The fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar is the The Dragon Boat Festival, corresponding to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar. It is a traditional holiday originating in China, occurring near the summer solstice. Since the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the date of the festival varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar.

The best known story in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty. A cadet member of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance and even accused of treason. Twenty-eight years later, Qin captured Ying, the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River.

The local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him or at least retrieve his body, allegedly being the origin of today's dragon boat 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 Qu Yuan's body, said to be the origin of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings in the West).

This festival usually includes but is not limited to:

• zongzi (sticky rice dumplings)
• dragon boat races
• dragon boats

More Information

Dragon Boat Festival (Wikipedia)