Do you know the origin of this custom of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival?

Eating rice dumplings on the Dragon Boat Festival is a custom that is unified between the north and the south. There has been a dispute between salty and sweet rice dumplings on the Internet before. According to legend, rice dumplings are related to Qu Yuan. According to legend, in order to prevent Qu Yuan's body from being damaged, the people threw rice balls in bamboo tubes into the river to feed the fish. The rice balls were the predecessor of Zongzi (the version I know). But this is the first time I have heard of the custom of eating red eggs. After checking the information, I found that there is a custom of eating red eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. Eating red eggs can bring peace of mind and turn bad luck into good luck. Let’s learn more about the origins of these two customs.

1. The origin of eating rice dumplings

There are two versions of eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival. The first version is more humane. As mentioned earlier, people in order to protect the body of the poet Qu Yuan from being To destroy Qu Yuan, he poured the rice balls into the river to let the fish have a full meal, so that the fish would not take advantage of Qu Yuan's ideas. To be honest, this legend is still very romantic. I feel that people in the past were very simple and kind. When I heard this story, I felt a little resentful towards King Huai of Chu. He had no vision and did not pay attention to Qu Yuan, which led to the lonely ending of the great poet. The rice balls thrown into the river slowly turned into the rice dumplings we must eat during the Dragon Boat Festival.

The second version is closer to reality. The origin of Zongzi is related to Jie Zitui. I'm not saying that commemorating Qu Yuan is a humane thing, but commemorating Jiezitui is not, but I am saying that zongzi was originally a food for the Cold Food Festival, and later became a must-eat food for the Dragon Boat Festival as it spread. The legend that eating rice dumplings on the Dragon Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan is mostly formed by later generations. Nowadays, in many places, the folk custom of eating rice dumplings on the day before Qingming Festival and Qingming Festival is still popular.

2. Eating red eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival

Let me talk about my personal inference first. Because we don’t have the custom of eating red eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival. Only when someone gives birth to a baby, every household will make red eggs to express their joy to everyone. In the past, eggs were considered a relatively valuable nutritional supplement. Who would be willing to eat red eggs if they were not happy? It can be inferred from this that eating red eggs on the Dragon Boat Festival may be because people want to eat something delicious to celebrate the festival. Let’s talk about the origin of eating red eggs after integrating the information.

Eating red eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival is related to avoiding disasters. Legend has it that on the Dragon Boat Festival, the God of Plague will run to the world and release plague. Although he worked very hard, people were not happy at all, so some people asked Nuwa for help. (After the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather is hot, and children can easily get sick.) So our great Nuwa Queen Mother went to teach the God of Plague a lesson. Before leaving, she said to the God of Plague: "Everyone who wears an egg around their neck is one of my people. Look. It’s time to stay away.” Then on the Dragon Boat Festival, people would boil eggs or other eggs, put them in net bags made of thread, and hang them around their necks. As a result, the plague god would run away when he saw them. Therefore, red eggs are also given the meaning of "safety and safety, turning bad luck into good luck". (Quietly, this legend has exactly the same origin as the "Beginning of Summer Egg". Maybe legends and delicacies can be used interchangeably. Didn't the delicacies from the previous Cold Food Festival also become Dragon Boat Festival delicacies?)

Above This is the origin of the two major delicacies of the Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings and red eggs. As the saying goes, "The customs vary within a hundred miles, and the customs vary across a thousand miles." The custom of red eggs is a custom in some areas. It may be more accurate to listen to the origin of the local elders. Personally, I feel that these delicacies will not become unpalatable if these legends and stories are put aside, but with the blessing of these legends and stories, these foods have a deeper meaning.