The Duanwu Festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Lunar Calendar, giving rise to the alternative name of Double Fifth. This year, the festival falls on May 28. The festival is celebrated with eating dumplings (ZongZi or Chimaki ちまき in Japanese), which are large rice wraps, drinking wine and racing dragon boats.
The traditional story behind the festival is that it is to commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (340 BC - 278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant 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. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital.
In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month.
Why do Chinese celebrates it?
Traditionally people went to the beach to throw dumpling into the sea to feed the fishes so that they do not eat Qu Yuan's body! Now some still does it traditionally and treat this day as a rememberance day for Qu Yuan, but today the celebration festival is still on minus the throwing of food into the sea.
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Nice food. Duanwu Festival is commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival.It is celebrated in Hong Kong as well as Macau. It is government declared public holiday in the province of Taiwan. Festival is generally celebrated on the fifth month’s fifth day according to the lunar calendar. Three of the mainly extensive actions that as carried out for the Duanwu Festival are eating as well as preparing zongzi. For more details refer Dragon boat festival
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