5th day of the 5th lunar month 

The day after tomorrow is Chinese Traditional Dragon Boat Festival.

Do you wanna know something about it ?
 
Qu Yuan 
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, 

is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to 

the Chinese calendar. For thousands of years, 

the festival has been marked by eating 

zong zi (glutinous ricewrapped to form a pyramid using bamboo 

or reed leaves) and racing dragon boats. 

The festival is best known for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces 

where there are many rivers and lakes. 

This regattacommemorates the death of Qu Yuan , 

an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide 

by drowning himself in a river. 

Qu was a minister of the State of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States Period (475-221BC) He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel 

that brought peace and prosperity to the state. 

However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu, 

he was disgraced and dismissed from office. 

Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and 

corrupt officials, Qu grabbed a large stone and leapt into the 

Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month. 

Nearby fishermen rushed over to try and save him 

but were unable to even recover his body. 

Thereafter, the state declined and was eventually 

conquered by the State of Qin. 

The people of Chu who mourned the death of
Qu threw rice into the river to feed his ghost
every year on the fifth day of the fifth month.
But one year, the spirit of Qu appeared and
told the mourners that a huge reptile in the river
had stolen the rice. The spirit then advised them to
wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five
different-colored threads before tossing it
into the river. 

During the Duanwu Festival, a glutinous rice
 pudding called zong zi is eaten to symbolize
the rice offerings to Qu. Ingredients such as beans,
lotus seeds, chestnuts, pork fat and the golden yolk
of a salted duck egg are often added to the glutinous rice.
The pudding is then wrapped with bamboo leaves,
bound with a kind of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours. 

The dragon-boat races symbolize the many attempts
to rescue and recover Qus body.
A typical dragon boat ranges from 50-100 feet in length,
with a beam of about 5.5 feet,
accommodating two paddlers seated side by side. 

A wooden dragon head is attached at the bow,
and a dragon tail at the stern.
A banner hoisted on a pole is also fastened at the stern

and the hull is decorated with red, green and blue scales edged in gold.
In the center of the boat is a canopied shrine behind which the drummers,
gong beaters and cymbal players are seated to set the pace for the paddlers.

There are also men positioned at the bow to set off firecrackers,
toss rice into the water and pretend to be looking for Qu.
All of the noise and pageantry creates an atmosphere of
gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators alike.
The races are held among different clans, villages and organizations,
and the winners are awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.