dragon boat festival 端午節

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.

dragon boat festival 端午節

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

Educational video sharing the origin of the holiday appropriate for toddlers to early grade schoolers. Video includes zhuyin for kids learning.

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.

Story Behind the Holiday & Watch Rice Dumplings Being Made

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

Watch A Real Dragon Boat Race

Dragon Boat Race

Watch a real dragon boat race in Taiwan.

Dragon Boat Races in China from National Geographic

Great video displaying the different types of Dragon Boat races in various provinces in China.

Crafts & Activities

Hands on crafts are a great way to introduce the holiday to children in a memorable and fun way. Here are a few to choose from.

Learn How to Draw a Dragon Boat in Mandarin Chinese

Celebrate Dragon boat festival by learning how to draw a dragon boat in Mandarin!

Dragon Boat Craft for Kids with Free Printable

Click through to the video on YouTube for a link to their free printable to make this fun craft for Dragon Boat Festival!

Fun Rice Dumpling Craft for Kids

Learn How to Draw a Rice Dumpling in Mandarin

We love this drawing tutorial series for kids. The instruction is age appropriate and given entirely in Mandarin Chinese. A great way to celebrate the holiday with your aspiring artist!

Cantonese YouTube Videos for Kids on the Holiday

Story Behind the Holiday

Cantonese Song for the Holiday

Recipes

Food is so central to Chinese culture. Here are some recipes to try out!

Jello Zong Zi Dumpling 水果果凍粽子

Rice Dumpling Recipe from Grandma 阿嬤的粽子

For the adventurous ones out there, try your hand at this traditional zongzi/rice dumpling recipe.

What About You?

How did your family celebrate Dragon Boat Festival growing up? Please share below. I would LOVE to hear from you!

More Fun Dragon Boat Festival Activities for Kids

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Hi, I’m Sunny, bilingual mama, teaching my kids Mandarin Chinese in a monolingual context. Thanks for stopping by! I use my teaching background and experience teaching my kids to simplify your family’s Chinese learning journey so it’s sustainable and one that the whole family enjoys. I’m so glad you’re here!

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