16 Dragon Boat Festival YouTube Videos for Kids 端午節

Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner but what’s the story behind this festival and how can you celebrate it with your kids? How do you even go about explaining a holiday that’s based on a guy’s suicide to children? Here are some great YouTube videos to help!

At first I did not want to celebrate this holiday with my daughter due to the origin of the holiday and not knowing how to talk about it with her. But after talking to other parents and watching the videos introducing the holiday to children, I came around to it.

I have fond memories celebrating 端午節/节（Duānwǔ jié）with my family back in Taiwan and later on in America as well when we immigrated. My favorite of course was the rice dumplings, the savory type was my go to choice. I can’t turn down salted duck egg yolk or pork wrapped in freshly steamed sticky rice…yum. I’m making myself hungry now haha.

My great grandmother would make sweet rice dumplings we would eat cold with syrup drizzled over it. That was really delicious too.

Below are lots of kid friendly videos on the story behind the festival (shared in an appropriate way), recipes, crafts and other fun activities to help you celebrate and bring some Chinese culture into your home!

The Story Behind Dragon Boat Festival

Below are some great options to teach your child about the history behind the holiday.

Celebrating and learning about Chinese holidays is a wonderful way to expose children to the culture behind the language which gives them a greater understanding of the language itself.

Holiday Origin and Traditions from 小行星

Festival Traditions and History

This is a great video on the story behind the holiday with pinyin and English subtitles to help everyone watching learn about the holiday.

Yoyo Chinese: Dragon Boat Experience

Watch a play on the story behind the Dragon Boat Festival and see some students experience dragon boat racing! The video has traditional Chinese subtitles.

Story Behind the Holiday & Watch Rice Dumplings Being Made

Story told with simplified Chinese subtitles and introduces Dragon Boat Festival related vocabulary.

Mommy & Me Festival Story Reenactment and Activities

This mom did a wonderful job reenacting the story of the Dragon Boat Festival with her little one. Plus, she has some fun crafts like milk carton dragon boat and insect repellent perfume sachet for the holiday.