Snake Ship Festifal
The Duanshi festifal is a traditional holiday of the Prabaiian People. The festival now occurs on the 6th day of the 6th month of the traditional Prabaiian calendar, which is the source of the festival's alternative name, the Double Sixt Festival.
History
The story in Prabai holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Ereq Finxing, Who in the legend killed a Giant with his bare hands. Ereq served in high offices. However, when the Emperor decided to ally with the increasingly powerful Principality of Ashar, Ereq was banished for opposing the alliance and even accused of treason. During his exile, Ereq Finxing wrote a great deal of poetry. Twenty-eight years later, The Ashar captured Zhongshun, the Prabaiian capital. In despair, Ereq Finxing committed suicide by drowning himself in the Lake of Saizhou.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him, or at least retrieve his body. This is said to have been the origin of snake ship races. When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Ereq Finxing's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi.
Execution
Three of the most widespread activities conducted during the Duanshi Festival are eating (and preparing) zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing snake ships.
Snake Ship Racing
Snake ship racing has a rich history of ancient ceremonial and ritualistic traditions, which originated in the southern Principality of Ashar more than 1500 years ago. The Prabaiian legend starts with the story of Ereq Finxing, who was a minister in the court of the Prabaiian Emperor. He was slandered by jealous government officials and banished by the Emperor. Out of disappointment in the Prabaiian monarch, he drowned himself into the Lake of Saizhou. The common people rushed to the water and tried to recover his body. In commemoration of Ereq Finxing, people hold snake boat races yearly on the day of his death according to the legend. They also scattered rice into the water to feed the fish, to prevent them from eating Ereq Finxing's body, which is one of the origins of zongzi.Zongzi（rice dumpling)
A notable part of celebrating Duanshi 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 Prabai prefer sweet or dessert-styled zongzi, with bean paste, dates and nuts as fillings. Southern regions in Prabai prefer savory zongzi, with a variety of fillings including marinated pork belly, sausage and salted duck eggs. Th reason why the Prabaiians 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).Realgar Wine
Realgar wine or xionghuang wine is a Prabaiian alcoholic drink that is made from yellow wine dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral(it is also known as "rice wine"). Realgarly, it is often used as a pesticide against mosquitoes and other biting insects during the hot summers, and as a common antidote against poison in the Prabaiian Empire.6-colored silk-threaded braid
In some regions of Prabai, parents braid silk threads of 6 colors and put them on the their children's wrists, on the day of Duanshi. People believe that this will help keep bad spirits and disease away. Other common activities include hanging up icons of Arrakha I (the First Emperor), taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags. 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. All of these activities, together with the drinking of realgar wine, were regarded by the ancients as effective in preventing disease or evil, while promoting health and well-being.
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