Dragon Boats, Teamwork, and a Festival
A steady boom rings out over the harbor, echoing against tall city buildings. In the water below, long wooden vessels surge forward in a line, cutting through choppy waves. Bright carved dragon heads rise from the front of each boat, while colorful wooden tails curl upward at the back. These are dragon boats, and the people paddling them are taking part in a tradition that brings millions of people together each year.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Tuen Ng Festival, takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. Because a lunar calendar follows the phases of the moon rather than the solar year, the festival falls on different dates each spring or early summer on the modern calendar. While the holiday has ancient roots honoring historical stories and early harvest customs, today it is also famous worldwide for its thrilling water races.
- vessels:
- Watercraft, such as large boats or ships, used for traveling on water.
- lunar calendar:
- A calendar system that counts months based on the monthly cycles and phases of the moon.
- disrupting:
- Interrupting or breaking the normal flow, order, or progress of something.
- cadence:
- A regular beat, rhythm, or pace of an action or sound.
- glutinous:
- Very sticky, like glue, especially when describing certain grains of rice.
- culinary:
- Connected to cooking, food preparation, or the kitchen.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What visual features make dragon boats look unique on the water?
- 2Why does the Dragon Boat Festival take place on different days of the modern calendar each year?
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About this explanatory article passage for 4th Grade
“Dragon Boats, Teamwork, and a Festival” is a explanatory article reading passage about Dragon Boat Festival, written for 4th Grade. It takes about 3 minutes to read (473 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.