Traditional Chinese wormwood products offer safe and healthy Duanwu Festival

Editor's Note: 

Sunday marked the first day of the fifth lunar month in 2020, and the fifth day will be this year's Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on Thursday.

According to traditional Chinese folk customs, the fifth lunar month is also called the "poisonous month" when many evil spirits and poisonous creatures prevail. There is a total of nine most "poisonous days" in this month, and Duanwu is the first such day.

The belief is based on the fact that insects and pests are active during this summer month, which can bring infectious diseases to both humans and animals.

This becomes the reason why people put calamus on doors or windows to repel harmful insects from a house.

Another widely-used herb to stay safe and healthy on Duanwu is wormwood. Fresh wormwood is picked and put in the house, while the dried herb is often put into sachets and worn during the festival.

The herb, due to its medical functions, is not only a perfect choice for Duanwu, but also a daily necessity to many Chinese people. The craft to make wormwood incense has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage.

Here are some healthy products made from wormwood, which you can use during the Duanwu Festival, or the whole year, to stay healthy.