Singapore Dragon Boat Festival: a worthy tribute to a much loved leader

The Legend behind this annual event is over two millennia old. The story is told of a certain poet named Qu Yuan who lived in the Chinese Kingdom of Chu. This person who was also said to be a good and noble Minister of State was a dedicated man of integrity. Over a period of time Qu Yuan became desperately discouraged with the matters of state, the corruption and abuse that seemed to be endless.

As time went on and hope was all but dead and gone, Qu Yuan one day threw himself into the river Mei Lo. The local fishermen that were beside present at this time were totally horrified at the happening and made every attempt to rescue the drowning victim. With the belief that they could scare off any marine attacks on the drowning victim the fisherman sailed in a frenzy up and down the river thrashing the water around. Unable to save the patriotic minister who had won their hearts the people made rice dumplings and savory wraps and threw them into the river as peace offerings as well as to distract the underwater carnivores.

Since then, as a commemoration to the life and death of this great inspirational leader, on the anniversary of the death of this great man the Dragon Boat festival came into being. Souvenirs of rice dumplings are still thrown in to the water while participants from around the world race their adrenaline at the Marina Bay on beautifully decorated boats. This annual event where pulses race one against the other and teams against teams bring on the competition is known today as the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival.

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