Every year, as the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, I’m swept back to childhood memories of the Cantonese glutinous rice parcels, Joong. The sticky fragrant rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, filled our kitchen with comforting aromas, each parcel encasing traditional favourites like belly pork, salted egg yolks, preserved sausage and mung beans. It was always a moment of celebration, connection, and taste.
The Dragon Boat Festival, or Tuen Ng Jit (端午節), is one of the oldest traditional Chinese festivals. Held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, who lived over 2,000 years ago. The story goes, villagers threw parcels of rice into the river to keep the fish from eating his body after he drowned in despair. Over time, these rice parcels evolved into the delicious Joong we know and enjoy today; a symbol of remembrance, love, and community.
每年當端午節即將來臨之前，總會讓我想起童年時家中飄著糉葉糯米香的回憶——粵式糯米糉子讓整個廚房充滿了溫暖的香氣。香軟的糯米用竹葉細心包裹，裡面藏著鹹蛋黃、綠豆、臘腸、五花腩等傳統食材。那是一年一度的團圓味道，是家人圍坐、分享團敍的時光。
端午節，又稱「龍舟節」或「端陽節」，每年農曆五月初五的傳統節日，是中國最古老的傳統節慶之一。相傳是為了紀念愛國詩人屈原，他在兩千多年前因憂國憂民而投江自盡。村民們為了保護他的遺體不被魚蝦啃食，便將糯米包成糉子投入江中。久而久之，這份思念化為了我們在這天吃糉子的習俗，也象徵著團結、關懷與紀念。
