Posted by Adam Quinan on October 14, 1997 at 22:23:31:
In Reply to: Re: The Dragon Festival? posted by Terence McManus on October 14, 1997 at 01:54:01:
If the Dragon Boat Festival is the one where teams of 22 paddlers, a steersman and a drummer race, then I have seen them in action in Toronto. I understood that it celebrated, if that is the right word for a tragedy, the drowning of a great sage who displeased the emperor. The local fishing boats raced out to try and rescue him but failed. The boats are heavy wooden construction with a dragon's head and tail. There are heats in a lot of cities around the world with a final in Hong Kong each year. There is no indication in Missee Lee that this is going on at all. All we see and hear about are the preparations for a Dragon Dance. Perhaps it is a strictly local festival of the Three islands and honours the chief island, Dragon island.