| The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is a significant | | | | be only a few fractions of a second. The energy and |
| holiday celebrated in China, and the one with the | | | | excitement of the race attracts thousands of |
| longest history. The Dragon Boat Festival is | | | | spectators, who watch from the river bank cheering |
| celebrated by boat races in the shape of Dragons. | | | | on their favorite team. |
| Competing teams row their boats forward to a | | | | Dragon Boat Festival is highlighted by the dragon |
| drumbeat racing to reach the finish end first. | | | | boat races, in which competing teams drive their |
| The boat races during the Dragon Boat Festival are | | | | boats forward rowing to the rhythm of pounding |
| traditional customs to attempts to rescue the | | | | drums. This lively and colorful tradition has continued |
| patriotic poet Chu Yuan. Chu Yuan drowned on the | | | | unbroken for centuries to the present day. |
| fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 B.C. Chinese | | | | The celebration's is a time for protection from evil |
| citizens now throw bamboo leaves filled with cooked | | | | and disease for the rest of the year. It is done so by |
| rice into the water. Therefore the fish could eat the | | | | different practices such as hanging healthy herbs on |
| rice rather than the hero poet. This later on turned | | | | the front door, drinking nutritious concoctions, and |
| into the custom of eating tzungtzu and rice | | | | displaying portraits of evil's nemesis, Chung Kuei. If |
| dumplings. | | | | one manages to stand an egg on it's end at exactly |
| When the race begins, all one can see is the rowers | | | | 12:00 noon, the following year will be a lucky one. |
| of each team driving their boats forward in unison to | | | | The most popular dish during Dragon Boat Festival is |
| the beat of drums. The winning team is the one that | | | | tzung tzu, originally eaten in memory of the patriot |
| first grabs the flag at the end of the river course | | | | Chu Yuan, but gradually evolving into a snack eaten |
| and the difference between victory and defeat may | | | | during normal occasions as well. |