Dragon Boat Festival

Most Chinese traditional festivals were created during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), by the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), they were relatively firmly rooted in the Chinese culture already. Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), was ancient China's most prosperous period and traditional festivals became more than just primitive sacrifice and became more entertaining.

The festival I'm going to highlight here would be the "Dragon Boat festival" or called 端午节 (duan1 wu3 jie2).

Legend has it that the festival commemorates the life and especially the death of Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.), the first great poet in Chinese history. He lived during the Warring States period (a time when China was divided into several warring kingdoms) and was a high-ranking official in the state of Chu. At that time his homeland was under siege by another powerful state called Qin. The king of Chu did not recognize Qu Yuan’s correct stand or appreciate his suggestions for saving their country. What is more, treacherous officials slandered him, and at last he was sent into exile. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when he heard news that the capital of Chu had fallen into enemy hands, he threw himself into the Miluo River (in present-day Hunan province) and drowned.

What is the connection between Qu Yuan and dragon boats?
(I’ll get to zongzi later.) Qu Yuan, a great patriot, was loved by the people. When villagers heard he had thrown himself into the river, they rushed in their boats to try to save him, but they were too late. Dragon boat races commemorate their rescue attempt.

http://www.fwcc.org/dragonboat.html

During the festival, people make rice dumplings too. According to some legends, these rice dumplings were thrown into the river, in hope to distract the fishes so that they will not feed on Qu Yuan's body. Another legend says that the people offered zongzi as sacrifices to the soul of Qu Yuan. To prevent the food from being eaten by animals, they wound it with brightly colored thread, which they believed would scare away dragons and other aquatic beasts.

The reason why this festival has been carried on for centuries even though the times of dynastic rulings have long been gone, is because in the Chinese culture, we still hold on to values like "patriotism" and "loyalty" strongly. These two values are embedded in Qu Yuan's story, hence, the continued celebrations and commemorations of this day every year.