Students Launch Watercrafts at Dragon Boat Festival

Students studying Upper School Chinese celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival this year with dragon boat racing, food, and fun. 端午节 duānwǔjié, the Dragon Boat Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival that falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar. This year that was May 31.

First students learned about dragon boats, a traditional intricately carved boat that was originally rowed to ward off misfortune and encourage rain. Then they headed to the EC3 Design Center to construct their own boats, aiming to be the fastest, the sturdiest, or the all-around-best boat. Students made a variety of different crafts out of popsicle sticks, cardboard tape, and tempera paint.

On May 29 and 30, the classes headed to Fanno Creek on the OES campus and released their boats, watching their successful (and not so successful) crafts float down the creek before being retrieved. They also celebrated by wrapping 粽子 zòngzi, a traditional celebratory food made of glutinous rice with various sweet and savory fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves.

This year the celebration was expanded, and students who celebrate or were interested in the festival came to wrap 粽子 zòngzi and enjoy a snack together. "It was so nice to be able to celebrate with the larger Upper School community this year,” Upper School Chinese teacher Maggie Gilbride said. “So many students celebrate back home or have memories of eating zòngzi that their parents made, and they said it was very nostalgic.”

端午节快乐 duānwǔjié kuàilè, Happy Dragon Boat Festival!