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The Connection between Dragon Boat Festival and Sham el-Nessim
Bohai,Xu
Address: Suzhou Industrial Park , Suzhou, China
Abstract: According to the ancient Egyptian murals and written
records, people have already celebrated Sham el-Nessim as early as
2700 BC. Similar to the Chinese dragon boat race in the Dragon Boat
Festival, the ancient Egyptians made a beautifully carved sun boat on the
day of Sham el-Nessim. In ancient times of Sham el-Nessim, people dyed
eggs in the temple, symbolizing the resurrection of life. It is close to a
game of making an egg stand at noon in Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.
And on the day of Sham el-Nessim,people also paint on their faces,it is
similar to draw with realgar on forehead on the Dragon Boat Festival.
The Duanwu Festival, also often known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is
a traditional holiday originating in China, occurring near the summer
solstice. The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the
traditional Chinese calendar, which is the source of the festival's
alternative name, the Double Fifth Festival. The Chinese calendar
is lunisolar, so the date of the festival varies from year to year on
the Gregorian calendar.
Qing Dynasty Dragon Boat Festival(18th century)
Unearthed in Guangxi,China,ancient Dragon Boat Racing
Unearthed in Guangxi,China, ancient Dragon Boat Racing
Modern research suggests that the stories of Dragon Boat Festival
were superimposed onto a pre-existing holiday tradition. Another theory,
advanced by Wen Yiduo, is that the Dragon Boat Festival originated
from dragon worship. Support is drawn from two key traditions of the
festival: the tradition of dragon boat racing and zongzi. The food may
have originally represented an offering to the dragon king, while dragon
boat racing naturally reflects reverence for the dragon and the
active yang energy associated with it. This was merged with the tradition
of visiting friends and family on boats.
Similar to the use of outrigger canoes or Polynesian va'a, dragon boat
racing has a rich fabric of ancient ceremonial, ritualistic and religious
traditions, and thus, the modern competitive aspect is but one small part
of this complex water craftsmanship. The use of dragon boats for racing
and dragons are believed by scholars, sinologists, and anthropologists to
have originated in southern central China more than 2500 years ago,
in Dongting Lake and along the banks of the Chang Jiang (now called
the Yangtze) during the same era when the games of ancient
Greece were being established at Olympia). Dragon boat racing has been
practiced continuously since this period as the basis for annual water
rituals and festival celebrations and for the traditional veneration of
the Chinese dragon water deity. The celebration was an important part
of the ancient Chinese agricultural society, celebrating the summer rice
planting. Dragon boat racing was historically situated in the Chinese
subcontinent's southern-central "rice bowl"; where there were rice
paddies, so were there dragon boats.
Of the twelve animals which make up the traditional Chinese zodiac,
only the Dragon is a mythical creature. All the rest are non-mythical
animals, yet all twelve of the zodiac creatures were well known to
members of ancient Chinese agrarian communities. Dragons were
traditionally believed to be the rulers of water on earth: rivers, lakes, and
seas; they also were thought to dominate the waters of the heavens:
clouds, mists, and rains. There are earth dragons, mountain dragons, and
sky or celestial dragons (Tian Long) in Chinese tradition. Mythical
dragons and serpents are also found widely in many cultures around the
world.
A Tang Dynasty Dragon Boat in Yangzhou Museum
Traditional dragon boat racing, in China, coincides with the 5th day
of the 5th Chinese lunar month (varying from late May to June on the
modern Gregorian Calendar). The Summer Solstice occurs around 21
June and is the reason why Chinese refer to their festival as "Duan Wu"
or "Duen Ng". Both the sun and the dragon are considered to be male.
(The moon and the mythical phoenix are considered to be female.) The
sun and the dragon are at their most potent during this time of the year,
so cause for observing this through ritual celebrations such as dragon
boat racing. It is also the time of farming year when rice seedlings must
be transplanted in their paddy fields, for wet rice cultivation to take
place. Wu or Ng refers to the sun at its highest position in the sky during
the day, the meridian of 'high noon'. Duan or Duen refers to upright or
directly overhead. So Duan Wu is an ancient reference to the maximum
position of the sun in the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the
year or summer solstice.
A notable part of celebrating Duanwu is making and eating zongzi with
family members and friends. People traditionally wrap zongzi in leaves of
reed, lotus or banana forming a pyramid shape. The leaves also give a
special aroma and flavor to the sticky rice and fillings. Choices of fillings
vary depending on regions. Northern regions in China prefer sweet or
dessert-styled zongzi, with bean paste, dates and nuts as fillings.
