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About the Dragon Boat Festival( from Internet )      

      Officially on falling on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as Double Fifth Day. While many stories regarding its origin abound, the most popular and widely accepted version regards Qu Yuan, a minister during the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC) 

Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival's Origin     

Traditionally held on the fifth day of the fifth moon on the lunar calendar -- late May to mid June on the solar calendar (June 8th for 2008) -- the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the life and death of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan who lived from 340-278 B.C. Qu Yuan was a minister who advocated reforms in his home state of Chu. The King refused to listen to Qu Yuan's advice and instead banished him from the state of Chu. In exile, Qu Yuan wrote poetry expressing his concern for his country and people. In 278, when Qu Yuan heard that his home had been invaded, he drowned himself in the Mi Lo River. The people of Chu rushed to the river to rescue him. Too late to save Qu Yuan, they splashed furiously and threw zung-ze, steamed rice wrapped in reed leaf, into the river as a sacrifice to his spirit and to keep the fish from Qu Yuan's body. Since that time, some 2,000 years ago, dragon boats are raced on rivers in China and people throw zung-ze into the river to honor the memory of Qu Yuan. Even before Qu Yuan, the fifth moon was a time of danger. With the hot and wet weather of the summer came the perils of plagues and diseases. Parents embroidered designs of tigers eating poisonous insects on children's clothing to protect them from evil spirits. In addition, children wore herb and spice filled amulets around their necks to ward off insects. Chinese people consider themselves to be the descendants of dragons and so during the fifth moon feel it is appropriate to paddle boats with dragon designs and make sacrifices of zung-ze to cajole the river dragons. 

    At the end of the Zhou Dynasty, the area we now know as China had fallen into a state of fragmentation and conflict. While the Zhou dynasty had ruled for several centuries, several other states, originally feudal domains, tried to carve out their own kingdoms. The state of Qin would eventually emerge the victor and unify all of China under one rule for the first time in history.

 Chu Yuan [Qu Yuan ] (340-278 b.c.), the chief poet in the Songs of Chu, was a member of the ruling house, a stateman and diplomat. In his  youth, he has a brilliant official career and was made a court minister and at one time the Chu envoy to Chi (in Shantung), a great neiboring state. But Chu Yuans comet-like success incurred the jealousy of his fellow ministers, who slandered and intrigued against him. In consequence Chu Yuan lost the kings favor and was dismissed from office. There were several ups and downs in his career - for after each banishment he was recalled to court, only to be again rebuffed and disgraced. In the meantime, his country was in danger. Failing to heed Chu Yuans advice, the king of Chu foolishly went to a conference with the king of Chin (in Shensi), the most powerful military state in that period; he was held there by the Chin army and died in captivity. His son, the new king, instead of avenging his fathers death, made a humiliating peace with his enemy. This, however, did not deter Chins aggressive designs against Chu, and Chu Yuan, who had started his exile as a result of his political failure, lived long enough to see the capital of his state plundered and ruined by the conquering army of Chin in 278 b.c. At that time, Chu Yuan was already an old man of over sixty, and the fall of the Chu capital was the last blow to his patriotic hope. He does not seem to have long survived his diaster, for the next we hear of him is that he had drowned himself in the river Mi-lo.
　　As the first known great poet in China, Chu Yuan has been called the father of Chinese poetry and has become, in the opinion of some, a national culture hero. His last poem reads:

Many a heavy sigh I have in my despair,
Grieving that I was born in such an unlucky time.
I yoked a team of jade dragons to a phoenix chariot,
And waited for the wind to come,to sour up on my journey

 EXCERPT FROM THE MOUNTAIN SPIRIT
“The man in the mountain, fragrant with
sweet herb, Drinks from the rocky spring,
shaded by pines and furs.You, my lord, are
thinking of me, but then you hesitate.
The thunder rumbles and the rain darkens;
The gibbons mourn, howling all the night;
The wind whistles and the trees are bare I
am thing of the young lord; I sorrow in vain.”Qu Yuan       

As he was so loved by the people, fishermen rushed out in long boats, beating drums to scare the fish away, and throwing zong zi into the water to feed braver fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body.  

The Modern Dragon Boat Festival

     Starting from that time to this day, people commemorate Qu Yuan through Dragon Boat Races, eating zong zi, and several other activities, on the anniversary of his death: the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

Dragon Boat races are the most exciting part of the festival, drawing crowds of spectators. Dragon Boats are generally brightly painted and decorated canoes. Ranging anywhere from 40 to 100 feet in length, their heads are shaped like open-mouthed dragons, while the sterns end with a scaly tail. Depending on the length, up to 80 rowers can power the boat. A drummer and flag-catcher stand at the front of the boat. Before a dragon boat enters competition, it must be "brought to life" by painting the eyes in a sacred ceremony. Races can have any number of boats competing, with the winner being the first team to grab a flag at the end of the course. Annual races take place all over China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other overseas Chinese communities.

Zong Zi 
      The traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival, Zong zi is a glutinous rice ball, with a filling, wrapped in corn leaves. The fillings can be egg, beans, dates, fruits, sweet potato, walnuts, mushrooms, meat, or a combination of them. They are generally steamed.

Talisman and Charms

     Another aspect of the Double Fifth Day is the timing: at the beginning of summer, when diseases are likely to strike, people also wear talisman to fend off evil spirits. They may hang the picture of Zhong Kui, guardian against evil spirits, on the door of their homes, as well. Adults may drink Xiong Huang Wine, and children carry fragrant silk pouches, all of which can prevent evil. It is said that if you can balance a raw egg on its end at exactly noon on Double Fifth Day, the rest of the year will be lucky.