Duanwu｜端午: Remembering Through Ritual, Connecting Through Culture

Each year, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, families across China and many parts of East Asia gather to celebrate Duanwu（端午） — known internationally as the Dragon Boat Festival.

At first glance, it’s a festive day of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), colourful dragon boat races, and hanging bundles of mugwort and calamus. But at its heart, Duanwu is a day of memory, protection, and cultural resilience — a time when food, poetry, and tradition come together to keep stories alive.

📜 A Festival of Remembrance

The roots of Duanwu trace back over two thousand years to the story of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and official of the ancient state of Chu. Heartbroken by the fall of his homeland, Qu Yuan cast himself into the Miluo River. Villagers raced out in boats to save him — or at least protect his body — throwing rice into the water to distract the fish.

From that act of mourning grew a lasting tradition: dragon boat races to honour his memory, and zongzi offerings to feed his spirit. Today, Duanwu still carries this spirit of remembrance — not just for Qu Yuan, but for all those who came before us.

🏠 A Festival of Home and Protection

In Chinese folk culture, Duanwu also marks the arrival of the “mid-summer” season, a time of heat, humidity, and illness. People once wore perfumed sachets, hung herbal plants, and tied coloured threads around children's wrists to ward off evil and disease — small acts of care passed down from generation to generation.

In many ways, these gestures echo the love and protection at the heart of MBL’s work. Whether through adoption, cultural education, or reunions across continents, we see how families carry hope and memory — just like the zongzi, carefully wrapped and tied with love.

🌏 A Festival That Crosses Borders

For many Chinese adoptees and cross-cultural families, celebrating Duanwu is more than a tradition — it’s a way to reconnect with their roots.

It’s in the scent of steamed rice, the feel of silk threads, the rhythm of beating drums on the water — these sensory moments bridge time and space, allowing children and parents to explore identity together.

At MBL, we honour these bridges.
And today, we invite you to remember with us.

✨ Wherever you are in the world, we wish you a peaceful Duanwu — filled with remembrance, healing, and a sense of home.