A significant festival was celebrated last June 12, 2013. Occurring on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Jie) has the longest history. This important event is closely associated with 2 main activities:
1. Boat races in shape of dragons
The boat race represents the people who rushed in search of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet, after he ended his life by jumping into the Milou River because of how corrupted his mother country has turned out to be.
2. Eating zongzi
Zongzi is the most popular food eaten during the said festival. It's a special kind of dumpling made from glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. It is triangular and pyramidal in shape and has a variety of fillings, dates being the most popular. The said food was known to have been thrown into the river for the fish to eat when the people weren't able to find the poet's body. They believed that this would help salvage his body.
With the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival, not only are the Chinese people commemorating the great patriot poet, but they are also reminded on the importance of loyalty and commitment to the community.
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