Dragon Boat Festival, Duan Yu Jie ( 端午节 )

The Dumpling or Duanwu Festival, which is sometimes known as the Dragon Boat Festival in Malaysia, is a widely celebrated event usually held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Though this festival holds more significance in China, it is still observed by the Chinese population in Malaysia, albeit in a more subtle manner. During the celebrations, many Chinese households prepare zhong zi, a dumpling made of glutinous rice containing various kinds of stuffing, wrapped in either bamboo or lotus leaves.  Historians believe Qu Yuan, a great poet, a royal advisor to the emperor, and the epitome of patriotism took his life by drowning himself in a river. The legend relates that a fisherman dreamt that the poet’s body was being eaten by fish, so the people threw rice dumplings into the river in the hope that the fish would eat the dumplings instead of their beloved hero.