Southern regions in China prefer savory zongzi, with a variety of fillings
including marinated pork belly, sausage and salted duck eggs. The reason
why the Chinese eat zongzi on this special day is because they are
considered as a symbol of luck, as the pronunciation of zong is very
similar to the pronunciation of zhong (中). This character has a positive
connotation, used in words such as 中奖 (winning a prize).（Very close
to the worshipping ceremony in Sham el-Nessim in ancient Egypt.）
Other traditional activities include a game of making an egg stand at
noon (this "game" implies that if someone succeeds in making the egg
stand at exactly 12:00 noon, that person will receive luck for the next
year), and writing spells,it also includes drawing with realgar on forehead
on the Dragon Boat Festival can ward off the vermin. The typical method
is to draw the forehead, with realgar wine in pediatric forehead painting
"king" word with realgar to avoid poison, and two tigers will ward off
evil. Other traditional activities also include hanging Chinese
mugwort and calamus(Chinese mugwort and calamus are similar to
ancient Egyptian lotus flower).
Chinese Mugwort and Calamus Combining together
All of these activities were regarded by the ancients as effective in
preventing disease or evil, while promoting health and well-being.
a Game of Making an Egg Stand at Noon in Chinese Dragon Boat Festival
Drawing with Realgar on Forehead on the Dragon Boat Festival
Now let us go back to ancient Egypt .Egyptian historians believe that
Sham el-Nessim is the oldest traditional festival in Egypt, dating back to
5,000 years or even earlier. According to the ancient Egyptian murals and
written records, people had already celebrated the festival as early as
2700 BC. Similar to the Chinese dragon boat race in the Dragon Boat
Festival, the ancient Egyptians made a beautifully carved sun boat on the
day of Sham el-Nessim. People rowed on the Nile River, and the priests
and soldiers drummed and sang songs. Pharaohs, ministers, and the
public admired the beauty of the nature, and the children played happily.
People Rowed on the Nile River in Sham el-Nessim
The Stamps Reflecting People Rowed in Sham el-Nessim
During the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, festivals were closely related to
the relationship between the sky, nature and real life.
According to the ancient Egyptian papyrus paintings, on the morning
of Sham el-Nessim , men gave a lotus flower to their wives, symbolizing
the breath of spring. In ancient times the Egyptian lotus was worshipped,
especially in Egypt. It was considered a symbol of creation there. Lotus is
considered a symbol of elegance and holiness. Some scholars have
verified that the Nile River in Egypt was the hometown of Lotus. Long
before the pyramid was built, the rich land on both sides of the Nile was
covered with slim lotus. The ancient Egyptians believed that the lotus
symbolized the reincarnation and resurrection. People believed that the
lotus could bring people back to life, so the flowers were also placed in
the mummies. Because the petals of the lotus flower closed at night and
sank into the water, the ancient Egyptians thought that the lotus
contained reproductive and powerful meaning.
This flower often appeared in ancient Egyptian decorations. They
believed that the lotus flower gave them strength and power; remains of
the flower have been found in the burial tomb of Ramesses II. Egyptian
tomb paintings from around 1500 BC provided some of the earliest
physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; they
depicted lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and
palms. Women often wore amulets during childbirth, which
depicted Heqet as a frog, sitting in a lotus. The ancient Egyptians also
extracted perfume from this flower. They also used the white lotus in
funerary garlands, temple offerings and female adornment.(I think it is
similar to Chinese mugwort and calamus in meaning and shape).
White lotus decorations. Frieze at a palace in
In ancient times of
symbolizing the resurrection of life. On the day of
children's favorite thing
them in the sun. At t
he same time, on the day of
donated eggs to each other, and the ancient Egyptians would hold the
White lotus decorations. Frieze at a palace in
Amarna
Ancient Egyptian papyrus lotus
Sham el-Nessim
, people dyed eggs in the temple,
symbolizing the resurrection of life. On the day of
Sham el
children's favorite thing
were to draw eggs with painting
and then dry
he same time, on the day of
Sham el-
Nessim
donated eggs to each other, and the ancient Egyptians would hold the
, people dyed eggs in the temple,
Sham el
-Nessim, the
and then dry
Nessim
, people
donated eggs to each other, and the ancient Egyptians would hold the
eggs together to pray for good luck and good fortune. Whose egg was
not broken, it means that the sun god would satisfy his heart's wishes. In
the spring after Sham el-Nessim, good luck and well-being would
accompany him like a thicker green grass.It is close to a game of making
an egg stand at noon in Chinese Dragon Boat Festival,right?
Eggs Dyeing in Sham el-Nessim,
And on the day of Sham el-Nessim,people also paint on their
faces,don’t you think it is similar to draw with realgar on forehead on the
Dragon Boat Festival?
Face Painting in Sham el-Nessim,Imitating the Tiger
So at the end of the paper, I want to say, our dear readers,can’t you
speculate that Dragon Boat Festival is actually Sham el-Nessim in China?
References:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Boat_Festival
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat
3. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%AB%AF%E5%8D%88%E8%8A
%82/1054?fr=aladdin(百度百科 端午节)
4. http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_5d2dc82c0102vo3j.html（司令读
史（三十二）- 龙舟 , 中国- 印度- 古埃及）
5. http://go.huanqiu.com/story/2017-02/10459906.html（尼罗河绽
莲花联通埃及古今）
6. http://news.cntv.cn/20110215/107746.shtml（埃及人对莲花情
有独钟 被恋人当作信物）
7. http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_15c1f44a40102wjgl.html（端午画