Why do we eat rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival? What are the particulars of eating zongzi?

Why do we eat rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival? What are the particulars of eating zongzi?
The Dragon Boat Festival is here, and the fragrance of rice dumplings is everywhere. Zongzi has always been associated with the Dragon Boat Festival. Not only in China, but all parts of the world have their own unique zongzi culture. During the Dragon Boat Festival, people race boats and eat rice dumplings. This traditional festival celebrated throughout the world not only carries the expectations of the ancients, but also carries people’s hopes for the future. Let’s take a look at the relevant content of the Dragon Boat Festival in 2018! This year's Dragon Boat Festival is on the 28th day of the third lunar month in 2018 (lunar calendar), which corresponds to the 13th day of the fifth lunar month in 2018, which is a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar.
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar every year. According to the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji", because people climb high places in midsummer when the sun is in the sky, and May is midsummer, its first noon is the day for climbing high places in the sky, so the fifth day of May is also called the "Dragon Boat Festival." The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and other countries in the Chinese cultural circle. As to why we eat rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, the most widely circulated theory is that it is to commemorate Qu Yuan.
In 340 BC, Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and minister of the State of Chu, faced the pain of losing his country. On May 5th, he threw himself into the Miluo River with a large stone in his arms in anger. In order to prevent fish and shrimp from damaging his body, people threw bamboo tubes filled with rice into the river to attract fish and shrimp to eat. Later, in order to express their respect and remembrance for Qu Yuan, people would fill bamboo tubes with rice and offer them to him on this day. This is the origin of the earliest rice dumpling in my country - the "tube rice dumpling". As for why people later used mugwort, reed leaves or lotus leaves to wrap rice dumplings, there is such a record in "Chuxueji": During the Jianwu period of the Han Dynasty, a Changsha man dreamed of a man at night who claimed to be Sanlu Doctor (Qu Yuan's official name) and said to him: "The things you offered sacrifices to were stolen by the dragon in the river. From now on, you can wrap them with mugwort leaves and tie them with colorful silk threads. Dragons are most afraid of these two things." So people began to make "jiaoshu" by wrapping millet with reed leaves. It has been passed down from generation to generation and gradually developed into my country's Dragon Boat Festival food.
Zongzi has always been one of our favorite traditional foods during the Dragon Boat Festival. Depending on the region, different types and wrapping methods of zongzi are emerging. But no matter how big the differences are, people's commemoration of the Dragon Boat Festival and their tribute to the great ancients are exactly the same. Enjoy the fragrant rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, which are praised by all families for their delicious taste. Eating rice dumplings with family during the Dragon Boat Festival has long become a Dragon Boat Festival tradition for the Chinese people, and rice dumplings have become one of the most popular foods during the festival.
Although zongzi is delicious, you should not eat too much. There are many cases of gastrointestinal discomfort caused by eating too much rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival. So what are the etiquettes of eating rice dumplings?
1. Eat glutinous rice while hot . Glutinous rice is warm in nature and can warm the stomach. Therefore, eating glutinous rice dumplings while hot can nourish the spleen and stomach, which is especially beneficial for those with weak spleen and stomach. If glutinous rice dumplings are eaten after cooling down, they will damage the spleen and stomach because they are difficult to digest. At the same time, it is not advisable to eat rice dumplings with cold drinks, as it will easily cause the glutinous rice to solidify and become difficult to digest.
For those who like to make their own rice dumplings, it is normal for the rice dumpling leaves to darken in color after being steamed and left for a period of time. Do not choose rice dumplings with bright green or even blue-green skin, because the rice dumpling leaves may have been treated with copper sulfate and their safety cannot be guaranteed.
When storing rice dumplings, it is recommended to freeze them quickly in the freezer for long-term storage. When eating, they should be steamed again or thawed in a microwave. When storing, it is best to divide it into small packages that can be eaten at one time, wrap it tightly in plastic bags, and keep it separate from other raw foods such as meat to avoid cross contamination.
2. How to nourish? Zongzi is mostly made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves or reed leaves. The leaves not only have a fresh fragrance, but the polyphenols and potassium they contain will seep into the glutinous rice when the rice dumplings are steamed, which is beneficial to improve the body's heat resistance. Moreover, glutinous rice is warm in nature and has the effect of warming the spleen and stomach. As the weather gets hotter, blood flow on the human body surface increases, gastrointestinal function gradually declines, and the body is prone to weight loss. Eating glutinous rice can improve this problem. Adding ingredients such as jujube, peanuts, lotus seeds, and yam to the rice dumplings will make them more beneficial; adding ingredients such as red beans, mung beans, and bean paste can clear away heat and detoxify, and increase the protein content; meat and egg rice dumplings can increase the protein and fat, and increase the iron content.
3. Do not overeat. During the Dragon Boat Festival, relatives and friends always like to give each other rice dumplings to express their friendship, and a large number of rice dumplings will be piled up at home. Chinese people value thrift and diligence, and most of them eat a lot of rice dumplings for fear of waste. In fact, glutinous rice is high in calories and it is not advisable to eat too much at each meal. Zongzi are mostly made of glutinous rice, which lacks fiber, is highly sticky and difficult to digest. When making rice dumplings, adding some whole grains rice or red beans, coix seeds, yam, taro or sweet potatoes can reduce the burden on the stomach. Eating rice dumplings with a bowl of light vegetable soup, such as winter melon, bamboo shoots, and loofah soup, can help digestion. Drinking a cup of hot black tea can also help relieve greasiness and eliminate stagnation. In addition, rice dumplings are a staple food. After eating them, you should reduce the amount of staple foods such as rice, steamed buns, and bread to avoid excess energy.
I hope everyone can pay more attention and have a healthy and happy Dragon Boat Festival!

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