known as "Peh Cun", which is derived from Hokkien (扒船; pê-ch?n).

The festival was long marked as a cultural festival in China and is a public holiday in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. The People's Republic of China government established in 1949, however, did not officially recognize Duanwu as a public holiday. Beginning in 2005, the government began to plan for the recognition of three traditional holidays, including Duanwu.[12] Since 2008, Duanwu has been celebrated not only as a festival but also as a public holiday in the People's Republic of China.[13] It is unofficially observed by the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia. Equivalent and related official festivals include the [[Children's Day (Japan)|Japanese people.

Three of the most widespread activities conducted during the Duanwu Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.[14]

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 (this "game" implies that if someone succeeds in making the egg stand at exactly 12:00 noon, that person will receive luck for the next year), 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, while promoting health and well-being.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Duanwu was celebrated as the "Poets' Day" due to Qu Yuan's status as China's first known poet. The Taiwanese also sometimes conflate the spring practice of egg-balancing with Duanwu.[15]

The sun is considered to be at its strongest around the time of summer solstice, as the daylight in the northern hemisphere is the longest. The sun, like the Chinese dragon, traditionally represents masculine energy, whereas the moon, like the phoenix, traditionally represents feminine energy. The summer solstice is considered the annual peak of male energy while the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, represents the annual peak of feminine energy. The masculine image of the dragon was thus associated with the Dragon Boat Festival.[16]